Mahama to resign if ......

Cape Coast (C/R), Nov. 29, GNA - John Mahama, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vice-Presidential Candidate, on Thursday said he would resign as a matter of principle when there was a serious disagreement between him and the President over issues of corruption.

Answering questions at a debate the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) organised for Vice-Presidential Candidates at Cape Coast, Mr Mahama said he would quit the government to protect his image and integrity if attempts and use of various channels to resolve the differences failed.

"First I will make my opinion known in Cabinet about the issue. I will consult the Council of State and I will resign to keep my honour and integrity intact," he said.

Mr Mahama said the fight against corruption required a strong political will and commitment of leadership, saying that no legislation could help to end the canker without official commitment to deal with the problem.

He reiterated the commitment of the NDC to run a corrupt-free and transparent government to restore public confidence in the affairs of State.

In this direction, he said, an NDC government would change the Serious Fraud Office into an Independent Commission and also empower the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice to initiate and investigate issues of corruption on its own without complaints from members of the public.

Besides, a system would be put in place to enable verification of assets declared and those found culpable of corrupt practices would be given stiffer punishments to deter others from indulging in the act. He criticised President John Agyekum Kufuor for asking people to provide evidence of corrupt practices instead of using the State's investigative machinery to do that. On the question of whether the country could attain a middle-income status by 2015, Mr Mahama said at the current low level of productivity, it would be very difficult to attain the 1,000 dollar per capita at the targeted date.

He said the growth in the economy must be anchored on manufacturing and the agricultural sectors to enable the country to attain the goal. However, these sectors were performing poorly and growth was being led by the services sector, which wa not sustainable in the long-run. In addition, the working environment, failure of supervision and the lack of motivation had contributed to low level of productivity and thus further drawing back the achievement of the goal. There is, therefore, the urgent need to invest in improving income, changing the work environment and adopting technology and skills training.

On the question of the repeal of various articles of the constitution that made the Vice-President an automatic Chairman of the Police Council, Prison Council and the Armed Forces Council, Mr Mahama explained that the conflict between Former President Jerry John Rawlings and Vice President Kow Nkensen Arkaah led to that. He said he would support a constitutional change that clearly spelt out the role of the country's Vice-President. He said the constitution was also silent on what happened when a Vice-President died or resigned from government. On the general level of indiscipline in society, Mr Mahama attributed the problem to a break down in traditional and family values and the adoption of western style of doing things. This, he said, was being pushed by the media and called for public and civic education.

Mr Mahama said he was bringing onto the NDC ticket a unifying force that was important in healing a polarized country. He said he has special skills and capacity to complement Professor John Evans Atta Mills in running a transparent and effective government.

Mr Mahama said his main task would be to help the President, especially in the area of Information and Communication Technology, to enable the country to build a knowledge-based society. He would pay special attention to the development of the three Northern Regions to bridge the gap between the North and the South through the establishment of Savannah Development Fund and institute measures to tackle the problem of abject poverty in the Central Region.