Highlights of President's sessional address

AUDIO: Part 1    AUDIO: Part 2    AUDIO: Part 2   
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday laid bare his vision for the year prioritising infrastructure development and modernised agriculture in his State of the Nation Address at the beginning of the Second Session of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.

Other areas were enhanced social services with emphasis on health and education, good governance and private sector development.

He said: "As you have noticed, they are linked with all sectors of the economy and will pull along with them, other social interest areas and Ministries.

Reconciliation Law not targeting any group of people - Kufuor

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the Reconciliation Law was not intended to target any particular person or group for persecution.

The government only sought to provide an opportunity for people, who were aggrieved, to air their grievances and for the state to intervene to secure the appropriate redress to reconcile the nation and move it forward in unity and harmony, he said.

The President said: "It was a matter of deep regret to me that there was such acrimony during the debates. Let me state clearly that there is no hidden agenda on my part in the matter of this law."

President Kufuor said this on Tuesday when he delivered his Sessional Address on the State of the Nation to the Second Session of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana in Accra.

Members of the Council of State, the diplomatic corps, politicians, chiefs, the clergy and Service Commanders were at the Parliament House to listen to the two-hour address read from a 26-paged booklet.

The former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu also attended. The Minority group in Parliament on seeing the couple greeted them with cheers to which they responded as they took their seats on the front row of the public gallery.

President Kufuor said the independence of the National Reconciliation Commission in its work would be totally respected by government to ensure that it commanded trust and co-operation across board.

"This is the only way its objective of helping to reconcile the nation can be secured," he said. The President appealed to Parliament and Ghanaians to co-operate with the Commission to discharge its function for the good of all Ghanaians.

Preparations to abolish cash and carry completed

The President, John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the necessary studies towards abolishing the cash and carry system have been completed and very soon a systematised approach to fulfilling the policy would be announced by the government.

"Our health as a people needs much to be desired," he said. "This government accepts its responsibility of the health delivery needs of the people. We campaigned on the promise to abolish the cash and carry system within our first term of office, and we shall," he added.

The President who was giving his State of the Nation address to Parliament said a number of health insurance schemes had been initiated on pilot basis and the government was evolving the necessary regulatory measures to ensure the management of the scheme as it matured.

He said the good thing about the current process was that communities, missionary institutions and some private companies had declared their interest to participate in the scheme.

President Kufuor noted that the physical state of some of the country's hospitals and clinics left a lot to be desired and said government would continue to rehabilitate and modernise them to enhance health delivery.

He said the unsustainable rate at which doctors and nurses were leaving the service for greener pastures remained a big problem. "As the economy as a whole improves, and the pay structures become more realistic, job satisfaction will hopefully improve to halt this drain."

In the mean time, the government would do its best to improve the conditions of service for doctors, nurses and para-medical staff, President said.

Government to enhance performance of security services

President John Agyekum Kufuor said on Thursday that the security of the nation and of the individual was paramount and that the government was supporting the specialised agencies - Police, Armed Forces, Prisons and other security agencies to enhance their competence.

He said the government had the duty of reassuring the people that they "can go about their lives without fear for as long as they operate within the law".

In his State of the Nation Address delivered at the beginning of the Second Session of the Third Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana at the Parliament House on Thursday, President Kufuor said the present numerical strength of the Police Service was unacceptable and deplored the quality of their training, their lack of equipment and their poor living conditions.

The Government, he said, had started tackling these problems with a major recruitment drive that commenced this year to raise the number of personnel to an acceptable level to commensurate with the population.

President Kufuor said equipping the Police was also on course and that about 400 vehicles and communications equipment would arrive this year to enable the service perform better. The quality of their training, he went on, was also being improved to restore discipline and loyalty in the profession.

On the Armed Forces, he said that the government was seeking to restore it to its traditional role, saying, "all quasi-political organisations have been banned from the forces and our soldiers are concentrating on being soldiers".

He said there had been a marked improvement in civil/military relations, especially, with the institution of the "open day" ceremonies, which has demystified the armed forces and helped in the promotion of a better atmosphere between both sides.

President Kufuor said the government was committed to modernise and equip the forces for more efficient service in safeguarding and upholding the sovereignty of the country.

Concerning the Prisons Service, he said new Prisons Council would be inaugurated soon and would be tasked with reviewing the state of affairs to come up with a program of reform. This, he said, was necessary because of the deplorable state of the prisons.

Transportation sector to improve this year

One hundred high occupancy buses ordered by the government for private sector operators would arrive this year to improve the public transportation system.

President John Agyekum Kufuor in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament on Thursday, said railway shuttle services, which had been revived between Accra and Nsawam would be extended to other communities within the Accra Metropolis and the Tema Municipality.

The address, which highlighted the government's development priorities such as Vigorous Infrastructure Development, Modernised Agriculture, Enhanced Social Services with emphasis on Health and Education, Good Governance and Private Sector Development, was interspersed with shouts of "Hear, Hear" and laughter by a large audience, including Former President Jerry Rawlings and his wife.

Vice President Aliu Mahama, Chief Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu, Ministers of State, Members of the Council of State and the Diplomatic Corps were also in Parliament.

On the situation at the nation's two ports, the President said the government was taking steps to streamline operations and combat the corruption that had frustrated business for a long time.

"Government is also improving the physical state of the ports through private sector participation to make them competitive for global trade," he said. With the dredging of the Tema Port last year, the President said, Burkina Faso and Niger had announced their intention to use it for their international trade.

He said negotiations were ongoing to engage major international container operators to locate at the ports for their operations in the sub-region.

President urges district assemblies to assert authority

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday asked district assemblies to exercise their revenue raising powers and demand accountability from ex-officio members assigned from the central ministries.

"The decentralisation process that has been in place for more than a decade still has many failings," he said, adding: "The district assemblies do not seem to appreciate the full scope of their power and seem either incapable or unwilling to demand accountability from officials who serve at that level."

This was part of President Kufuor State of the Nation address to Parliament, which highlighted the government's development priorities as Vigorous Infrastructure Development; Modernised Agriculture; Enhanced Social Services with emphasis on Health and Education; Good Governance and Private Sector Development.

A large audience, including Former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu Agymang Rawlings, were in the House to listen to the address, which was interrupted with shouts of 'Hear, Hear ' and laughter.

Vice President Aliu Mahama, Chief Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu, Ministers of State, Members of the Council of State and the Diplomatic Corps were also at the Parliament House.

President Kufuor announced that a new Local Government Bill to replace Act 462 would be placed before Parliament to strengthen the workings of local government.

On the disbursement of the Common Fund, the President said the Local Government Ministry would strengthen its monitoring and supervisory authority over the assemblies to ensure efficiency and proper management.

President Kufuor said he had instructed the Sector Minister to ensure that district assemblies developed comprehensive plans aimed at maintaining high levels of environmental sanitation through effective plastic and waste disposal.

"It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment and the district assemblies to keep our towns and cities clean." The President said district assemblies would be tasked to enforce regulations that would ensure effective town and country planning as well as orderly development of villages.
He appealed to Ghanaians to keenly contest the district level elections scheduled for July. Ghanaians, he said, should also maintain healthy habits and attitudes to prevent the choking of gutters and littering of towns and cities.