Two years of failed promises - Minority

Two Years Of NPP Administration: A LITANY OF BROKEN PROMISES AND SHATTERED DREAMS. MINORITY PERSPECTIVES

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, thank you very much for responding to our call at such short notice.

1.1 The President J.A. Kufour only last Thursday presented his State of the Nation Address to Parliament. Despite his best effort to present a picture of progress and achievement, his statement failed to inspire any hope in the vast majority of Ghanaians that there will be anything beyond further belt tightening in the entire 4-year term of the NPP administration.

1.2 Prior to his State of the Nation address, the NPP administration had celebrated the second anniversary of its assumption of office with elaborate ceremony and the attendant pomp and pageantry with little regard for economic prudence in the face of all the difficulties facing the nation.

1.3 Despite all the razzmatazz, spin and propaganda it has become increasingly clear that two years after President Kufour assumed the reins of power in this country, the record of his administration is a litany of broken promises and shattered dreams. Notwithstanding all the spin in the media and at the people’s assemblies in the regions and districts, the government has failed to raise any glimmer of hope in the people that their lives will get any better in the fast diminishing period remaining of the NPP’s tenure of office.

1.4 After winning the mandate of the good people of Ghana with sugar coated promises of turning Ghana into a land of milk and honey, two years of NPP in power is a story of increased poverty and desperation. The poor and vulnerable in society lead desperate lives and find it difficult to eke out even the barest existence.

1.5 Lack of well thought out sectoral policies, inability to cut waste, extravagance in government, and over reliance on increased taxes, tariffs and prices of basic products like petroleum are all a clear indication that the government has reached the end of its wit in resolving the challenges facing this country.

1.6 The bloated size of government created by the recruitment of all manner of special assistants and presidential aides, some of whom are paid in foreign currency and a general lack of prioritization in expenditure outlay has constrained the investment budget and reduced government’s ability to meet the development expectations of the people.

1.7 In the absence of any clear development programme of their own, the NPP has resorted to the plagiarization of ongoing NDC projects or projects in the pipeline. In the past few weeks many of these NDC initiated projects have been repackaged with accompanying sod cutting or commissioning and presented as achievements of the NPP government.

1.8 It is especially disheartening and incomprehensible that at a time when the international economic environment is most favourable to Ghana with cocoa prices at a 20 year high above $2,200 per ton and gold pushing $370 per ounce, a relatively stable oil price around the $30 mark and a reported inflow in excess of $1 billion in foreign remittances, life for the average Ghanaian should be so desperate and hopeless.

1.9 Ladies and Gentlemen of the media; a review of the sectoral performances at the micro level will give you a better understanding of the lack of progress and stagnation that has afflicted this country since the advent of the NPP into power in 2001.

ECONOMY

2.0 There is no gold in the “Golden Age of Business.” Indeed this has become an increasingly meaningless slogan for the private indigenous business sector and is in fact increasingly becoming a “Stone Age of Business” if you gauge by the difficulties confronting surviving businesses. Government has failed to put out any policies to practicalize the concept of the Golden Age of Business and it remains only a pipe dream in the mind of its initiator – President Kufour.

2.1 High taxes, tariffs, duties and levies have increasingly combined to constrain the Ghanaian private sector and limit its ability to compete with the massive and cheaper imports that threaten to swamp this country. Government has also failed to deliver the target VAT refund of ?28.7 billion cedis further tying up precious capital of Ghanaian business.

2.2 Introduction of the national reconstruction levy, increased withholding tax from 5% - 7.5%, increased airport tax, increased port charges and levies, imposition of duties on previously zero rated items, increase in user fees etc have all become a millstone around the neck of Ghanaian industry and the general citizenry, constraining their ability to survive and aspire for a better quality of life.

2.3 The coup de grace to Ghanaian industry and the suffering people are represented in the astronomical increases in tariff of utilities and the price of petroleum products. In the last two years, electricity tariffs have gone up by over 160%, water by over 100%, petroleum products over 212%. These have not only stunted the growth of indigenous business, but have turned Ghana into a high cost point for doing business and significantly reduced the level of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into the country.

2.4 On the social front, university fees doubled, SSS fees have increased on average by about 80% bringing untold hardship to parents. Pregnant women, children under five and the aged are compelled to pay the full cost of medical bills because of government’s unwillingness or delay in reimbursing exemption claims from the hospitals and other health facilities.

2.5 Unemployment situation has worsened and the number of street boys and girls selling at traffic lights in the urban centres has increased tremendously. The registration of the unemployed carried out with all fanfare has turned out to be a cynical public relations gimmick leaving many hopeful youth holding onto little registration slips with no sign of jobs in sight. This is one of the major unfulfilled promises of the NPP government.

2.6 Modest macro-economic stability attained in the year 2001 has been eroded by fiscal indiscipline including over-borrowing by government from the Central Bank and commercial banks.

2.7 The external debt situation continues to worsen despite accession to HIPC. In just the last two years about another $1.1 billion (about ?9 trillion) has been added to the external debt stock. This excludes disbursements from the $1 billion dollar pledge at the Consultative Group Meeting held in Accra last year. Indeed this external debt situation would have worsened by an additional ?9 trillion if government had managed to access the dubious “IFC” loan.

2.8 Domestic debt accrued by the NPP Government in the short space of 2 years, amounts to almost ?3 trillion. It is a great paradox that a government that was debt averse and made a lot of noise about the debt it inherited from the NDC Government is itself now neck deep in debt. A further confession is required from the President on this score.

2.9 Currency stabilization was trumpeted as one of the major achievements of the NPP Government in its first year in office. It is clear now that the “democracy dividend” amounting to almost 10% of GDP represented by donor releases and remittances and other inflows triggered by the smooth political transition played a key role in the cedi stabilization of 2001. The cedi depreciated by only 3.6% in 2001. After the euphoria of the political transition, the cedi lost a whopping 15% of its value to the dollar and almost 30% to the pound sterling in year 2002.

2.1.0 Inability to stabilize the cedi is threatening macro-economic stability and fuelling inflation. Import inflation is high; therefore prices of goods and services with import content have shot up. The prices of milk, sugar, bread, rice, cooking oil, chicken, fish, poultry, drugs etc have all gone up. Inflation, which had dropped to almost 12.9%, has suddenly swung upwards and is hovering close to the 20% mark as at present.

2.1.1 Policy slippage has jeopardized Ghana’s programme with the IMF/World Bank and the other bilateral donors. Policy agreements reached with the donors for disbursement of the CG pledges have remained largely unfulfilled. As a result of the mirage of the “IFC” loan, government lost the commitment and will to pursue the benchmarks agreed with the donors. The disappearance of the IFC mirage has compelled the implementation of killer policies such as the 100% petroleum price increase, pending utility tariff increases, privatization of water, privatization of Ghana Commercial Bank, accelerated divestiture of SOEs, wage increase not exceeding the inflation rate of 15% etc in a relatively short space of time. By April Government must show a track record of implementing such harsh policies to be successful in negotiating a new agreement with the IMF.

ENERGY

3.0 The energy sector for the past 2 years under President Kufour has been one area that has brought hardship and disappointment to the majority of Ghanaians especially the disadvantaged and vulnerable. Even middle-income families are under threat of suffering a marked deterioration in the quality of their lives as a result of the steep increases in electricity and petroleum charges.

3.1 In February 2001, petroleum product prices went up by about 64%. In January 2002 petroleum product price again shot up by nearly 100%. This gives a comparative total increase of 212.5% in petroleum prices since President Kufour took over the administration of this nation. The increased petroleum price has not only inflicted hardship on the general citizenry, but has also increased production cost of Ghanaian business and fueled general inflation.

3.2 Government’s lack of candour in its justification of the astronomical price increase and its attribution to an ever changing TOR debt is simply disingenuous. It is clear that the NPP government in an attempt to satisfy its insatiable craving for revenue to fund its ever increasing expenditure, has found it convenient to ride on the back of petroleum price increases as an easy means to rake in additional revenues. This has necessitated the fixing of an ex-refinery price of ?12,800 per gallon far above accepted import parity levels. Naturally the increased ex-refinery price translates into increased revenues in the form of levies and taxes, which are calculated as a percentage of the ex-refinery price.

3.3 Petroleum price increases represent a line of least resistance. Rather than take steps to check its burgeoning expenditure, and the waste and corruption that threaten to engulf the government, the Kufour Administration finds it easier to inflict higher prices on the general populace. An announced decrease in fuel allocation to political appointees and senior government officials is exactly what it is – a cynical public relations gimmick. The public is not told what the level of these fuel allocations is and what the supposed cuts in these allocations would amount to. A decision not to increase salaries of political appointees is also ridiculous. The major expenditure on political appointees is not the relatively measly salaries they earn, but the perks and privileges of office. Free housing, electricity, water, telephone, car, fuel, travel, per diems etc etc. A refusal to increase basic salaries of the executive would be inconsequential in affecting their lifestyles.

3.4 The impact of the recent increases in fuel prices on workers and the Ordinary Ghanaian is still unfolding and the reported offer by government of a 15% increase in the daily minimum wage is not only an insult to the intelligence of Ghanaian workers, but also demonstrates gross insensibility of the government to the plight of the working class. While it is true that the minimum wage is a safety net, which serves as a benchmark, it must also be realistic and serve to cover the basic human needs of the lowest paid employee.

3.5 The NPP government must stop playing politics with organized labour and get down to serious negotiations before the nation is engulfed in strikes and demonstrations. It serves no purpose to accuse workers of unpatriotism for demanding just enough to get one decent meal a day for themselves their spouses and their children.

3.6 While the NPP administration compares fuel prices in other countries with Ghana, it refuses to recognize the comparatively low income levels of the Ghanaian worker and the imbalance in the cocoa price paid to our farmers vis-a-vis our neighbours.

3.7 Wage increase, as a cushion for the astronomical price increase will affect only mainly public sector employees. The bulk of the population in the informal sector and especially the rural poor who do not receive a regular income will bear the full brunt of the petroleum price increase.

3.8 Increases in price of kerosene, which is predominantly used for lighting and cooking in the rural areas will put the product out of the reach of the poor rural folk who will have to sleep in darkness and revert to the use of fuel wood/charcoal for cooking. Already there are reports that a bottle of kerosene sells as high as ?5,000 in rural areas in some parts of the country. Increase in the price of LPG is also triggering a shift back to the use of charcoal in many homes.

3.9 The effect of the increase in pre-mix fuel combined with increased importation of fish on coastal and inland fishing communities is already well documented in leaflets issued by the Research Dept. of the NDC. This makes the recent announcement by government of a supply of a further 1000 outboard motors a slap in the face for local fishermen. How does government expect them to power these motors at the current killer price for pre-mix? Reports from several coastal fishing communities indicates that fishermen are unable to go to sea because they cannot afford to buy enough pre-mix fuel to power their boats for a reasonable length of time. Some have resorted to using sails and paddling with manpower.

3.1.0 The story is similar for electricity tariffs. Electricity tariffs have been increased in excess of 200% since the advent of President Kufour to power. These steep increases have affected production cost of Ghanaian business and also the quality of life of many Ghanaian families. It is not uncommon these days to see houses with their power cut off not because of any fault with power supply but as a result of incapacity to meet the increased cost of electricity use. This is particularly common in the rural areas where incomes are significantly lower.

EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL WELFARE

4.0 Since 2001, a number of people have been asked to proceed on leave, and replaced without due process by the self-acclaimed apostles of rule of law. Threats of removals and transfers are still rife, all on the pretence of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness.

4.1 The scourge of these threats has dire debilitating effects on the efficiency of the civil service. Many more civil and public servants though at post are more than disenchanted.

4.2 There is a crisis in the administration of salaries and wages in the country, which goes beyond the current impasse over determination of a new minimum wage. The painstaking work that went into removing relative salary distortions in the public services through the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) have been undermined by the NPP government. After assuming the administration of this country, steps taken by the Kufour government outside the (GUSS) have created severe distortions in salary administration. This has created distortions in salary relativity within and across sectors. Some of the worse affected are the education service and the judiciary. The situation is leading to a threat of disruptive industrial actions.

4.3 The unemployment situation has worsened and there appears little hope for the large numbers of youth being churned out of the basic and tertiary educational institutions every year. A registration of the unemployed and under-employed carried out in 2001 has failed to ameliorate the situation and has turned out to be simply a public relations exercise. The promise of jobs for the youth on which the NPP campaigned strongly has become a mirage.

4.4 The unemployment situation was compounded by the wrongful termination of the appointments of more than 6,000 public sector employees from the National Mobilization Programme, NADMO, NFED etc. This has created extreme hardship and social dislocation in the lives of these employees some of whom have lost their spouses or have had their children’s education curtailed for inability to pay their school fees.

MINES

5.0 Very little attention has been paid to the sector over the last two years. This has resulted in extensive shut downs and a general reduction in the rate of FDI in this sector.

5.1 A duty of 5% on specific mining imports was slapped on the sector. This brought to an end an exemption, which was so pivotal in stimulating investment and production in the gold mining sector. The government in its prolific spin doctoring announced after the imposition of the 5% duty that a committee was to be set up to look at the issue of incentives for the mining industry in order to provide recommendations to attract investors. It is clear that this was a “ghost” committee. After two years there have been no such recommendations.

5.2 Government has not indicated a clear policy to address the problem of low levels of productivity and Technology of small-scale (galamsey) operators and its attendant environmental damage.

5.3 With no clear policy on even how to manage environmental damage and reclamation of land degraded by small-scale mining, government is on the verge of issuing licenses for large-scale mining in the last remaining forest reserves in the Ashanti, Eastern and Western Regions. This move will spell unmitigated environmental disaster for Ghana.

5.4 After 2 years of President Kufour’s administration, the establishment of a separate Ministry of Mines has shown very little to justify the huge expenditure outlay on its establishment except to satisfy a “job for the boys.”

AGRICULTURE

6.0 Contrary to President Kufour’s electoral promise to “grow what we eat, eat what we grow and can what we cannot,” the country’s dependence on imported food continues to grow at a geometric rate. Over the last two years the importation of all major food items have increased significantly. Despite the target of reducing rice imports by 30% and the much-trumpeted success in local rice production, rice imports have more than doubled. There are now many more varieties of imported rice flooding the market thereby creating a problematic situation for the marketing of locally produced rice. In the 4-yr period 1997 to 2000, Ghana imported a total of 688,000 mt of rice. In 2001 alone the import figure for rice was 312,000 mt. In 2002 from January to June 378,000 mt was imported. The recent attempt by the Minister of Agriculture to attribute the increased import figures on the use of our ports by our land locked neighbours is grossly misleading. Items meant for neighbouring countries are captured in transit trade statistics.

6.1 Import of poultry products more than doubled from $11 million in the year 2000 to $26 million by June 2002. Indications point to an even higher percentage by the close of year 2002.

6.2 In 2001 Ghana imported more than $10 million worth of tomato products principally from Italy while tomatoes continue to rot in various parts of the country. Promises of tomato processing plants have largely remained unrealized and farmers continue to suffer huge losses from the seasonal tomato gluts that occur frequently.

6.3 Large increases in license fees for the fishing industry from ?450,000 per boat in 2000 to ?8.5 million per boat in 2002 together with increased cost of inputs is threatening to collapse the local deep sea fishing industry. This situation has opened the way for heavy importation of fish by the Kufour administration through import licenses granted to party functionaries and cronies who promptly re-sell these licenses to registered cold store operators at huge profits. The result of this has been an increase of fish importation from $110 million in 2000 to almost $300 million in 2002

6.4 Yellow maize imports also increased from 5,000 tons in 2000 to 15,000 tons in 2001 and an estimated 20,000 tons in 2002.

6.5 These dismal figures have resulted in a refusal or inability of the Ministry of Trade and Industry to officially publish or release import statistics over the last two years.

6.6 The NPP’s propaganda machine was badly exposed when an 11 member Nigerian delegation arrived in the country to learn from Ghana’s experience in starch production and export. They had ostensibly been misinformed that Ghana had acquired considerable experience in starch production and export under the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI). The reality on the ground at the time was that machinery for the Ayensu Starch Factory were then being cleared from the port, the factory building was at the foundation stage and participating farmers were stuck with cassava for which they could find no ready market. Naturally, the delegation returned home disappointed.

6.7 During the year the smuggling of cocoa across the country’s borders continued because of the bad pricing policy of the NPP Government. The main attraction to smuggle has been the nearly ?400,000 difference per bag between the local price and the price in La Cote d’Ivoire. Government continues to pay a producer price of less than 50% of the current international market price of nearly ?2,400 per ton. The current producer price is ?8.5 million per ton compared to a world market price of over ?20 million per ton (i.e.$2,400 per ton x ?8,600 per US Dollar).

6.8 Preliminary figures released by Cocobod indicate that as much as $70 million has been lost this year through cocoa smuggling. This is inspite of all the huge expenditure on vehicles and logistics etc provided to the security agencies patrolling the nation’s borders. It is clear that the only sure means of curtailing smuggling is by removing the incentive through price mechanisms rather than physical policing of the borders. In his State of the Nation address President Kufour stated that the wide differential in price of petroleum products in the sub-region had encouraged an unprecedented level of smuggling activity across our borders hence the decision to increase the prices obtaining in Ghana. It is ironical that the same government, which increases prices ostensibly to stop smuggling of petroleum products, does not see the need to increase the producer price of cocoa to curtail smuggling.

6.9 Meanwhile the costs of inputs for the cocoa industry have risen unreasonably. Motorized spraying machine has gone from ?400,000 in 2000 to ?3.07 million in 2002. Gamalin has gone from ?20,000 per litre in 2000 to ?80,000 per litre in 2002. Knapsack sprayer from ?170,000 to ?500,000; Ridomil ?1,200 to ?11,000; Coside Cocobre etc ?6,000 to ?7,000; Cocoa fertilizer from ?45,000 to ?285,000 over the same period.

6.1.0 All these factors have combined to displace Ghana from the 2nd position to the 3rd largest producer of cocoa in the world.

HEALTH

7.0 Access to affordable health care was a major campaign issue in the last elections. The NPP Manifesto “Agenda for Positive Change” reads as follows: “NPP Government shall abolish the iniquitous “cash and carry” system of the NDC. Under NPP administration nobody in Ghana will be denied medical attention because of his or her inability to pay.” Two years into the NPP administration, the so-called iniquitous system continues to hold sway. Most Ghanaian families do not have access to quality, affordable health care. The exemptions system for the aged, pregnant women, infants and paupers has collapsed. Last year out of a provision of ?22 billion provided for exemptions, only ?7 billion was released. This compelled hospitals and health facilities to discontinue the exemptions. Patients continue to be refused treatment if they are unable to pay the cost. Patients are absconding from hospital to escape detention for inability to meet cost of their treatment. Many Ghanaians are turning to traditional medicine and faith healers as a result of their inability to access orthodox health care.

7.1 Doctors and Health professional continue to leave in droves. The promise by the President in his previous state of the nation address to improve the conditions of doctors, nurses and other para-medics has not been fulfilled. The little additional duty allowances (ADH) given to them by the previous administration are being taken away or reduced.

7.2 In his recent State of the Nation address President Kufour assured that the much-awaited Health Insurance Scheme, which was initiated by the previous NDC Administration, is ready to be launched nationwide. We await the details.

EDUCATION

8.0 Predictions of conflict and breakdown in cooperation following the appointment of two substantive ministers for education have come to pass. True to prediction there is now a virtual break down of administration in the Ministry. The two ministers scarcely relate to each other. In fact the Minister for Basic, Secondary and girl-Child education seems to have been rendered quite redundant and very frustrated. The minister’s appointment has caused a lot of administrative confusion in the ministry and her redundancy is quite apparent, as her only job seems to be to roam the country visiting schools and sermonizing on HIV/AIDS.

8.1 Even though the Review Committee has long finished its work and has duly submitted its report, government has neither made public the report nor published a white paper on the report. It appears quite apparent that the NPP government has lost interest in the Committee’s report mainly because it does not conform to the NPP’s view that NDC has “destroyed” the education sector. Additionally government’s avowed intention to abolish the 3-year SSS programme was firmly rejected by the Review Committee. We call on the President to promptly publish the report for public information.

8.2 Contrary to the promise made by the NPP to provide affordable education, students at all levels of education are being called upon to pay higher fees and academic user fees. Many pupils and students are expelled from school because of the difficulty their parents face in paying their school fees. It is obvious that President Kufour has failed to heed the lamentation of the little girl in the NPP campaign advert who asks why in a land rich with cocoa, gold and timber our parents are not able to pay our school fees. In many schools, especially in the tertiary sector, students face acute shortage of accommodation.

8.3 Investigations have shown that many new teachers are not being paid. Some teachers who have been promoted have not been paid their increments. Some have not even been put on their proper scale or rank. Some of the teachers who have been in the service for some time have been denied their promotions because of the NPP government’s inability to pay higher remuneration. The payment of salaries to some teachers under GES is now a big problem because the computerized IPPD has virtually broken down.

8.4 The NDC government started a vigorous programme on Distance Education. Now it appears the programme has been completely neglected. The NDC believed in promoting Non-formal Education in order to eliminate or significantly minimize the incidence of adult illiteracy. The NPP government has abandoned the laudable NDC programme. Many workers at NFED have been redeployed or abandoned on the flimsy excuse that they were cadres of the PNDC. Now the NFED programme appears completely run down.

8.5 The GETFUND seems to be the only lifeline to education. Thanks to the boldness and foresight of the NDC government. The point should always be made that the NPP when in opposition opposed the use of 2.5% VAT to set up the FUND.

ROADS

9.0 In President Kuffuor’s 2002 state of the nation address “vigorous infrastructural development” was listed as the number one priority to be pursued within the medium-term-framework.” Modernized Agriculture centred on rural development was also listed as the Government’s second priority under which the building and maintenance of feeder roads in food producing areas was to be pursued vigorously.

9.1 Most of the work included in government’s road programme consists of either works already in progress, projects for which funding had been secured but work not yet commenced or projects that had been designed and packaged and awaiting funding. As mentioned earlier projects including the Bole-Bamboi road, the Bawdie-Asankragwa road, the Sekondi and Tema urban roads, the Tetteh Quarshie interchange, the Achimota-Nsawam road initiated by the NDC have recently been repackaged and re-sold to Ghanaians as NPP projects. If some of the road projects initiated by the NDC could not actually commence before the previous government left office, the reason is to be found in the very explanation offered by President Kufour in his 2003 State of the Nation address and I quote “.... because we have to rely on donors and other multilateral agencies for almost all the funds for the development of roads, we are obliged to submit to and observe their varied procedures.... This invariably leads to long delays between the headline announcement of the project and the actual arrival of diggers and tractors on the roads.” Need we say more?

9.2 Another reason for the delay in executing many of the road projects for which President Kufour now wants to take credit, is the termination of the existing contracts on these roads upon assumption of office by the NPP.

9.3 Every single road mentioned in the NPP’s 2002 budget is among roads for which funds had already been obtained. Indeed, the Sogakope-Ho-Fume and Bole-Bamboi then being constructed and listed to continue in the 2001 budget were actually terminated by the NPP Government. The Oti-Damanko-Brewaniase and Bawdie-Asankragwa-Enchi roads were not so lucky as they were not important enough to be mentioned.

9.4 The Bole-Tinga road regularly mentioned, the Nkrumah Circle-Achimota road whose sod was recently cut, the MaCarthy Hill-Kasoa road (part of the Accra-Yamoransa road project), the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange for which funding had been secured under the NDC administration are taking off after an inordinate delay of more than two years.

9.5 The undue delay in the commencement of several road projects has also largely been because of a change of experienced and competent staff as well as an effort to change the ranking of projects in agreed programmes to the NPP’s political advantage. By not mentioning various stages of projects and indicating projects for which funds had been secured such as roads in the RSDP the NPP Government has grossly exaggerated it’s achievements in the road sector.

TRANSPORT

10.0 The programme of equipping the local private sector and foreign private investors has been aborted with the state taking over the running of high occupancy buses imported to operate a mass public transport system on a pilot basis under an ongoing NDC programme to strengthen the private transport sector. Instead very old, right-hand drive, double-decker, buses were imported in contravention of the existing law while scrapped outmoded buses were also received as gifts from Italy and a new organisation formed to run the buses on subsidy similar to other failed state-owned bus companies.

10.1 The improvement of the rail system and its extension to the North is unlikely to take off since even the simple construction of the Batsonaa bridge which will re-open rail access to Tema Port has not taken off in more than two years.

10.2 Government’s attempt to hand over Ghana Airways to a little known South African regional airline – Nationwide Airlines, was torpedoed by the vociferous private media. In a humiliating climb down the minister did all he could to cloud the issues and cover his tracks from what was clearly an embarrassing attempt to clandestinely sell-off Ghana Airways in a most intransparent manner and contrary to all the principles of zero tolerance for corruption.

10.3 In December 2002 the President Kufour commissioned the 1st phase of the rehabilitated Kotoka International Airport with a lot of fanfare. This project is an outstanding credit to the vision and foresight of the NDC to provide a fitting gateway to Ghana. Claims of port dredging as well as the use of our ports by land-locked neighbours are all part of the NDC’s famed Gateway Project funded by the World Bank.

COMMUNICATIONS

11.0 The sector continues to be plagued with uncertainty. Since the expiration of the exclusivity and duopoly agreements established under the Accelerated development Programme for the Telecoms Sector, operators and investors in the sector are not sure in what direction Government intends the industry to move. This vagueness has significantly slowed the robust growth the sector experienced from the mid 90s until 2000.

11.1 The regulatory agency the NCA remains weak and overwhelmed by the responsibility of the sector. The Minister of Communications continues to encumber the chairmanship of the board of the authority. The lack of independence of the NCA makes it difficult for the authority to build capacity and gain credibility in the eyes of industry players.

11.2 The impasse between Government and the strategic investor G-COM, has opened up many legal entanglements and stunted the growth of Ghana Telecom over the last 2 years. Backroom dealings and lack of transparency in selecting Telenor as the new management consultant to manage GT for a tree year term has ran into savage criticism by the media and industry analyst. The rush to sign on a new management consultant when an Interim Management Committee (IMC) made up of local personnel had performed so creditably remains beyond any logical comprehension. Lack of sound legal advice by the sector minister has created a legal conundrum that could prove embarrassing for government if the existing minority partners were of a litigious orientation.

11.3 The impasse over the penalty imposed on the second national operator (SNO) WESTEL remains unresolved. The issue of GNPC shares in WESTEL and what government intends to do with them also remains unclear. All these have delayed roll out by the SNO and created a state of uncertainty for the investors.

11.4 Uncertainty over what to do with VoIP has led to unregulated commercialization of the technology to the detriment of the two national operators. Little progress has been made since the GIMPA Conference decided that the NCA should come out with guidelines for licensing companies interested in providing service utilizing VoIP technology.

GOVERNANCE, LEGAL AND CONSTITUIONAL

12.0 After two years in the administration of the country, the oft repeated claims of the NPP that they are the apostles of democracy, rule of law and political plurality have been exposed as hollow and farcical. The notorious truth is that the NPP administration has for the past two years consistently and systematically prosecuted a sinister agenda to disintegrate the NDC, the largest opposition Party. NDC functionaries and former ministers of the NDC government have been targeted for vilification and harassment. Dismissals, premature retirement of senior public officers, arbitrary, intrusive and repressive searches of homes of NDC functionaries, violations of the privileges and immunities of NDC Parliamentarians, abrogation of business contracts involving businesses both local and foreign perceived to be pro-NDC, prosecution of NDC ministers before fast track courts, detentions, inquisitorial investigations by police teams are all varieties of instruments in the NPP’s veritable arsenal.

12.1 The campaign of harassment has also included selective official leaks to the NPP’s media allies, deliberate distortions and willful misrepresentations against NDC members, functionaries and office holders who are often portrayed as criminals and villains who have done nothing good for the nation.

12.2 The conduct of the NPP administration in reaction to the 28th May, 2002 Supreme Court verdict of 5 – 4 in the Tsatsu Tsikata v. Attorney General Case amounted to a contravention of Article 127(1) of the Constitution which insulates the judiciary from the control or direction of any person or authority “in the exercise of the judicial power of Ghana”. To secure a favourable verdict after invoking the review jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, new appointments were made to the Supreme Court.

12.3 Recent complaints by some judges about attempts by the Chief Justice (CJ) to interfere in cases pending before them have confirmed our worst fears that the CJ has become an instrument of manipulation for achieving predetermined outcomes in matters pending before the judiciary.

12.4 Thrice the NDC caucus in Parliament staged a boycott of parliamentary proceedings in order to dramatize its abhorrence of undemocratic practices or procedural abuses.

12.5 The declaration of Zero Tolerance for Corruption by the President at the inception of his administration has become a mere slogan. The real essence of the declaration is observed more in the breach than in its compliance. Its use as a weapon of political vendetta against political opponents is manifested by the selective manner in which persons belonging to other political parties have been harassed, prosecuted and persecuted in the Fast Track Courts while questionable deals and glaring malfeasances by the President’s own men are gleefully ignored or glossed over.

12.5 Apart from the Sahara deal and the Peugeot saga, we now have the Mango Gate scandal.“ Contrary to established procedure and without reference to the Forest Plantations Development Fund Board, the Minister for Lands and Forestry authorized expenditure of ?3.2 billion from the fund for the importation of Mango seedlings from Burkina Faso. The contract for supply was awarded to Messrs AGROVETS Ltd without going through due financial administration regulation procedure. There was no tender held and the seedlings were procured at ?15,000 per seedling when same could have been procured at almost half price of ?8,000 if the procurement had been by competitive tender. Meanwhile the urgency, which was stated as the reason for bypassing laid down procedure, was not reflected in the distribution of the seedlings. A large number of the seedlings were left to go bad or overgrow resulting in financial loss to the state. The timing of the importation, September/October was wrong since this is the start of the dry season in Ghana. Despite exposure by the media, President Kufour has made no move to investigate the deal. The Minister remains at post while Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata stands charged for exactly the same reasons, allegedly guaranteeing a loan to Valley farms without board approval.

12.6 Government has suppressed a report indicting the Tema Municipal Chief Executive for causing financial loss through the award of contracts without proper procedure. Following an investigation conducted almost one year ago by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into the incident a report indicting the TMA Chief Executive has been suppressed and Government has denied that any such report exists.

12.7 In total violation and disregard of the law prohibiting the importation of over-aged and/or right-hand drive vehicles into the country, the NPP administration did not only allow the importation of over-aged and right-hand drive buses into the country but with impunity acquiesced in their operation on Ghanaian roads. Subsequently the administration introduced a bill in Parliament amending the law to give special discretion to the Minister of Roads to allow the importation of such vehicles.

SECURITY LAW AND ORDER

13.0 The Yendi Massacre of 27th March, 2002 is perhaps one of Ghana’s most tragic incidents arising from a total collapse of law and order culminating in the gruesome murder of Ya Na Yakubu Andani II. Government’s handling of the crisis has left a lot of doubt about its status as an honest broker in Dagbon affairs. Other disputes like the Peki-Tsito, Alavanyo-Nkonya, Kokomba-Basare, and numerous land and chieftaincy conflicts have erupted all over the country in the short period of Kufour’s administration.

13.1 Bawku has also over the two-year period experienced eruptions in a simmering chieftaincy dispute and on both occasions with tragic consequences. The Bawku dispute like the Yendi one remains unresolved. There is anger and frustration over the President’s apparent failure to visit both communities when the problems occurred.

13.2 In spite of commendable efforts by the security services to stem the tide of the wave of armed robbery that swept the country in the early days of the NPP’s tenure there is still widespread apprehension of breaches of the law and security particularly in the urban centres. Robbery of banks and shops in broad daylight, carjacking and ambush of market-bound vehicles on the highway have now been added to the list of daring acts by criminal elements.

13.3 The Minority has taken note of the government’s effort to improve the mobility of the Ghana Police and also increase the number of Police personnel. We urge that the recruitment exercise should be conducted in a transparent manner and not be used as an opportunity to recruit party loyalist and activists some of whom may be unqualified.

13.4 It is heartening that government is continuing the programme of barrack rehabilitation commenced by the previous administration. Indeed the $10 million Chinese Government facility being used for this programme was negotiated by the then Vice President Professor J.E.A. Mills during his official visit to China in the year 2000.

NATIONAL RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (NRC)

14.0 The view of the Minority has always been that to the extent that there is a perception of division in the body politic to the same extent there must be reconciliation. However, the best framework for a sustainable, genuine and sincere reconciliation for our nation is one that is extensive, inclusive, non-retributive and incorporates bipartisan political support.

14.1 The National Reconciliation Act was railroaded through Parliament by the NPP administration totally disregarding the peculiar character of the Bill as a national reconciliation bill, determined to side-step the popular will of the Ghanaian people and contemptuous of the opinion of international experts on reconciliation and transitional justice.

14.2 The Act is fundamentally flawed and totally incapable of achieving national reconciliation. Indeed in Parliament it achieved the opposite when it polarized the house to the extent that the minority eventually declined further participation in its passage. It has a great potential of entrenching or even exacerbating any perceived division in the Ghanaian community.

14.3 Recent events at the NRC appear to have vindicated our position that the real intention of the President in forcing the NRC Act down our throats was to use it to promote the NPP agenda of vilifying the NDC, which is regarded as a successor to the AFRC and PNDC regimes.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

15.0 On the 7th of January 2001, the Rawlings Administration (NDC) bequeathed to the in-coming Kufuor Administration (NPP) a local government system that had achieved high standards in decentralization.

15.1 Upon assuming office (and for a greater part of 2001) the NPP Administration first caused a serious disruption in all districts when it revoked (prematurely) the mandate of the 30% government appointees and also terminated the appointments of all 110 District, Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executives. Personnel at the lower structures of the Assemblies were also not spared. The replacement exercise to fill these vacancies they had themselves created, took a great deal of time, especially in the case DCEs who had to be nominated by the President, approved by the Assemblies, and appointed by the President. As a result of this wholesale removal of DCEs some costly experimentation had begun. The quick swearing-in ceremonies and the inadequate or haphazard orientation courses are now having a toll on the administration of the districts countrywide. Today, there is a crop of DCEs whose grasp of the Local Government Law 1993 (Act 462) is inadequate, and explains the widespread malfeasance occurring in financial administration in almost all districts of the country.

A). There is lawlessness in the award of contracts, as this is done without reference to the provisions of LI 1606 (the District Tender Boards).

B). Disbursement of the District Assemblies Common Fund is being done without adequate discussion and approval by the Assemblies.

C). There is a virtual conversion of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) into a party fund, which benefits only members of a particular political party.

D). MPs are being intentionally kept out of District Assembly Sessions in order to prevent or minimize adverse comments on the DCEs’ stewardship of the District.

E). DCEs are also obstructing MPs in their attempt to access their share of the DACF by introducing complicated procedures or delays.

F). DCEs are exaggerating their powers vis-a-vis those of other functionaries, including MPs.

G). Public Servants are being harassed for political reasons, and it is done by the method of “forced leave”, “forced transfers”, and non-consultation with the DCD and other critical staff of the District Administration.

From the observation made above, it is difficult to see how these “rough and ready” DCEs can be agents of “Positive Change”.

15.2 Only recently with the disbursement of ?1 billion each to the district assemblies, in order to avoid the accountability of assembly guidelines and procedure, sole control of the fund was put in the hands of the DCE’s who determined the projects to be funded and contract value according to their own whims and caprices. Most projects financed from this fund were awarded on contract without reference to the district tender boards.

ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE

16.0 The Ministry of Environment and Science plays a key role in the socio-economic development of this country. Unfortunately, for the past two years this important sector has been marginalized and messed up with the removal of Technology from the Ministry. At the moment all the departments under the CSIR are confused as to which parent Ministry they relate to. This confusion has brought in its wake inertia, despondency and low output. An NDC led government will re-designate this ministry to its former status as Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.

16.1 The NDC Government had promulgated the Science and Technology Policy document to provide a blueprint for the development of the country to be based on Science and Technology. It is regrettable that this all-embracing policy document has been abandoned by the NPP government and left to gather dust on the shelves while ad hoc policies are adopted on Science and Technology application in the country. No wonder President Kufuor’s State of the Nation Address in 2001, 2002 and 2003 touched very little if anything at all about science and technology and the environment.

16.2 Government is currently considering applications for mining licenses in forest reserves in the Eastern, Ashanti and the Western regions. While the temptation to grant these concessions is great because of the amount of foreign investment involved, the granting of these licenses will seriously diminish the stock of forest cover remaining in this country. Assurances of environmental reclamation by the mining companies are cold comfort considering the experience of similar mining operations in parts of Ashanti and the Western Regions. The experience of reclamation is that the mined out forest areas are never restored to their original pristine condition before the bulldozers moved in.

16.3 The Ministry’s poor handling of a reported case of cyanide spillage endangered the lives of people, and the environment in the Western Region.

SPORTS

17.0 In his State of the Nation Address of 2003, the President bemoaned the downturn in the nation’s sporting fortunes. Even football, the national passion for which Ghana has scored quite some significant success in the past, has taken a steep nosedive. The steep deterioration in sports has led to an outcry by some sections of the public for the scrapping of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The FA Chairman has even called for the suspension of all international competitions by Ghana in Football.

17.1 There has been a general lack of consistency and the rather numerous changes of Ministers that have characterized it during the period has resulted in erratic planning and organisation. Mallam Issah was appointed around February 2001 and got involved in a 40,000-dollar scandal. Papa Owusu Ankomah replaced him in the same year. Edward Osei Kwaku replaced Owusu Ankomah after just a few months. Within a span of 18 months therefore, there were three ministers appointed to the Ministry. Meanwhile, Mr. Joe Aggrey the prolific sport writer and long-standing President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) who was a fierce critic of all former sport administrations must be realizing by now the truth in the adage “talk is cheap.” His presence in the ministry does not appear to have impacted in any positive way on the fortunes of sports in Ghana.

17.2 Football, which is the single most popular and significant sports activity in Ghana has fared worse and has deteriorated since the NPP administration took over.

17.3 In 2001 Ghana was kicked out of the 2002 World Cup amidst Bribery scandal involving 25,000 dollars, which resulted in FIFA sending a warning and caution letter to the FA. Asante Kotoko lost the final match in the Cup Winners Cup competition to a Moroccan club right here in Ghana. The Juvenile sides at the national level have performed very badly. In 2002 both the Satellites and Starlets were kicked out at the preliminary stages of the finals.

17.4 It has become clear that a rift exists between the Minister and FA Chairman over the appointment of a Coach for the Black Stars. The lack of a substantive coach has reduced the national teams to a shambles in performance.

17.5 Relations between the Minister and the FA Chairman soured to the extent where each went on radio to level allegations against the other. It also reported that all is not well between the Minister and his deputy or even GHALCA. The GHALCA Chairman was reported to have virulently attacked the Minister. All these developments have reduced the Ministry into a rudderless vessel of confusion.

17.6 The national league in 2002 was played without an official sponsor. The situation in other sporting areas has been much worse. Ghana’s participation in the Manchester Games was a shameful exercise in futility. Many more officials than athletes were flown to the games. A contingent of only 25 athletes was accompanied by about 65 officials. Clearly, a waste of the nation’s resources. Meanwhile a football coach absconded with almost $65,000 of taxpayer’s money.

17.7 In the midst of all these, the National Women’s Football Team must be singled out for special commendation. They qualified once again for the Women’s World Cup.

YOUTH

18.0 The story of the youth front is one of neglect and abandonment. The general attitude of the NPP administration to youth development is characterized by the number of paragraphs devoted to it in the President’s 2003 State of the Nation Address – ZERO. It did not receive even a passing mention.

CONCLUSION

19.0 It is clear that 2-years of Kufour administration has brought tears and hardship to the majority of Ghanaians and notwithstanding all the effort to put some gloss and shine on Kufour's stewardship the chances of a marked improvement in the quality of life for most Ghanaians looks extremely bleak under this administration.

Thank you for your kind attention.