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General News of Tuesday, 12 December 2006

Source: GNA

DFP promises subsidies to farmers

Suhum (ER), Dec. 12, GNA - Dr Yao Obed Asamoah, Life Patron of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) on Tuesday promised that the issue of agricultural subsidies would be a major policy issue of the DFP government when elected into power.

He said the party would extend credit facilities to all farmers in the country as was being done to the cocoa sector.

Dr Asamoah, speaking at the inauguration of a new party office at Suhum in the Eastern Region being the first constituency office to be opened in the country.

He said the same International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank officials who have been advising governments not to subsidize farmers yet their governments were subsidizing their farmers back home. He cited instances in the country where because of over liberalization of the economy most industries in the poultry, textile, and biscuit-manufacturing sector were collapsing.

Dr Asamoah said DFP would separate the office of the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice for the Attorney General to be independent in the discharge of his duties.

He said the current situation where the Minister of Justice being a politician and acted at the same time as Attorney General did not augur well for justice the system.

Dr Asamoah also criticised both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for failing to tackle issues of national concern but rather resorted insults and aspersions on the airwaves.

"We hear daily on the airwaves serial callers from NDC and NPP insulting each other instead of coming out with concrete suggestions to solve the nations problems" he added.

He said the constant threat from the NDC to imprison its opponents when it came to power was not helpful to the country's democratic dispensation.

"Would the imprisonment of political opponents bring food to the table of majority of Ghanaians," he asked. He said the DFP was a peaceful party and would welcome anyone with constructive criticism.

Dr Asamoah chastised the NDC for always playing the blame-game when they themselves have failed to tackle their own problems Mr Bede Ziedeng, Interim General Secretary of the DFP called for the engagement of the youth in policy programmes and to let them come out with their proposals to find solutions to unemployment.

"We must not always decide for the youth what is good for them but rather let them decide for themselves," he added.

"As human society keeps changing, so also the ideas keeps changing," he stressed. 12 Dec. 06