I'll think twice to join another gov't - Nduom

Dr Paa Kwasi Nduom, Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation has said that he would now think twice if asked to join another government.

"Being a Minister is not as pleasant as some may see it, it is a difficult task. If I were asked to be part of another government, I would think twice about it. I do not think I was going to be part of government to go through all these difficult problems, being a minister is not exciting," he said.

Dr Nduom was addressing representatives of registered political parties on Wednesday at a workshop organised by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) intended to solicit parties inputs in the process of building a consensus on a Ghana's next development plan.

Representatives of all political parties with the exception of the United Ghana Movement (UGM) and the National Reform Party (NRP) attended the workshop, which began with a video clip on the regional consultations that has been carried out on the vision.

Dr Nduom, a member of the Convention's Peoples Party (CPP) was appointed Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation in 2001 when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) came to power under the leadership of President John Agyekum Kufuor.

He is currently the Chairman of the NDPC, which would soon come out with the national vision that would seek to achieve a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita income of $1000 by 2010.

Explaining much further, Dr. Nduom said, "sometimes when I look at the President and the nature and heaviness of the work, I only tell myself that I now have a better view of what it takes to be this or that."

He said every new government that came to power would definitely come to meet a debt problem, which it would have to service, hence the genesis of the problems and frustrations.

Dr Nduom who made these statements soon after delivering a welcome address for the workshop, said it was possible for something different to be done by all parties within the country that would cut across all political line or divide.

A very good example, he said was the building of a national consensus for the country's vision. Dr Nduom announced that the NDPC would present Ghana's next vision of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to the President next week.

He gave an overview of the drafted document and said the thrust was that the document should be seen as a task for all and not just for the government in power. Dr Nduom said analysis of previous development plans have indicated that Ghana missed all the important targets because of the absence of linkages between the plan and the budget implementation.

Besides, he said, there was lack of funding to implement the plans vis-?-vis the huge consistent debt burden of the country which constrained the good intention of the visions.