Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Presidential Candidate of National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday said President John Agyekum Kufuor had lost steam in his battle against corruption.
He said it was: "Rather disappointing that a President, who campaigned and won elections on the strength of fighting corruption, woefully failed to account to the people, the state of corruption in his last address in his final term of the current mandate." The NDC Presidential Candidate was addressing Journalists after President Kufuor delivered the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday.
Prof. Mills said the fight against corruption was mere rhetoric by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government, adding that President Kufuor failed to mention specific steps he had taken to curb corruption. "No where in his speech did he mention what has actually been achieved in the fight against corruption."
Prof Mills said the NPP promised Ghanaians that when voted into power, it would carry the fight against corruption to the letter: "But sadly, today what do we see? Things are worse off than they have ever been before."
He described the address as just a chronology of the same things that President Kufuor dilated on in his inaugural speech and contained nothing by which Ghanaians could measure his performance.
Mr Doe Adjaho, the Minority Chief Whip, told the Ghana News Agency: "The address was just like playing an old gramophone record. We knew all the things that he said. What we wanted is something new that they have added to our national development plan."
He noted that in a year when Ghana's position on the corruption index had gone up, "it was expected that the President will mention measures and reforms that have been put in place and what the exact situation is as at now".
"Clearly, he has abandoned the fight against corruption. His statements show that the man is at the end of his wits and has nothing more to say or do for this nation."
Mr Adjaho described the opening statements of the President as very divisive, especially coming in an election year, "one would have thought that the President would talk on issues that would bring us together, rather than the 'we and them syndrome' that will no doubt pull us more apart".
Mr Adjaho said the Government was expected to give hope, "and if after three years what we can get is a chronology of how bad things were, then I think you have to move away and give others the chance". Mr Adjaho and Mr John Mahama, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole-Bamboi described the situation in Dagbon as disappointing, noting that no mention was made of bringing those, who assassinated Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, Paramount Chief of the area, to book.
"If we do not quickly look at correcting and bringing these persons to book, we would be encouraging the culture of impunity, which obviously is not in Ghana's interest."
Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader, described the address as "inconsiderate" and failing to address the aspirations of the ordinary Ghanaian.
He said: "There were a lot of things the President could have talked about but he only talked about things that we all knew about already."
Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Deputy Minister of Information, had a different opinion altogether. He said the claim by the opposition that corruption had gone up in the country was not true.
"If they have any clue of corruption, they should bring an action against the persons involved. You cannot just go about crying corruption, corruption without providing concrete evidence."
Mr Barfour Agyeman-Duah, Associate Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) gave the President full marks and expressed the hope that Ghanaians and the opposition would see reason in his (President's) ways.
He said the President had in the last few weeks talked extensively on how he had been fighting corruption and did not need to mention it again in his address.
"I think that the issue has been over-flogged and the President himself had in the last few weeks talked about efforts that were being taken to bring corruption down. There was, therefore, no need to repeat them here again," he said.
Mr Dan Lartey, Leader of the Great Consolidated People's Party, said, "it was a mere election campaign.
"The President's address did not contain anything. It was just an opportunity to campaign to the people."
Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Presidential Candidate of National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday said President John Agyekum Kufuor had lost steam in his battle against corruption.
He said it was: "Rather disappointing that a President, who campaigned and won elections on the strength of fighting corruption, woefully failed to account to the people, the state of corruption in his last address in his final term of the current mandate." The NDC Presidential Candidate was addressing Journalists after President Kufuor delivered the State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Thursday.
Prof. Mills said the fight against corruption was mere rhetoric by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government, adding that President Kufuor failed to mention specific steps he had taken to curb corruption. "No where in his speech did he mention what has actually been achieved in the fight against corruption."
Prof Mills said the NPP promised Ghanaians that when voted into power, it would carry the fight against corruption to the letter: "But sadly, today what do we see? Things are worse off than they have ever been before."
He described the address as just a chronology of the same things that President Kufuor dilated on in his inaugural speech and contained nothing by which Ghanaians could measure his performance.
Mr Doe Adjaho, the Minority Chief Whip, told the Ghana News Agency: "The address was just like playing an old gramophone record. We knew all the things that he said. What we wanted is something new that they have added to our national development plan."
He noted that in a year when Ghana's position on the corruption index had gone up, "it was expected that the President will mention measures and reforms that have been put in place and what the exact situation is as at now".
"Clearly, he has abandoned the fight against corruption. His statements show that the man is at the end of his wits and has nothing more to say or do for this nation."
Mr Adjaho described the opening statements of the President as very divisive, especially coming in an election year, "one would have thought that the President would talk on issues that would bring us together, rather than the 'we and them syndrome' that will no doubt pull us more apart".
Mr Adjaho said the Government was expected to give hope, "and if after three years what we can get is a chronology of how bad things were, then I think you have to move away and give others the chance". Mr Adjaho and Mr John Mahama, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole-Bamboi described the situation in Dagbon as disappointing, noting that no mention was made of bringing those, who assassinated Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, Paramount Chief of the area, to book.
"If we do not quickly look at correcting and bringing these persons to book, we would be encouraging the culture of impunity, which obviously is not in Ghana's interest."
Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader, described the address as "inconsiderate" and failing to address the aspirations of the ordinary Ghanaian.
He said: "There were a lot of things the President could have talked about but he only talked about things that we all knew about already."
Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Deputy Minister of Information, had a different opinion altogether. He said the claim by the opposition that corruption had gone up in the country was not true.
"If they have any clue of corruption, they should bring an action against the persons involved. You cannot just go about crying corruption, corruption without providing concrete evidence."
Mr Barfour Agyeman-Duah, Associate Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) gave the President full marks and expressed the hope that Ghanaians and the opposition would see reason in his (President's) ways.
He said the President had in the last few weeks talked extensively on how he had been fighting corruption and did not need to mention it again in his address.
"I think that the issue has been over-flogged and the President himself had in the last few weeks talked about efforts that were being taken to bring corruption down. There was, therefore, no need to repeat them here again," he said.
Mr Dan Lartey, Leader of the Great Consolidated People's Party, said, "it was a mere election campaign.
"The President's address did not contain anything. It was just an opportunity to campaign to the people."
