I got "far better than a pass mark" -JAK

Confident looking President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday addressed a Peoples Assembly in Accra where he rated his one-year in office as "far better than a pass mark" and asked the citizenry to evaluate the gains made so far.

"We have stabilised the economy and restored the confidence in the currency..........I don't see many failures though I see a lot of room for improvement", the President told a public forum making the ninth year of the Fourth Republic and one year of New Patriotic Party's (NPP) rule dubbed: "One year of positive change."

The Assembly, held at the Accra International Conference Centre, was on the theme: "Positive change, a good beginning." It was attended by a large number of people including Ministers of State, the Diplomatic Corps, Heads of the security agencies and the public.

President Kufuor gave an overview of his administration and in an answer to a question said: "We have been able to reduce inflation from over 40 to 23 per cent whilst the interest rates of the banks have been reduced from 50 per cent to 34 per cent."

He said the serial killings of women was one of the major concerns of the security agencies and it had ceased due to the support the government gave to the Police in collaboration with some external security organisations.

President Kufuor said accountability was being enforced to ensure the rule of law and good governance. He said he would pursue a vigorous agricultural production drive this year and gave the assurance to a questioner that this year's budget statement would come out with specific development vision.

President Kufuor said in a response to a question by the Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwah about the privatisation of the water sector that the government alone could not provide potable water to the people hence the need to access foreign investment to promote general efficiency in service delivery.

"It is not a sell out to people, who are out to exploit the country. No!" he explained. President Kufuor said the government's "Golden Age of Business" programme could not succeed without the active participation of labour, hence the need to create the enabling condition for their active participation in business growth.

He said his major priority was to build a corporate Ghana that would have the support of everybody. President Kufuor said although foreign business capital was necessary for the development of the nation this would not be allowed to discourage local initiative. "We are rather seeking foreign investment to promote medium and small-scale industries.