President asks the media to desist from rumour mongering

President John Dramani Mahama, has urged the media to desist from rumour mongering, speculation and wild allegations, to help ease political tension and prevent electoral violence.

He reminded them of their crucial role in ensuring a violent-free elections and the maintenance of peace before, during and after the December 7 polls.

President Mahama asked the media to verify their stories before going public and carry out their duties with responsibility and absolute discretion.

He gave the advice during an interaction with journalists in Kumasi on Wednesday, to round-off his campaign tour in the Ashanti Region.

He repeated his personal commitment to make sure that peace exist before, during and after the elections and invited other presidential candidates to do the same.

He said one of the priorities of his government in its next term would be the implementation of a number of initiatives to generate jobs for the youth.

In line with this, a Youth and Job Enterprises Development Centre would be established to promote entrepreneurial skills and assist the youth with credit to start their own businesses.

The government, he said, had received $100 million World Bank facility to set up incubating processes to grow and expand small and medium enterprises to create more jobs.

A stimulus package is also being developed in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries and the Private Enterprises Foundation to establish “Champion Industries”, which would be supported with plants and equipment to help increase their production capacity.

President Mahama noted that the development of gas infrastructure in the Jubilee Fields is going to open employment opportunities, and underlined the determination of his administration to enforce the local content law to get foreign investors in the oil and gas sector to hire more skilled Ghanaians.

Government, he said would continue to grow the economy and open space for more young graduates to be employed.

His vision is to open economic opportunities for Ghanaians irrespective of political affiliation.

Answering a question on the increasing incidence of illegal mining, President Mahama said a recent survey indicated that about one million young people are engaged in illegal or small-scale mining activities.

This he said had come about because of increase in the prices of gold in the world market.

The government is therefore taking steps to regulate the activities to ameliorate the negative impact on the environment.

He said a taskforce had been set up to deal with foreigners engaged in illegal mining activities.

President Mahama asked the people to unite to push the nation’s development agenda and avoid acts that could endanger its peace and stability.