Accra, July 3, GNA - The former Vice President Professor John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday called on the government to increase the producer price of cocoa to a minimum of 60 per cent of the export price. "The current 49 per cent of the world market price of cocoa offered to farmers by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government is woefully unrealistic," Prof. Mills told journalists at a press conference in Accra.
It was to outline the party's observation of the state of the economy, the political terrain under the NPP administration and the general assessment of living conditions in the country. Prof Mills, who was supported by The National Chairman of the Party, Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, General Secretary, Dr Nii Josia Aryeh, Director of Communications, Mr John Mahama explained that out of the current world market price of 17.6 million cedis per tonne, the Government pays farmers only 8.8 million cedis, which includes a bonus of 256,000 cedis per tonne.
"This is a mere pittance compared to the NDC era when the producer price as a percentage of the export price reached 75 per cent," he said. Prof. Mills, who is the flag bearer of the NDC for Elections 2004, also reiterated his call for the reduction of prices of petroleum products. "As the world market price of crude oil falls, the prices of petroleum products in Ghana must fall as well.... There is abundant scope within the present padded prices to reduce the price." The NDC flag bearer also accused the government of increasing the debt stock of the country from 41 trillion cedis to 63 trillion cedis, an increase of over 50 per cent, in only two-and-a-half years in the country's 46 years post-independence history.
Prof. Mills explained: "In simple language, the NPP Government has borrowed 22 trillion cedis in two-and-half years." Answering questions from journalists, Squadron Leader Clend Sowu, former MP for Anlo, said statistics made available to Parliament by the Bank of Ghana indicates that the NDC contracted 1,456 million dollars long-term loans, 984 million dollars medium term loans and 80 million dollars short-term loans between 1993 and 1996. He said the average for the year was 629.96 million dollars whilst the payment was 946 dollars.
Squadron Leader Sowu said during the second term of the NDC rule from 1997 to 2000, figures indicate that it contracted 923.5 million dollars long term loans, 568.9 million dollars medium term loans and 316 million dollars short term loan. Squadron Leader Sowu said yearly average figure is 468 million dollars, whilst payment is 1,562 million dollars. He said yearly average figure for the 19 years of the PNDC and NDC governments is 494 million dollars. Squadron Leader Sowu said NPP in 2001 alone contracted a total 591 million dollars loan, 516 million dollars in 2002 and 108 for the first half of this year. The total external debt for the two-year period of the NPP administration is 1,216 million dollars. He said this is unprecedented in the country's history.
