Mills sure of rebound of Ghana's economy

Accra, April 14, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday said his Government met the economy in a worse state than it thought but there were enough State's assets, which Government would manage prudently to turn the economy around and make it liquid. He said whether he would subscribe to any foreign prescription or not to salvage the economy would be dictated by the exigencies of the time, but added that, Government was tackling the nation's economy in a holistic manner.

President Mills gave the assurance at a press conference, held at the Castle, Osu, in Accra, as part of activities marking the first 100 days of his government, which falls on Friday April 17, 2009. The assessment of his first 100 days was in line with promises contained in the manifesto of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).


The NDC promised a leaner government compared to that of the Former New Patriotic Party administration; respect for accountability and probity; cutting off of extravagance and profligacy; review of taxes and tariffs; inauguration of the Board of the National Council for Persons with Disability; tackling of the sanitation problem; composition of Boards and control of armed robbery.


President Mills said agriculture remained one of his Government's priorities and it was working to reintroduce the Youth in Agriculture Programme.


President Mills gave his administration high marks and said Government had achieved most of the things it set out to do within the period.


He said the mandate of the government was not 100 days but four years and the first 100 days were used to lay a solid foundation. He said the austerity measures being put in place would pay dividend beyond 100 days of Government, adding that there was not even one decision that he had taken that, on hindsight, he would want to correct.

He said those promises that needed more time to fulfil would be met in due course adding that there were positive signals from the investor and business communities for more job creation.


President Mills said the previous administration had foreign reserves and import cover to support the cedi.


The President also expressed confidence in his appointees to reach performance targets to execute the better Ghana agenda of Government, but warned that he would not spare the rod on errant appointees and those who failed to deliver.


He repeated that he would run an open, honest and transparent government, and that Government's promises to the people were "sacred" and "we should abide by them".


On the furore about some nominees for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) President Mills said a lot of consultation took place and he had high regard for the Party's team that went round to select the candidates and warned that those who would fall short of his Government's standard would be fired.

On his movement to the Jubilee House, President Mills said that was not his priority. He said there were promises that had to be fulfilled first "before I go and get ensconced in the Jubilee House". On his position to review the Vodafone/Ghana Telecom deal before he came to power, he said a review could take place at any time, even after the re-branding of Ghana Telecom as Vodafone.


He said the Government was still gathering information that was not available to them while they were outside government. The President said a national debate would soon be opened to finally determine whether to run the Senior High School (SHS) course for three or four years.


The previous government started implementing a four-year SHS programme, rather than a three-year programme.


In a reaction to the proposed debate, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, Director General of the Ghana Education Service, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said he was impressed with the President's interaction, and called for the debate to come off early to determine how long students, who were at present in the second year of SHS, would be in school.


Mr Ransford Tetteh, President of the Ghana Journalists Association, said the interaction was a good exchange for the President to "set the records straight" as far as the presidency was concerned. He praised the frequent interaction with the media promised by President Mills, saying it was good for growing democracy in Ghana. 14 April 09