Accra, Aug. 2, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor says, he is not prepared to become a lame duck President, pledging to work till the last day of his term to bring to fruition, programmes lined up to transform the country.
He has therefore charged his Ministers to remain loyal, focused and work with renewed dynamism to keep the momentum.
"You have been invited to play a role in destiny. When we work well, we are telling Ghana, we are worth coming back in 2008", he said in his opening remarks at a two-day ministerial retreat at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) on Thursday.
It follows the recent Cabinet reshuffle occasioned by the resignation of eight top Ministers to pursue their political ambition of seeking the mandate to lead the ruling New Patriotic Party to the 2008 general elections.
President Kufuor warned that he would not permit any of them to use his or her office to twist and turn in a way that was not line taken by him.
He told them not to fight for turf but ensure effective and complete co-ordination among their ministries. Government is nothing, if not a team.
President Kufuor described the achievements of the Government over the past six years as "exemplary", adding that, the evidence abound for all objective observers to acknowledge.
He said it was time, its success story was told more forcefully. "State the facts and show the achievements."
He also responded to criticisms by sections of the society about the size of the Government and said, "We are running value for money Government."
President Kufuor stated the new Ministries created and ministerial appointments were done with rationalization and not for the fancy of it. This, he said, had paid off, citing, for example, the number of roads and the scale of expansion and modernization of the Ports that had resulted from the creation of separate ministries for Transportation, Ports and Harbours and Aviation.
President Kufuor mentioned a lot of good things about to happen to the country between now and the next year, including the construction of the Mallam Junction-Tetteh-Quarshie dual-carriageway, which commences next year, the opening of an International Financial Services Centre next month and the establishment of a Bauxite Refinery in the course of the year.
On the energy front, he said, the future was promising, saying there could be an additional source of oil soon. The Bui Dam also starts in September, while the West African Gas Pipeline Project comes on stream by the end of this year.
Government was also working on coal generation. President Kufuor asked the Ministers to put their shoulders to the wheel so that, "the Black Star that we are would continue to shine beyond Africa."
The Ministers would be discussing "Governance, Relations between Ministers and their Deputies, the Economy, Energy, the School Feeding Programme, the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) and the National Health Insurance Scheme, among other things.
Accra, Aug. 2, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor says, he is not prepared to become a lame duck President, pledging to work till the last day of his term to bring to fruition, programmes lined up to transform the country.
He has therefore charged his Ministers to remain loyal, focused and work with renewed dynamism to keep the momentum.
"You have been invited to play a role in destiny. When we work well, we are telling Ghana, we are worth coming back in 2008", he said in his opening remarks at a two-day ministerial retreat at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) on Thursday.
It follows the recent Cabinet reshuffle occasioned by the resignation of eight top Ministers to pursue their political ambition of seeking the mandate to lead the ruling New Patriotic Party to the 2008 general elections.
President Kufuor warned that he would not permit any of them to use his or her office to twist and turn in a way that was not line taken by him.
He told them not to fight for turf but ensure effective and complete co-ordination among their ministries. Government is nothing, if not a team.
President Kufuor described the achievements of the Government over the past six years as "exemplary", adding that, the evidence abound for all objective observers to acknowledge.
He said it was time, its success story was told more forcefully. "State the facts and show the achievements."
He also responded to criticisms by sections of the society about the size of the Government and said, "We are running value for money Government."
President Kufuor stated the new Ministries created and ministerial appointments were done with rationalization and not for the fancy of it. This, he said, had paid off, citing, for example, the number of roads and the scale of expansion and modernization of the Ports that had resulted from the creation of separate ministries for Transportation, Ports and Harbours and Aviation.
President Kufuor mentioned a lot of good things about to happen to the country between now and the next year, including the construction of the Mallam Junction-Tetteh-Quarshie dual-carriageway, which commences next year, the opening of an International Financial Services Centre next month and the establishment of a Bauxite Refinery in the course of the year.
On the energy front, he said, the future was promising, saying there could be an additional source of oil soon. The Bui Dam also starts in September, while the West African Gas Pipeline Project comes on stream by the end of this year.
Government was also working on coal generation. President Kufuor asked the Ministers to put their shoulders to the wheel so that, "the Black Star that we are would continue to shine beyond Africa."
The Ministers would be discussing "Governance, Relations between Ministers and their Deputies, the Economy, Energy, the School Feeding Programme, the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) and the National Health Insurance Scheme, among other things.
