Ghana open to practical ideas - JAK

The government sys it is committed to a pragmatic adaptation of what has worked for other countries to build on to move the country forward.

"Ideas are universal and this government does not claim any monopoly over any theories. We only seek to adopt, adapt, harness and utilise ideas that suit our circumstances. For, we believe it is the utilisation of these ideas that makes the difference between one government and another", President John Agyekum Kufuor said on Wednesday, when he delivered the keynote address at this year's National May Day Parade held at Ho in the Volta Region. The theme for the celebrations was: "Decent work and labour standards necessary condition for National Development".

In reaction to an assertion by Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwaa, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and opponents of the government that "government's economic policies have not changed from those of its predecessors, President Kufuor said there was bound to be a difference between a team that believes in the policies being implemented and a team that by its own admission was forced to adopt policies it did not believe in. "This is where the real difference is between this government and its predecessor".

He said the government had never made macro-economic stability an end in itself, however, its importance could not be downplayed and the government had spent the past year to take difficult decisions and maintained the discipline to ensure macro-economic stability.

"Unlike our predecessors, we are determined to submit to this discipline and to sustain it even when elections are on the horizon, because this stability is the foundation without which everything else would crumble. You cannot build a house without a solid foundation, " he added.

President Kufuor said it was only after this stability that any meaningful development could take place, more investors would be attracted into the country to enable existing businesses to expand, adding, "it is only when new factories are opened and existing ones are expanded that real jobs will be created to give employment to the large numbers of our youth.

Placards displayed at the parade, were made and the messages centrally approved by the Planning Committee of the Day, to depict the situation of Ghanaian workers. Some read: "Our Salaries Can No Longer Pay The Mounting School Fees, Review The Educational System, Ghana Needs A Better Railways, No More VANEF, Bravo SSNIT Board, Stop Casualisation Of Workers, and Restore ESB.

Others were: "Utility Bills Are Killing, Don't Let Our National Airline Bleed To Death, Self-Seekers Leave Ghanair and Oh Workers When? All the 17 Unions, including those not represented in the Volta Region were present.

They included the National Union of Seamen (NUS), Railway Workers Union (RWU) and the Maritime and Dock Workers Union (MDU). Eighteen members were present with awards.