The 2008 Presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo today, May 25, 2008, called the Mills administration about the economy.
"if it is broke as you alleged, then fix it," Nana told a cheering crowd at a Press Conference in Accra today.
The conference was dubbed 'Nana Akufo Addo speaks.' It was held at the Osu Presbyterian Church hall this morning.
Nana Addo's press conference
In addressing the attendees, Nana Addo noted that, there was a significant depreciation of the value of the Cedi when compared with the major currencies of the world. And that it was the responsibility of President Mills and his administration to do something about it rather than constantly finding fault with members of the previous administration.
"While the business of the nation awaits the serious attention of government, all that we hear are excuses upon excuses, the most common of them being that the problems of the nation are all the fault of the NPP.
Fellow Ghanaians, excuses can never be a substitute for vision and purposeful action and can never lead to the Better Ghana we were promised", he observed.
He also wondered whether President Mills and his economic team have what it takes to provide solutions to the current economic problem facing Ghanaians.
This he said was because, between 1999-2000 when President Mills as Vice-President and Dr Dufour as Governor of the Bank of Ghana were managing the economy of the country, high inflation and interest rates were recorded and they failed to deal with the situations until the Kuffour administration took over the reign of government in 2001.
Nana Addo revealed that, the Kufour led NPP administration in January this year left a nation with the best economic growth and the best economic performance and quadrupled the GDP from US$3.9 billion in 2001 to US$17 billion in 2008. He said, despite the global financial crisis, Ghana posted a record growth rate of 7.3% last year.
"The NDC in 2008 promised us a better Ghana. This should mean, among other things, better jobs, better pay, better personal security, better sanitation, better homes, better schools, better hospitals, better roads, better prices of goods and services.
It is not a better Ghana when instead of lean government; we have lean kenkey at a higher price" Nana Addo said.
The Presidential candidate of NPP in the 2008 general elections noted that, it iwas imperative on the Mills' government to acts to restore confidence in the management of the economy.
"To this end, I urge the government to act with dispatch to address the free-fall of the cedi by working with private business here and in the Ghanaian Diaspora, the Central Bank and private banks, while making responsible utterances on our economy, at home and abroad" he advised.
He said, the relative stability of the cedi was very crucial in the creation of jobs, stimulation of commerce and the strong performance of our economy and it would go a long way to restoring the confidence of the business community which was absolutely essential for getting the investment that would bring systematic growth and the rapid expansion of the economy. This, he stressed, was the surest way to prosperity for the broad masses of our people.
On the labour front, Nana Addo urged the government to act with dispatch to bring stability to the labour front by completing and implementing a new salary regime for public sector workers.
He said, as part of the comprehensive system of salaries and benefits, the Pension Act, introduced by the NPP government and passed by Parliament, should be implemented with the inclusion of farmers and fishermen to bring relief to those whose sweat and toil moved Ghana forward.
On the issue of the drug menace he commended the President for his professed commitment to fighting the drug menace.
"It is necessary, however, to distinguish between talk and action. Talking about increased commitment to fighting the drug menace, while reducing the budget for drug enforcement will not do", he said.
He therefore advised the government to increase the budget of the drug enforcement agencies.
Nana Akufo-Addo also condemned the attack on some of the members of the New Patriotic Party by some supporters of the ruling NDC and asked the government to bring the perpetrators to book.
He also accused the government for meddling with the affairs of the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis and advised them to stick to the road map to peace which was fashioned by the three imminent Chiefs, the AsanteHene, Na-Yirri and Yagbon Wura.
In a message to all members of the New Patriotic Party,Nana Addo urged them to unite and said the party was strategising on how it could come back to power in 2012. He asked them not to loose hope but work hard to bring the party back to power.
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