From Benjamin Mensah, GNA Special Correspondent
London, May 7, GNA - Britain has shown her willingness and preparedness to further assist Ghana with a bailout for the further development of the country. No amount has been disclosed, but President John Evans Atta Mills, on the second day of a three-day official visit to Britain said, "we are going home with the goodwill and assurance from our benefactors to help build a better Ghana".
President Mills told a press conference after meeting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Senior Secretaries (Ministers) that Government was doing its best despite the challenges it inherited. The three-day visit, which is at the invitation of the British Government, is to strengthen ties between the two nations and explore ways of further co-operation.
President Mills said the economy his administration inherited was not as robust it was said to be, but Government was not interested in blame game. It was rather prepared to take the challenges to turn the economy around with its team.
President Mills had earlier debunked allegations that Government was spending lavishly on visit.
While welcoming assistance from development partners for the growth of the economy, President Mills stressed that Ghana could not forever rely on donor hand-outs.
"The time has come to look f or home-grown solutions," the President said, adding; "our team is capable of putting the economy on a strong foundation".
President Mills assured investors of a sound investment climate that hinged solidly on open, transparent, honest and accountable Government under a stable economy.
He reiterated that the bottom line would be openness and fairness for the mutual benefit of the Ghanaian and the investor. On the sale and purchase agreement of Ghana Telecommunication Company which the previous administration entered into with Vodafone last year, President Mills said his administration was not impugning the integrity of the previous Government.
However, what it was doing was to attempt to clear any uncertainty or lurking suspicion at the time of signing the agreement. President Mills urged Ghanaians to put away partisanship and rally in unity to build the nation as the elections were over. He also invited Ghanaians living abroad who had the requisite expertise and knowledge to come back home to join hands to develop the nation.
On job creation, President Mills said Government would stick to creating jobs, revive the Youth in Agriculture Policy and provide the necessary resources as water and electricity to get youth into agriculture and check rural urban drift.
There would be focus on the decentralisation programme, while the benefits of much of the oil revenue would be channelled into the development of rural communities.
President Mills urged African leaders to respect the wishes of the people as a means of checking the resurgence of coups, adding that, Ghana would continue to champion and commit itself to the African unity agenda.
He called on women to summon courage to get into politics to enhance their empowerment.
Meanwhile, Tullow Chief Executive Aidan Heavey has told journalists that the Government of Ghana would by May 16 sign the final agreement on the development stage of the exploration of oil and gas in Ghana's Jubilee Fields. This was the outcome of a meeting of the management of Tullow and the Government during President Mills' visit to Britain. 7 May 09
