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
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
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…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
‘Address was
unimpressive’ - Mahama
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
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
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
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
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com