State of the Nation Address was unambiguous

Dominic Nitiwol, NPP-Bimbimla, on Wednesday said the state of the nation address delivered by the President was unambiguous as it provided a clear direction for the socio economic development of the country.

He said it was not an ordinary address as it provided the impetus for the positive change that the President promised on his assumption of office. The youngest member of Parliament was moving for the debate on the State of the Nation address in Accra.

Emmanuel Zumakpeh, NDC-Nadowli South, said the address was silent on certain crucial areas and activities in national life that continue to blight the life of the ordinary person.

"We did not hear of corruption and how it is being addressed, we did not hear of the dwindling value of the cedi, we were not told anything about the gross indiscipline in society."

He said the government had not delivered on its promises adding, that, "at least, we should have been told the problems countered and how the President intends to deal with those problems assuming that the people of Ghana believed that he tried to deliver on those promises."

The member said it was strange that after the promises of old were not fulfilled, the President was making more promises. "Cost of living is now so high, while wages and salaries are low, price hikes are expected soon, we want the government to soften the ground a little bit."

He appealed to the President to extend his special initiative programmes to Northern Ghana. Boahene Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, said every rural dweller especially, those in the Western Region would appreciate the address since it was rural development-oriented.

He said the perennial problems that blight rural economies like harvest loses, credits and lack of water would soon be a thing of the past. The Minister said roads that were neglected over the years were being tackled under the present administration.

He said government would have proceeded on a faster note in the building of roads in the Western Region, had it not been the "IFC loan waterloo" "IFC or no IFC, the roads are being built, road projects are coming to us like an evening rain storm."