Mills will not stop building a Better Ghana —NDC UK Secretary tells NPP

*President Mills will not stop building a Better Ghana just because it’s a Holiday—NDC UK Secretary tells NPP*

The Secretary of the ruling NDC party in the UK and Ireland, Mr Prince Kassim Alubankudi has said the opposition New Patriotic Party’s suggestion that President John Atta Mills should not travel out of Ghana to conduct urgent government business during the Christmas holiday “is a very dangerous and backward approach to governance and a recipe for economic underdevelopment.” According to news reports quoting NPP Communications Director Nana Akomea, the opposition NPP thinks President Mills shouldn’t have travelled out of Ghana to conduct important Government Business on behalf of the hardworking people of Ghana just because it’s “Christmas day”. **

Responding to the NPP’s attacks on president Mills, the NDC UK Secretary said “the NPP's Nana Akomea is just demonstrating how uncaring the NPP and Akufo-Addo will be if elected to govern Ghana again. As published by the pro-NPP New Statesman news website and carried by other news media, NPP Communications Director Nana Akomea was quoted as saying that ‘the NPP expected the President to spend, at least, the most important day on the Christian calendar here at home because even the New York Stock Exchange, the citadel of capitalism, does not operate on Christmas day’. The fact that the New York Stock Exchange does not open on Christmas day does not mean the Exchange does not open on the other days that President Mills will be working in the U.S., which are non-holidays following Christmas and Boxing Day. It is standard practice in the business world and across governments to see business and government leaders do their best to conclude various negotiations or seal important deals before the end of a given year, as part of their strategies for achieving success. In some cases, business and government leaders actually hold urgent meetings on holidays and weekends in order to take decisions before markets open on the next working day.”

According to the NDC UK & Ireland Secretary, “it is very unfortunate that the NPP pretends to be unaware of this standard practice especially at a time of serious global economic uncertainty when governments are frantically working hard to cushion their economies and protect their citizens from economic troubles. Even eurozone—and other European—leaders have in recent times met on public holidays and weekends to conduct urgent government business for the good of their citizens. In this last week of 2011, the New York Stock Exchange, the same institution cited by NPP’s Nana Akomea, will open for regular business from Tuesday 27th December 2011 until Friday 30th December 2011 which can be seen on the NYSE official website.

Given that the last working week of the year 2011 is open for regular business on the non-holidays of the Christmas and New Year season as shown by the New York Stock Exchange which according to the NPP’s Nana Akomea is the 'citadel of capitalism', why then is the NPP attacking President Mills for travelling to the USA to conduct official Government Business with other business executives? As we heard Nana Akomea say on Joy FM’s mid-day news on Boxing Day, it is very clear that the NPP is shamelessly trying—again and again—to make Ghanaians believe that the president is in bad health, when it is very clear that the humble President Mills is working very hard to make Ghana a better place for all Ghanaians.” New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange, NYSE, is open from Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.

NYSE, NYSE Amex, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca, NYSE Arca Options, NYSE Bonds and NYSE Liffe U.S. markets will observe U.S. holidays as listed below.

2011

2012

2013

New Years Day

January 2

January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

January 17

January 16

January 21

Washington’s Birthday

February 21

February 20

February 18

Good Friday

April 22

April 6

March 29

Memorial Day

May 30

May 28

May 27

Independence Day

July 4

July 4*

July 4*

Labor Day

September 5

September 3

September 2

Thanksgiving Day

November 24

November 22

November 28*

Christmas

December 26 (observed

December 25*

December 25*

Source: http://corporate.nyx.com/holidays-and-hours/nyse

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*Signed: *Prince Kassim Alubankudi

Secretary, NDC UK & Ireland Chapter