Govt says Gallup polls show NPP's bad policies

Accra, June 14, GNA - Government on Tuesday condemned its critics who claim that statistics from a recent poll suggested that Ghanaians fared better under the former administration than the present one, describing their assessment as "intellectual dishonesty of the highest order".
It said the critics had selectively picked figures from the survey undertaken by renowned pollster, Gallup, over a four-year period from 2007 to 2010 to assess government and to draw conclusions that were not factual.
"The Ghanaian people expect of their political leaders to be honest and sincere with facts. They do not expect them to engage in dishonesty and setting their own questions and marking it," said Deputy Information Minister, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, at a meet-the-press series in Accra.
The survey indicated that in 2007, 20 per cent of Ghanaians lived comfortably on their present incomes, 30 per cent got by on their present incomes, 31 per cent found it difficult to live on their present income and 11 per cent found it very difficult on their present income.
In 2008 the figures changed to 11, 27, 35 and 18 per cent respectively, whilst in 2009, the statistics showed that 10 per cent were comfortable, 15 per cent got by, 44 per cent found it difficult and 29 per cent found it very difficult to line on present income.
In 2010, the survey found that four per cent lived comfortably on their present incomes, 20 per cent got by on their present incomes, 21 per cent found it difficult to live on present incomes and 34 per cent found it very difficult on present incomes.
"What our critics have done is to selectively pick figures from only 2007 and 2010 and then draw their own conclusions," said Okudzeto Ablakwah.
"We can understand the difficulties of the President's critics as the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians are testifying to the good works of the President in bringing us out of the doldrums.
"Indeed the President has said it would not be an easy road but with dedication and honesty, getting our priorities right as a nation and with the right vision, progress will be achieved," he said.
Okudzeto Ablakwah noted that all credible statistics that had been put out by various international and national bodies and even the Gallup poll had showed that real progress was being made by the Mills Administration in all sectors.
He said that it was obvious from the Gallup survey that between 2007 and 2009, the New patriotic Party (NPP) had reduced the number of Ghanaians who were living comfortably on their present income from 20 to 10 per cent, reduced the number of Ghanaians who were getting by on their present income from 30 to 15 per cent, increased the number of people who found it difficult on their present incomes from 30 to 44 per cent and also increased the number that found it very difficult on their present income from 11 to 21 per cent.
He said to be fair to the facts, one needed to compare the 2009 figures of the survey with the 2010 figures when assessing the NDC government and not with the 2007 figures of that poll as the NPP had been consistently doing.
The Deputy Minister said the statistics of that poll had actually indicated that the NDC government had made people better off with their present incomes if compared to the period under the NPP, wondering why critics of the government continually used the Gallup poll, which rather revealed how the past administration 93galloped the nation into poverty".
"President Mills is well aware that challenges remain. Rome was not built in a day. Nevertheless, let us be honest in acknowledging real progress and let us desist from deliberate distortions and intellectual dishonesty," he said.