Reactions to President State of the Nation Address

Full text of Presidents address

14 – 02 – 2003: - Mills reacts to Kufuor's address

14 – 02 – 2003: - ‘Address was unimpressive’ - Mahama

 

Mills reacts to Kufuor's address

 

Accra (Greater Accra) 14 February 2003 - Professor John Atta Mills, NationalProf. John Attah Mills Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate on Thursday said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was giving an "over-dose medication" approach to solving the nation's problems.

 

He said just as a patient would die when he or she was administered with excessive prescriptions, so would the NPP's "bite the bullet" approach could kill the people. "Solution to the nation's problem should not be done in a way to impose excessive hardship, which could lead to the death of its citizens. Dosage is administered on correct prescriptions".

 

Prof Mills was reacting to President John Kufuor's Third State of the Nation's Address. Prof Mills who was ushered out of the Chamber of Parliament by NDC MPs who were in mourning clothes singing "Do something new in my life" said the song called for the need of a change in the life of Ghanaians.

 

The NDC members said they were in those attire because of the grief in which the country had been plunged after the almost 100 percent increase in fuel prices and led their flagbearer out of the House.

 

Prof Mills said Ghanaians actually needed a change because the positive change the NPP promised them has turned into "deception and suffering. Utility and fuel prices have been increased out of proportion leading to untold hardships with endless promises that remained unfulfilled."

 

Prof Mills said the NPP government would have now realised that promises were easier made than fulfilled. He said he was surprised that wages and salaries determination in the public sector would no longer be subjected to national debate as the NPP had promised.

"We are now being told that 70 percent of total revenue goes into emoluments in the public sector."

 

He said the understanding was that the determination of wages and salaries would be subjected to national debate. The President in his address said it was near impossible to have any appreciable increase in salary levels without dramatic increase in revenue and that salaries would be increased when the revenue base was expanded.

 

Prof Mills said he was however, happy that the NPP government was implementing development projects the NDC initiated and packaged some of which the President said in his address were to be commissioned soon. He said the NDC was being accused of doing nothing and yet the Redevelopment Project for Old Accra, which was a government and UNESCO project and was to be launched this month, was initiated by the NDC.

 

He said the admission of the President that there was a gap between the time the project was announced to begin and the actual time it began was because of hold-ups of donor inflows the NDC suffered. "It has now fallen on the NPP government to commission those projects which should have been commissioned before the new government came to power," Prof Mills added.

GRi…/

 

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‘Address was unimpressive’ - Mahama

 

John D. MahamaAccra (Greater Accra) 14 February 2003 - The Minority Spokesman on Communications and Member of Parliament for Bole, Mr John D. Mahama, has described the State of the Nation Address delivered by President J.A. Kufuor as “uninspiring”.

 

He said the message does not offer much hope for the people because “it is essentially a repetition of what had been said over and over again and does not specify sector by sector activities”. In an interview in Accra , Mahama, a former Minister of Communications, said most of the programmes and projects mentioned in the address have been talked about over the past two years but they are yet to be executed.

 

He was, however, impressed with the recognition of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in the address. He noted that there is a lot of stagnation in ICT development, saying that, “it is time the government practicalises the talk about the subject.” Mahama discounted claims that work has started on the Bole-Bamboi Road in earnest and urged the government to report what has been achieved.

 

E.D.K. Adjaho, the Minority Chief Whip and MP for Avenor, criticised the government for the poor handling of the Dagbon crisis. He said the government has not done enough to resolve the problem. He said there is tension at the labour front because of the hikes in petroleum prices and the difficult economic situation in the country. The NDC member for Wenchi West, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said “the NPP government has failed Ghanaians and the people are yearning for the NDC to come back to power”.

 

He said the NDC is, therefore, looking up to its flagbearer, Prof. J.E.A. Mills to win the 2004 general elections to build a better and prosperous nation. The ceremony itself was heralded by a lot of pomp and pageantry.

 

At 9.30 am , Justices of the Superior Courts of Judicature entered the Chamber followed by the Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey. President Kufuor, dressed in black suit over a white shirt, arrived at the forecourt at 9.45 a.m. after the Chief Justice, E.K. Wiredu, his wife, Emelia, and other dignitaries were seated in the Chamber. The Speaker had proceeded to the central lobby and received the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, before the arrival of President Kufuor.

 

A Guard of Honour mounted by the Ghana Army, under the command of Major G. E. Afful, welcomed the President and the Vice-President with the national anthem. After inspecting the Guard of Honour, the President proceeded to the House where he was ushered in by the Speaker.

 

The attendance from both the Majority and Minority sides was encouraging while the public gallery was filled to capacity. The Chairman of the Council of State, Prof. Alex Kwapong, and other Council Members as well as the former Vice-President, Professor Mills, members of the Diplomatic Corps, traditional rulers and other political party leaders, were present at the ceremony.

 

Most MPs embraced each other and engaged in pleasantries before the President entered the Chamber to deliver his address.

 

The wearing of red bands by the Minority apparently in mourning of the departed two MPs, Emmanuel Acheampong and John Achuluwor, for Gomoa East and Navrongo Central respectively and the recent increases in fuel prices as well as occasional hooting from either side, added flavour to the occasion.

 

The Armed Forces Central Band, “Mmenson” traditional horn blowers and cultural performance by the National Dance Company of the National Theatre added colour to the ceremony.

 

President Kufuor’s 90-minute speech was intermittently greeted with shouts of “Kufuor nie, osono nie by the Majority and “ye wuo oo, ye wuo oo...” by the Minority. – Daily Graphic

 

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