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Electoral laws will be observed at all times, Kufuor tells Peoples' Assembly
E. Ablorh-Odjidja, Ghanadot,
Analysis
Sekondi, Jan. 15, Ghanadot - The Seventh Peoples'
Assembly, held on Tuesday at the Sekondi High School,
gave citizens of the area a chance to interact face to face with President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The Assembly was conducted in a town
hall meeting format. It gave ordinary citizens the
opportunity to ask questions of
primary concern to them.
The idea for the Assembly was an innovation by the president
himself. Having been active in politic for such a long
time, in a country that has experienced so much upheavals in
the body politic, the need for such an innovation must have
been urgently felt by him.
Among officials
present were the Vice President Alieu Mahama,
some members of the Council of State and key Government
Ministers and Officials.
There was a record number of
people in attendance. The theme for the Assembly,
naturally, was "Ghana After 50: Looking into the Future with
Hope;" with 2007 being the 50th anniversary of Ghana's
independence.
President Kufuor used the
occasion to assure the nation that his party, the NPP,
would respect the electoral laws of the country
unconditionally.
NPP, the ruling party, he said, would "readily accept to let go its
hold on power in the event of a defeat at the polls,"
in response to a question by a Dr Asemfofro.
The Presidet further described
his party as "a law abiding" organization, and that the party
would concede to any verdict the people would deliver, come
the 2008 elections. His only hope was that the "other political parties
would do the same" for the peace of the country.
"What we would not allow" the president continued "is for anybody to use illegitimate
means to usurp power."
Thus in a succinct statement, he
reminded the country of the rocky road it had traveled in
the past while at the same time, without mentioning it, he
drew attention to the fate that had recently befallen sister
countries on the continent, countries where governance had
become a problem because of unsavory results from the polls.
President Kufuor assured the country of "the open and transparent"
manner that his government intended to conduct the coming
elections. He concluded that the manner of this
conduct would create no legitimate reason for people to
doubt the outcome of the 2008 elections.
He said the important thing was for the entire society to be
alert and vigilant to ensure that due process was adhered to at all times
so as to make the results credible and acceptable to all.
Questions and concerns raised during the Assembly ranged from the performance of the economy, the
alleged sale of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), the
need to improve the service conditions of the Security
Agencies, administration of justice, investments, the
killing of some Ghanaians in Gambia, education to
employment.
On the ADB, President Kufuor dismissed as untrue claims that
the bank was going to be sold. Rather, he said, the government was
only arranging for partnership with investors in order to raise the
capital base of the Bank.
The distortion of government intention through negative twisting
of the facts and the propaganda being bandied about the
venture, he
said, had not been helpful to the nation.
He said it was pertinent for the nation to dwell on what the
broadening of the investment base would do to the national
economy. The investment that would be brought to the
bank would help to create more jobs and put more money into the pockets of the people.
Responding to the Gambia killings, President Kufuor, said
the two countries had agreed to submit the matter to the
Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), for
thorough investigation.
This had been put on the agenda of the sub-Regional body at
its meeting in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, this week, he
stressed.
Touching on fuel prices, he said, a barrel of crude oil that
sold at about 18 dollars in 2000 "is now selling at about 100
dollars." He called for patience on the part of the people
to allow the current buoyant economy to work things out.
President Kufuor, in an answer to another question about
alleged plans by government to stop the mass cocoa spraying
and the application of hi-grade fertilizers, debunked the
idea. He said cocoa
production was in the national interest.
The government, President Kufuor said, had for its target an all time record cocoa
production of one million tons within the next three years.
Without the mass spraying and fertilizer application, this
target, he said, would be impossible to achieve.
Source
GNA
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