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THE STATE OF OUR NATION TODAY – What you were looking for

Gideon Sackitey, Accra

February 11, 2007

The 2007 State of the Nation Address was delivered by President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday amidst “yeah’, “yeah” cheers, but alas to a Parliament halved by an aggrieved minority, the National Democratic Congress Party.

The president's speech covered a wide range of issues concerning the vast majority of Ghanaians. Someof these issues have plagued the nation for several decades and have to this day not been effectively solved to make the pace of development readily felt and appreciated.

The Address itself was quite “exhaustive”, “comprehensive”, “complete” and was variously described by the impressive crowd of Service Commanders, Council of State, academia, religious leaders, business community and what have you as, of course, “very good.”

Cardinally, the address had heavy doses of steps to revive the nation’s floundering energy and power situation, economic performance, public sector reform, education, health, sports, social service, good governance and trade and industry.

For many, the issue of energy was most important. It has been number one on the minds of many. No! I am not talking about the fact that the energy rationing programme is worrying residential customers! Definitely no. Not that they do not matter. They do!

My major concern is to the numerous industries scattered across the country on which families depend to survive. The large number of workers who have had to go home and yet still that large number of industries that have had to shut down and the many others that have reduced their work force, because the bottom-line is they can no longer support such work force with such low productivity.

 

Therefore, the news that government has taken short to medium term measures to put an end to the embarrassing and expensive load shedding to which society and industry have been subjected to over the past six months is most welcome.

Besides, there are measures to include supply from the West Africa Power Pool where, according to President Kufuor there will be within two weeks, supplies from Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire to the tune of 200 megawatts.


Volta River Authority, the nation’s only power generating company is also poised to establish a 300 megawatt plant in Tema. It is also building another emergency plant to supply 126 megawatts of power by August this year.


Additionally, the Osagyefo Power barge, which really has been standing idle at Effasu-Mangyea will now, be empowered to produce 120 megawatts. The last time we were told that it was already in Tema.


To ensure that the current energy mess is completely eradicated, a private sector Ghanaian-Chinese joint venture company is to produce, in two phases, up to 600 megawatts of power; at least that’s what the President said and I want to take him by his word.


Government has also contracted three American companies to produce up to 110 megawatts by the end of April. This arrangement would altogether provide at least 500 megawatts, which is far in excess of the present shortfall.


The much awaited power plant by a number of mining companies to provide
80 megawatts in June is definitely coming on.


The President, like I said, is so obsessed with changing the energy situation that he once more said government has initiated action to build another hydro-electric dam, the Bui dam.

He confirmed the presence in China of Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and Mr Joe Ghartey, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to sign an agreement with the Chinese Exim bank for assistance towards the construction of the Bui dam which is designed to generate 400 megawatts of electricity.

Despite saying and doing all these nice things, the fact that President Kufuor did not mention one word of CORRUPTION in his over one hour speech has raked back sentiments that perhaps he might have just given up on the fight against corruption.

Professor Gyimah Boadi, Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) said it was “worrisome” that President Kufuor did not make mention of corruption even once in his over one hour statement to the nation.

“Not even to assure the nation that corruption was receiving the needed attention. It is an unfortunate omission considering the fact that the NDC minority party was boycotting Parliament on an issue such as the jailing of their Colleague Mr Dan Abodakpi for causing financial loss to the state.”

He noted that at a time when several anti-corruption lobby groups had come out with surveys pointing several fingers at government inaction to check corruption, especially in high places.

The same feeling was expressed by Mr Daniel Batidam, Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative, local arm of Transparency International.

“It seems the President is saying that he has done whatever he can about corruption. No more.”

He noted that at a time when corruption statistics were so high, for Ghana, the first time in several years, 3.0 per cent, the President owed it to the country to tell everybody what he was doing about the corruption menace.

Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Information and National Orientation thinks otherwise. He is of the opinion that many steps had been taken in the past and that institutions, including the courts, were working on corruption and so the subject needed not to be featured in the president’s State of he Nation Address.

Personally, I think he should have at least told us what the Office of Accountability he established in the Castle was doing, had done or intends to do! Likewise what offices such as the Serious Fraud Office (a hemorrhaging institution), Commission on Human Rights and Administrative are doing to reduce the high spate of corruption in the country?

It is important that corruption perception in the country is eliminated or at least reduced to the barest minimum. The question however, remains as to whose responsibility it is to do so.

 

But overall, some said in presenting the State of the Nation's address, President Kufuor was sincere in examining the problems of this country and very forward looking in his prescriptions.

Gideon Sackitey, Ghanadot.com, Feb. 11, Accra.



 


 

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