We welcome Nana Addo’s call for election of MMDCEs

The Progressive People’s Party has learnt that the flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has indicated his full support for the call to elect our Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives. According to media reports, Nana Akufo Addo is quoted to have said in United Kingdom that “The time has come to bring accountability to local government through competitive politics. Election of DCEs at the local level can no longer be delayed. This is going to give a great boost to local initiatives and local self-reliance”

The PPP welcomes Nana Addo’s late jump unto the band wagon. The PPP has been at the fore front of this national crusade to amend the 1992 Constitution to make it possible for all MMDCEs to be elected by universal adult suffrage to bring accountability and development to the local level. The PPP has, together with other stakeholders, has made representations on this matter to the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee, the Council of State, the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana and to the President, His Excellency John Mahama. As, it is the case in all matters, the decision by Nana Addo is better late than never.

We wish Nana Akufo Addo well in his endeavours and thank him for his support in this crusade but we expect that he will continue to support the PPP to bring this change to the people of Ghana when the PPP is given the mandate from January, 2017.

We are also aware that Nana Akufo Addo has promised to appoint an Independent State Prosecutor to tackle corruption effectively. We wish to invite Nana Addo to give serious consideration to the other eight items on our ten (10) point agenda since the PPP has become a new source of inspiration for the NPP’s policy direction.

We expect Nana Addo to support the policy of free and compulsory education from kindergarten to senior high school for every Ghanaian child so that we can give real hope and a guaranteed future through a truly comprehensive education policy such as the one being championed by the Progressive People’s Party.

The PPP’s bright red sun is indeed shining on all of Ghana and we encourage all Ghanaians to give us their support and votes in the 2016 elections so that we can bring real transformation to our country.

Kofi Asamoah-Siaw

Policy Advisor

THE TEN (10) POINT AGENDA OF THE PPP

1. Create a just and disciplined society. Create a just and disciplined society with a passion for excellence within ten years and with science and technology as the cornerstone, become a higher level middle income country. This will include modernizing agriculture and providing a market to sustain our farmers and fishermen.

2. Improve the Performance of Government. Reform state institutions, make government efficient and raise revenue to be able to pay public servants well to motivate them facilitate the work of the private sector and Ghanaian society in general.

3. Give Power to the People for Development. Sponsor changing the Constitution to enable the election of all District Assembly Members and District/Municipal/Metropolitan Chief Executives to ensure local accountability and rapid development. This we will do in one term of office.

4. Strengthen Parliament to perform its legislative duties effectively. Sponsor changing the Constitution to abolish the provision that allows Ministers of State to also serve as Members of Parliament. We believe that this move will make available for governance a large pool of qualified, experienced Ghanaian talent whose expertise is currently unused and therefore lost to Ghana. This we will aim to complete in one term of office. Concurrent with this objective will be a solid determination to give Parliament the facilities and resources needed to pass good laws and scrutinize the proposals submitted by the Executive effectively.

5. Provide Quality Education for Every Ghanaian Child. Standardize school facilities from kindergarten to Senior High School with libraries, toilets, classrooms, kitchen, housing for teachers, playground, etc: and Ensure free and compulsory education in public schools from kindergarten to Senior High School (including computer training). We will deploy an “Education Police” to enforce the compulsory aspect of our policy. An integral part of this objective will be an objective to significantly increase vocational training so that all school leavers gain employable skills. This will include a comprehensive sports programme to instill discipline and promote better health.

6. Provide Energy for Industrialization and Rapid Development. Implement solutions with a sense of urgency to meet domestic needs for industry and domestic use and make Ghana a net exporter of power again in four years. To enable us achieve this objective, we will provide tax incentives to enable development of alternative sources of fuel and power – bio fuels and solar. We aim to ensure that the contribution from alternative sources of energy reaches a minimum of 10% of what we need in a decade. Harness our natural resources (particularly oil and gas) to ensure maximum benefit and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

7. Provide Better Health Care and Cleaner Environment. Ensure a cleaner environment free from preventable diseases like malaria, cholera and guinea worm. Provide affordable and accessible health care for all in every region. Ensure emergency care throughout the country to save lives. Our focus will be in the area of prevention where education is the key.

8. Attack Crime, the Drug Trade and Corruption. Attack crime, the drug trade and corruption aggressively using leadership by example, being modest in government, passing and implementing the Right to Information Bill and ensuring an independent prosecutor’s office exists separate from the Ministry of Justice. Strengthen the Narcotics Control Board to make it the agency responsible for fighting the drug trade with all the human, financial and other resources needed for success. Strengthen the Police Force by providing resources and training to fight crime.

9. Empower the Diaspora. Establish a Secretariat to cater for the needs of Ghanaians Abroad and the African Diaspora by June 30th 2013. Provide a support system to encourage re-entry, investment, safe and healthy vacations and transfer of knowledge and technology. Ensure full citizenship rights to Ghanaians Abroad so that they can vote and serve in public sector positions.

10. Create Jobs. Use government’s purchasing power to ensure that we eat what we grow and use what we produce in Ghana. Improve Ghana’s business climate to enable investment in job creation so that our people will stay at home to help develop the country and its economy. We will be relentless in providing support to Ghanaian industry and our farmers and fishermen using low interest loans, technical assistance, tax incentives and priority access to the Ghanaian market. To accelerate job creation nationally, an inter-region highway will be built with the same high quality throughout the country to open up the country for investment and development.