PRESS CONFERENCE NDC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND VICE PRESIDENT PROFESSOR J.E. ATTA MILLS 10TH OCTOBER, 200
Mr. Moderator,
My good friends of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for attending today's press conference. In the next fifteen minutes, I propose to discuss a Number of election issues and briefly outline my agenda, for when I assume office on 7th January 2001, as President of the Republic of Ghana.
I had hoped to formally launch my media campaign a little earlier, but was unable to do so as I was attending to matters of state in the absence of the President who has only just returned to the Country.
I intend to make closer contacts with the media a priority of my government, than I have done so far and trust that today's briefing will be the first of several interventions during which I will be able to brief you all on matters affecting all Ghanaians and answer any questions you may have. Indeed, I intend to appoint a Media Policy Adviser with the rank of a Minister of State to replace the present Public Affairs Secretariat located in the Presidency. I also intend to appoint a Presidential Press Secretary. These two officials will coordinate all activities between the Office of the President and the various media houses. I my self intend to formalize regular briefing sessions with the press, both state-owned and private-owned, as part of my routine agenda.
My very good friends As you are all aware, the Ghanaian economy is laboring under the hardship caused by the slide in the price of gold and commodities like cocoa which are our major sources of foreign exchange. This has had a serious negative effect on Government revenues. On the expenditure side, the price of oil has spiraled skyward. The high price of this commodity has had an international impact that has seen governments in Europe and the UK place under virtual siege by consumers.
Ghana has not been able to escape from this global turmoil, but here in Ghana the fuel, at least, is still flowing. The current international oil price is beyond our control, but there are several steps that we can, and will take, to ensure stability and growth of Ghana's economy in the short-to-medium term.
In the short-term, we will continue canvassing for grants and concessional loans to bridge The gap created by the loss of cocoa and gold revenue and the increase in the price of crude oil. Already, we have taken measures with financial institutions and oil producing Countries and companies to assure Ghanaians of adequate moderately priced petroleum products. We shall support this with programs for fuel conservation, energy conservation measures in industry, bulk oil storage for emergencies and promotion of alternative energy sources.
We will continue to make it unattractive to import non-essential goods and will place emphasis on the need, wherever possible, for our people to buy Ghanaian products.
The medium-to-long-term solutions will demand commitment to sound macro-economic polices that will address control of Government expenditure, the money supply, and the current high levels of interests rates and inflation that militate against private sector growth. We will move to stabilize the cedi, accelerate the role of the private sector and encourage a drive towards much higher productivity, the major factor needed to get our economy going and competitive once again.
One of the key factors in our drive to the future prosperity is regional integration and the creation of the Second Monetary Zone for the West African sub-region. These will help promote the fiscal and monetary discipline required to create an enabling environment for sustained economic growth and larger exports markets for Ghanaian goods and services. Already, the steps announced by the Minister of Finance at his Press Conference held on 26th April, 2000, have had some impact on the cedi which has began to stabilize. We have to work hard to maintain these gains
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, I am committed to continual dialogue with the private sector and working together with key players to determine how the sector can be strengthened to create a culture of reinvestment and job creation. I will continue, as I have done as Vice President, to consult with the Private Enterprise Foundation, the Association of Ghana Industries, and the Chambers of Commerce and of Mines amongst others. After I have become President, I will extend this circle to include periodic meetings with TUC, the Employers Association Professional Associations and other economic and social groupings. As a matter of urgency after I become President, I shall tackle the current levels of wages in Ghana and implement measures to improve the lot of workers whilst obtaining a commensurate rise in levels of productivity. This course of action could have an impact on some development projects that may have to be frozen to create the additional flow of income destined for wages. This sacrifice, however, will be worth the immediate benefit to workers and their families. It will also be consistent with the theme of our manifesto "Spreading the Benefits of Development".
Ladies and Gentlemen, Agriculture will remain one of my priorities. I shall implement a programme to extend our efforts from the mere production of crops into the creation of a really substantial agro-processing sector to add value to the food production chain. Effective production, distribution, marketing, pricing and consumption policies will contribute towards lowering the cost of food in this country. At Ho, I announced that "our goal in the next four years, is to reduce by half, the percentage of income that Ghanaians spend on food". I intend to deliver on this pledge. To achieve this, we must return to the land in large numbers. Those who do not return to primary farming activities must be ready to add value to what those who will go back to the land will produce. My Government will consider a wide range of incentives to encourage those who wish to invest in agriculture.
Simultaneously, the big difference in prices between the rural farming areas and the urban consumption centers must be addressed. There is no earthly reason why a bunch of plantain that sells for 5,000 cedis in the forests of Juabeso-Bia must sell for 50,000 cedis in the plains of Accra. We will work with our transporters and our market queens to address this problem.
Reducing the cost of food that is currently a major factor in the high consumer price index will result in a reduction in inflation a major victory in the battle for macro-economic stability. The ultimate objective of course is to accelerate the ongoing structural transformation of our economy and speed up the shift from primary commodity production to a value-added economy, stressing industries based on local raw materials and services that go beyond the borders of Ghana, including financial, banking, insurance and other invisible exports. This we will work towards.
My dear friends, At times of economic stress, it is easy to put aside our concern for the environment in order to make short-term gains. I shall resist any such pressures, because no responsible government can afford to mortgage the survival of future generations. The NDC government has already put in please legislation to safeguard the natural and man-made environment including our forests and water-bodies, the air, and the urban environment. The very real threats of deforestation, pollution, climate change and rising sea levels continue to demand our attention. I shall ensure that existing legislation is vigorously enforced and that environmental issues are placed high on my government's agenda.
My dear brothers and sisters of the media, At Ho, I said that "if Ghana is to lead the way in Africa, then a quality education for every child and young person must be a top priority". And in our Manifesto, we have confirmed that "education should never be for sale to the highest bidder, and that access to education is a right and not privilege". Thus we are concerned simultaneously about the "quality" and the "quantity" of education.
Increasing access to basic education is our main priority. This should be free, compulsory and universal by 2005, according to the Constitution. The programme to achieve this has already been begun, is on course will continue to be pursued.
But we also have to make it easy for those with the talent to proceed to second cycle and tertiary institutions that is where the quality comes in.
I am glad that one of the main opposition political parties has, in its manifesto, accepted the idea of the Ghana Education Trust Fund, which is funded by the 2 ?% increase in the VAT rate, an increase that they had opposed only they say they will make its administration more transparent.
Maybe they ought to be reminded that the administration of the Fund has not yet started, and therefore the issue of transparency, let alone more transparency, has not arisen yet.
At the tertiary level, my major short-term pre-occupation will be resolving the issue of the backlog of students awaiting admission to the Universities. I have been addressing this in my present position and will continue with this focus after I become President.
In this connection, the expansion of facilities at the Universities and the acceleration of the programme for upgrading the Polytechnics will continue to be one of my top most priorities. I will continue to consult and involve the University authorities and National Union of Ghana Students to try and end the disruptive cycle of strikes and counter-strikes which rotate among the UTAG, FUSSAG, TEWU, AAU, NUGS and the SRC's and which have been largely responsible for the creation of the backlog of students awaiting admissions.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We have said in our manifesto that we will review the cash-and-carry system in the health sector. We are realistic enough not to promise free medical care for everybody at this time in our country's history, although the aged, pregnant women, children under five years and accident victims receive special attention. Instead, we have proposed a health insurance scheme, which will cater for salaried employees, the self-employed as well as both urban and rural communities
Operationalising the Ghana Health Service and implementing the reviewed conditions of service of health workers will be an urgent priority. The very real menace of HIV/AIDS Must not only be an important component of our fight against preventable disease through the Primary Health Care System, but must be addressed in a multi-sectoral approach - social, cultural, educational using both government agencies and NGO's and other private partners. We have already made a start by inaugurating a high-level multi-sectoral body, and I shall ensure that it works effectively so that we can put into full practice the methods, which have enabled some countries to reduce HIV/AIDS infection.
My Dear Friends, The provisions of the five Basic needs identified by the NDC as its critical rural development priorities namely; water, education, health, roads and electricity, will continue to engage my attention. These are the areas to which we will require District Assemblies in the main to direct their Common Fund. These will be supplemented by Central Government and also under Urban Credit projects with the World Bank and other bilateral donors
In the urban areas, affordable housing, with emphasis on rental accommodation, will require our attention. A team is currently reviewing the Rent Act of 1963 with a view to replacing its obsolete provisions, whilst at the time making it both tenant and landlord friendly.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, Corruption has no place in Ghanaian society. Anti-corruption measures will feature high on my personal agenda as President as well as on the agenda of the NDC as a Party. In our Manifesto, we have stated that "we will make the price of corruption so high that it will be a commodity very few people will want".
But in the crusade against corruption and our drive towards the establishment of a moral society, we will need the co-operation of all, especially the media, religious bodies and educational institutions. We must preach against corruption. We must cajole against corruption. We must educate the public against corruption, but above all, we must punish the corrupt, ensuring that punishment is swift, public and severe.
Those who allege corruption without providing the evidence of corruption are condoning corruption. Those who allege corruption and blackmail their victims into paying their way out of possible corruption charges are themselves guilty of corruption. Those who fabricate stories of corruption are worse than the corrupt themselves. As stated in our Manifesto, we will strengthen the anti-corruption institutions of state. Ironically, if the powers of the Serious Fraud Office had not been watered down as a result of unjustified criticisms by some members of the opposition at the time the law was being enacted, we would have had one of the most potent organs today to be used in the fight against corruption.
I hope that we have all learnt from these experiences. Under my administration, we will work together to uproot corruption for what it is - a social canker that afflicts all sections of society.
In selecting Hon. Martin Amidu as my running mate, I took particular note of his long period of impeccable conduct in high political office and the fact that almost everybody I consulted vouched for his integrity and his fighting spirit in the courts. I was sending a signal to the country that the fight against corruption will not only be fought on the moral battleground; it will also be reinforced through vigorous prosecution and the courts.
Ladies and Gentlemen, The fight against corruption is only an aspect of the general fight for discipline and moral uprightness. Another aspect, important to me, is punctuality. A feature of my administration will be a general banishment of the concept of "African punctuality". There is no such thing. We must be punctual to work, punctual to meetings and punctual to functions. I will set the tone. I want the media to follow suit. The Public and Civil Service will then be alive to their responsibilities. The general public, I am sure, will come around.
My dear brothers and sisters, I have only summarized for you today some of my thoughts on some of the most critical areas of concern facing the country and what my immediate priorities will be when the NDC has been returned to power.
We naturally have programmes in all other sectors of our national life. These are detailed in our Manifesto, in the various sector policies that we have promoted in the last four years, and in the various sector programmes and budgets
It is an unfortunate fact of life that some programmes will have greater priority over others. To state it again, our short-term priorities are returning the ailing economy to health, addressing the foreign exchange shortfall and stabilizing the cedi. Agricultural production and marketing must be boosted to halve domestic household. Financing must be reviewed, and the basic needs of the rural people must be addressed. In urban areas, housing must be made affordable. Finally, corruption must be rooted out mercilessly and discipline must be enforced.
To achieve all this requires the dedication of government, the cooperation of the people of Ghana and a commitment to peace, reconciliation and harmony. I have stressed these factors during my visits throughout the country as peace; mutual understanding and respect are commodities that cannot be taken for granted. They are the most vital ingredients for the building of a successful nation.
