The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has stated categorically that the State of the Nation after three (3) years of the Mills led NDC administration is ‘precarious.’

PPP made the observation in a statement issued yesterday and signed by the party’s acting General Secretary, Kofi Asamoah-Siaw.

According to the PPP, President Mills’ perception of the State of the Nation which he presented to Parliament last Thursday does not reflect the real situation on the ground.

“At best, the Ghanaian economy is facing serious threat. President Mills is leaving this nation more divided than it used to be. We expected him to have addressed this worrisome development. The country is divided badly along ethnic and political lines and this is dangerous for our dear nation. Our healthcare delivery system has deteriorated. There is a high level of graduate unemployment. Our children have experienced a poor educational system and above all, there is the threat of violence everywhere,” the statement lamented.

The 1992 Constitution, which in religious jargon could be referred to as the Bible or Quran of Ghana, prescribes what the President must do every year. The Directive Principles of State Policy in Article 34 clause 2 of the 1992 Constitution, indicates that the President is supposed to report to Parliament at least once a year all the steps taken to ensure the realisation of the policy objectives contained in it; and, in particular, the realization of basic human rights, a healthy economy, the right to work, the right to good health care and the right to education. President Mills chose not to do this.

The PPP was of the strong conviction that President Mills did go to Parliament to render an account of his stewardship, “but he rather went there to deliver a campaign speech. We think the speech was misdirected considering the timing and the audience.”

“We are convinced that the person, who wrote the statement for Prof Mills, has done this NDC Administration and the President great disservice as what was contained in the statement does not reflect the factual picture of what exists in the country. The Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) has been proven not to be Free and Compulsory as we were made to believe. It is sad to recall that the 2011 BECE results turned out to be the worst in 13 years with many schools scoring zero percent passes. There are still, many, many schools under trees,” PPP noted.

Graduate unemployment in Ghana, according to PPP, has gradually become endemic with the majority of the youth jobless-a situation the statement noted has led to the formation of the unemployed Graduate Association of Ghana (UGAG).

“This is a fact and not propaganda as the President may want us to believe,” the statement averred.

“The economy of Ghana must always benefit Ghanaians. We cannot have a country called Ghana where all the major industries like Oil and Gas, Telecom, Banking, Mining, etc are all owned by foreigners. Who do we think the profits go to? Ghana cannot afford to hand over its major assets to Foreigners; we must safeguard and protect the national interest at all times. We had expected President Mills to deal with such matters instead of turning Parliament into a campaign ground.” “The Ghanaian cedis have lost huge value. The traders are disturbed and business people are worried. This economy can fail this year with huge fuel and electricity costs that are making Ghana a high cost business destination.”

“President Mills as a presidential candidate was seen as a fair-minded person and a disciplinarian. However, his attitude in addressing corruption as President Mills has been directly opposite what he preached. Prof. Mills’ effort at solving corruption has not been successful. Allegations of corruption have not been investigated and dealt with successfully with examples being the Muntaka and the Mabey and Johnson cases,” the PPP lamented.