The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) considers the State of the Nation after three (3) years of the Mills-led NDC administration as precarious. President Mills’ perception of State of the Nation presented to Parliament this morning does not reflect the real situation of what is happening in the country. At best, the Ghanaian economy is facing serious threat. President Mills is leaving this nation more divided than it used to be and we expected him to have addressed that. The country is divided badly among ethnic and political lines and this is dangerous for our dear nation. Our healthcare delivery system deteriorated; there is a high level of graduate unemployment, a poor educational system is what our children have experienced and there is the threat of violence everywhere.
The 1992 Constitution, which in religious jargon could be referred to as the Bible or Quran of Ghana, prescribes what the President must do every year. The Directive Principles of State Policy in Article 34 clause 2 of the 1992 Constitution, indicates that the President is supposed to report to Parliament at least once a year all the steps taken to ensure the realization of the policy objectives contained in it; and, in particular, the realization of basic human rights, a healthy economy, the right to work, the right to good health care and the right to education.
We are certain that the President did not appear before the house today to render an account of his stewardship, but he rather went there to deliver a campaign speech. We think the speech was misdirected considering the timing and the audience.
We are convinced that the person, who wrote the statement for Prof Mills, is a very untruthful person because what was contained in the statement does not reflect the factual picture of what exists in the country. For instance, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) has been proven not to be Free and Compulsory as we were made to believe. It is sad to recall that the 2011 BECE results was the worst in 13 years with many schools scoring zero percent passes.
Graduate unemployment in Ghana has gradually become endemic with the majority of the youth jobless leading to the formation of the unemployed Graduate Association of Ghana (UGAG). This is a fact and not a propaganda as the President may want us to believe.
The economy of Ghana must always benefit Ghanaians. We cannot have a country called Ghana where all the major industries like Oil and Gas, Telecom, Banking, Mining, etc are all owned by foreigners. Who do we think the profit go to? Ghana cannot afford to hand over its major assets to Foreigners; we must safeguard and protect the national interest at all times. We had expected President Mills to deal with such matters instead of turning Parliament into a campaign ground.
The Ghanaian cedi has lost huge value. The traders are disturbed and business people are worried. This economy can fail this year with huge fuel and electricity costs that are making Ghana a high cost business destination.
It is an undisputable fact that corruption has engulfed the nation. President Mills as candidate was seen as a fair-minded person and a disciplinarian. However, his attitude in addressing corruption has been directly opposite what he preached. Prof Mills’ effort at solving corruption has not been successful. Allegations of corruption have not been investigated and managed to deal with the problem successfully with examples being the Muntaka and the Mabey and Johnson cases.
There have been several other cases of corruption where the people involved have been discharged simply because they are members of the NDC. Gargartuan Woyome and Waterville is a running issue and we are hoping to see where it will end. President Mills failed to address this matter.
One point made by President Mills today that we agree with is the good work of the Constitutional Review Commission. It is our hope that the implementation of their recommendations will be treated with a sense of urgency.
We want all Ghanaians to know that an administration led by the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) will be open, transparent and will attack corruption and indiscipline with a sense of urgency so that we can build a just and caring society that is prosperous. The time for action is now.
Awake Ghana for Progressive People’s Party (PPP)
Signed
Kofi Siaw-Asamoah
Secretary
0208274852
