Government is studying VALCO deal - JAK

President John Agyekum Kufuor said on Wednesday that his administration would spend the next three months to seek relevant advice on the offer of Kaiser Aluminium Company of the United States (US) to sell its 90 per cent shares in the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO).

Kaiser intends to offload to the government estimated shares of between 35 and 100 million dollars whilst Ghana intends to take over all of the Kaiser's related liabilities and obligations.

President Kufuor, who was addressing the third People's Assembly in Accra, said any decision government takes would be in the best interest of the nation.

"In the circumstances I appeal to all to ensure that undue pressure is not brought to bear on the process.

The forum, which was organised to mark 11 years of the Fourth Republic, would be replicated in all the regions on the theme: Good Governance Through Democracy."

It offers members of the Executive an opportunity to interact with a cross-section of the people to elicit their views on pertinent national issues.

President Kufuor also touched on the ill effects of population increase especially on security, social and economic sectors in the country's cities.

He expressed particular concern about the in-sanitary conditions that had engulfed Accra with an estimated population of four million. President Kufuor said the rapid sprawl of the city has so far out-paced whatever planning the city authorities have been capable of implementing, leading to large parts of the city degenerating into slums with piles of rubbish littering the surroundings.

To meet this challenge, the Government has directed the devolution of power from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to 13 sub-Metropolitan Assemblies.

President Kufuor said the Sub-Metro Assemblies would be empowered with special budgetary, technical and administrative support to enable them to meet the challenges.

He said the Government and the Assemblies alone could not tackle the problems if people did not adopt healthy attitudes and lifestyles.

"I am, therefore, appealing to the entire society to accept to bear its fair share of the problems," he said.