President Kufuor tours parts of Brong Ahafo

Yeji (B/A), Sept. 15, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor at the weekend toured Sene and Atebubu Districts in Brong Ahafo Region and urged Ghanaians to help protect the Constitution so that nobody usurped their power to intimidate them or cower them into submission.

"We are in peace and enjoying our freedoms. We all have to protect this state of affairs and resolve to eliminate all forms of behaviours that will tend to erode our newly gained freedom as a nation. "You voted Kufuor into power to lead the country to develop in freedom into prosperity and that is exactly what my government is working towards so that every Ghanaian will enjoy peace, total freedom and comfort in life", he said.

The President addressed durbars of chiefs and people at Yeji, Amanten and Atebubu in Atebubu District and at Kwame Danso, capital of Sene District.

He commissioned a ten billion-cedis small town water project at Atebubu, funded by the government and the European Union. The community and the district assembly contributed five per cent each of the cost. President Kufuor also commissioned the two billion cedis Community Fishing Centre at Yeji, which was solely funded by the government.

President Kufuor called on the people to exercise patience and restraint "because the government is committed to serving you for four years and let you decide which government can lead the country into prosperity".

Noting that Brong Ahafo is the breadbasket of the nation with large arable land for food cultivation, the President said the government was determined to assist farmers with modern technology to produce more food to feed the nation and for export.

He said there was the need to modernize agriculture and said the government was working to import more tractors and also see how best agricultural stations could be equipped to assist farmers to produce more food.

At Kwame Danso, President Kufuor asked Ghanaians to have patience for the government "since we are committed to salvaging the country", this was in response to requests made by Nana Adjei Sarpong, Acting President of Guan Traditional Area

"No one can come from outside to develop our country, we shall have to do it by ourselves," he said, and called on professionals, including teachers and doctors to bear with the government in their demand for better conditions of service.

President Kufuor told the chiefs and people that as a successor and protogee of Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister in the Second Republic; "I will work to continue with projects initiated by Busia, including the upgrading of the local health centre into a hospital". At all the towns that he went the chiefs and people acknowledged the tremendous improvement in infrastructure since the government took over the reins of governance, noting the provision of electricity, clinics, classroom blocks, toilets, teachers' quarters and school desks, among other things.

Security accompanying him had a hectic time controlling the large crowds that gathered along the routes and at the durbar grounds, shouting the NPP slogan 'Asee ho, Asee ho', with their right thumbs pointing downwards to which the President responded with equal enthusiasm.

Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister; Mr Yaw Adjei Duffour, Deputy Regional Minister; Alhaji Mustapha Idris, Minister of Works and Housing; Mr S.K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister and Mr Kwabena Agyapong, Presidential Press Advisor.