President John Kufuor has said that the stringent measures his government has introduced are yielding some very positive results. He told Ghanaians in Addis Ababa during a four-hour stop over in Ethiopia that the measures being taken at aimed at putting Ghana back on the track of economic development and prosperity.
"Already we are seeing dividends from the stringent measures. The cedi has stabilised because of the self-disciplined of government. Inflation is coming down from 40 per cent when we took over and is now 36 per cent."
The Kufuor government has removed subsidies on petrol, leading to petrol price increase and a resultant rise in the cost of living, but the President maintains that such measures are necessary to lift the country out of economic stagnation.
President Kufuor told the Ghanaians that his administration has been trying to cut down on expenditure so that more money could be released for private sector development and investment, stressing that "government is resolved to continue the self-discipline approach to enable the country to reap the desired fruits.
Pleased with the achievements of his government so far, the President said "if we have been able to achieve this in the first six months, then we expect that by the end of the year, things will get better than they are at the moment."
The President is in Lusaka Zambia to attend his first ever Organisation of African Unity session.
Government spokesperson, Elizabeth Ohene told journalists that the President is keen on meeting other African leaders as part of efforts to establish a healthy relationship.
The President would also use the occasion to campaign for Dr. Ibn Chambas, NDC Member of Parliament for Bimbila, as a candidate for the position of Executive Secretary of ECOWAS. Chambas was a deputy minister for Foreign Affairs in the first four years of the NDC administration and was later moved to the ministry of education as the deputy minister in charge of tertiary education. He is now the minority spokesman on foreign affairs.
The president is also expected to discuss issues of good governance, continental trade, conflict situation in Africa and the transition from OAU to African Union with other Heads of State.
