Full
text of the introductory remarks by H E President J. A. Kufuor at the 2nd
People’s Assembly held on
MR Vice-President, Mr Speaker, My Lord the Chief Justice,
Members of the Council of State, Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic
Corps, Honourable Ministers of State, Honourable Members of Parliament, Niimei, Naamei, Nananom and fellow citizens.
It is two years into the mandate that the good people of
I assure you not a day goes by without my renewing the
pledge I made to work hard for the betterment of our nation.
As if to emphasise that there is not a lot
of time at the disposal of the government, the nation’s attention is already
being directed to the next elections.
I have just this weekend been at the special delegates conference of my party where I was again chosen to
represent the NPP at the 2004 presidential elections.
Three weeks ago, the main Minority Party in Parliament also
held their congress and elected their flagbearer for the next elections.
In a sense, this is good for nurturing democracy. It serves to remind all that
power remains with the people. Thus, those of us who are given the privilege of
holding office ignore this fundamental fact at our own peril.
This morning’s event, the People’s Assembly, as it has come to be called, is
aimed at giving an opportunity to the citizens at large to interact and ask
members of the Executive whatever is on their minds.
This exercise broadens the democratisation process. In the constitutional
scheme of things, Members of Parliament have regular opportunities on the floor
of the House and its committees to quiz ministers on government activity.
As part of their work, members of the press also have daily and organised
access to me and my ministers. On this rare occasion, therefore, the citizens
outside the media and Parliament have this opportunity.
Like last year, after today’s event, ministers will farm out across the country
and hold similar ceremonies in the regional and district capitals and in as
many towns as possible so that people will have the opportunity to interact
with members of the government directly.
Let us open the session with a few remarks on the performance and direction of
the government so far and then allow time for contributions from the floor.
You would recall that the government has chosen five
priority areas to target development efforts in the short to medium term.
With infrastructure development, I am happy to report that work on the major
arterial roads leading out of
The expression programme in telecommunications is on course; and new exchanges
are being commissioned; the ICT Centre of Excellence is under construction and
will be opened in the middle of the year.
On the energy front, there is cautious optimism from the increased exploration
activity in our offshore seas. As we await what we hope will be the good news,
work is continuing to make sure that the country’s energy needs are provided
from the thermal plants to augment the increasingly beleaguered Akosombo Dam.
The next sector is the modernisation of agriculture and rural development.
A combination of good rains this past year, the characteristic hard work by the
farmers and support from government has led to a tremendous improvement in the
food situation; but we are not yet celebrating.
There have been too many instances of a year of plenty, only to be followed by
lean years. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture will, among other things,
this year, concentrate on mechanisation and the storage, processing and better
marketing of food produce.
The rehabilitation and expansion of irrigation schemes around the country will
also continue steadily.
Next is the provision of enhanced social services with emphasis on education
and health.
Because of the anxieties that many people have about the state of education in
the country, the government appointed a high-powered committee to review the
education system.
The committee has now finished its work and the recommendations are being
studied carefully and what can be quickly implemented will be done.
But before then, the Ministry of Education has embarked on the programme aimed
at boosting the morale of teachers and their conditions of service. The
training facilities are being expanded to upgrade the skills of teachers to
enable them to keep up with the new trends around the world.
The provision of desks and basic textbooks to primary schools should soon be
complete. We will then be able to say truly that every school child has a desk
to sit on and material to study. Work has started on the project to upgrade at
least one second-cycle school in every region.
On the health front, the NPP gave an undertaking that the Cash and Carry system
in the health service will be replaced by insurance schemes. Prototype schemes
have started in 42 out of the 110 districts.
As not all the districts are equally endowed, the government is resolved to
raise the resources to extend the scheme to cover the entire country by next
year. The government has also taken steps to improve upon the working
conditions of the doctors and other health workers.
It is perhaps worth pointing out that last year, within the meagre means of the
government and to meet the pressure from the exodus of personnel in the sector,
the government increased the remuneration of doctors and health personnel. This
was the main cause of the overshoot of budget expenditure, which is what our
opponents are trying to seize on and trumpet as mismanagement of the budget.
I hope the doctors and nurses, and indeed, all other workers will appreciate
the desperate situation that the country faces and not hold the nation to
ransom. I have said and it bears repeating, nobody will come from anywhere to
develop this country for us. We must all accept it as our duty to sacrifice to
rehabilitate the economy and then we can demand and receive our commensurate reward.
When it comes to good governance, the security of the state and the protection
of individual liberties have remained top of the government’s agenda.
I believe it is fair to commend the security agencies for their work so far.
With the injection of a few working tools, they are getting on top of the law
and order situation and there has been a marked improvement.
The police are more visible and thus inducing more
confidence among the people. The military is also reverting to professionalism
and their proper constitutional role and they are bringing honour to the
nation.
I must also commend the increasing co-operation between the police and the
military, which can only be to the good of the country.
For the healthy trend to continue, the citizenry should give their support to
the agencies in the fight against miscreants within the system. Now that the
fast-track courts are operating, the justice system should become more
efficient and reliable.
I cannot, of course, talk about law and order without mentioning the awful
tragedy that befell the nation and Dagbon the past year, when ancient rivalries
erupted in bitter fighting and brother turned on brother, leading to loss of
lives and the regicide of the Dagbon King, Ya Na Yakubu Andani II. May his soul rest in peace.
This matter has not yet been resolved. The government has worked hard since the
tragedy and is doing all it can to find a long-term solution to the problem.
The Wuaku Commission’s report has now been published
along with the government White Paper. The Attorney-General has been instructed
to expedite action on the White Paper.
This tragedy has been very expensive emotionally and financially to the nation.
I urge all sides to the dispute and the nation at large to exercise
self-restraint and allow the due process to work and restore peace, justice and
stability.
Ladies and gentlemen, the fifth selected area is the development of the Private
Sector, which is generally now accepted, must be the engine of growth in the
economy. Government initiatives for the promotion of the sector are working.
Inflation and bank interest rates are falling and this will allow the private
sector to gain more access to credit.
The President’s Special Initiatives on Cassava Starch and on Textiles and
Garments have taken off. The pilot cassava project at Bawjiase
should start production later in the year and sites have been identified in
other districts for farmers and entrepreneurs to set up similar projects. Large,
medium and small-scale investors are also joining in the garments initiative.
The Export Development Fund has been supporting companies with funding and a
$40 million facility has been sourced to help businesses go into salt
production. Ladies and gentlemen, the economy will flourish at an accelerated
pace only when some major hurdles are removed within the system.
As I have said on many occasions, years of pretending that
When we deal with these obvious distortions and are able to plug the holes in
government finances, the nation will have a stronger case in arguing for
greater help and the economy will be more attractive for Foreign Direct
Investors to bring their monies here.
It should be a matter of great concern, and indeed, shame for all of us that
more than 60 per cent of our development budget comes from development
partners.
In other words, the money comes from the taxpayers in the countries that give
us grants. The least we can do is to make sure that we maximise the revenue
mobilisation within the country before going to ask for grants and other
handouts.
The nation must, therefore, do more for itself in terms of raising more revenue
domestically so as to convince its friends
This resolve, when carried through, will help broaden the base of the economy
and also generate more funds to enable us to pursue a more realistic prices and
incomes policy.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me end my introductory
comments here and invite your questions, comments, suggestions and criticisms,
which my ministers and I will try to answer.
Thank you and may God bless us all.