NDC marks Mahama’s first anniversary

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday called on political opponents of the government to give credit and recognise the significant economic gains the government had made over the past one year.

Mr Joseph Kobina Ade Coker, Chairman of the NDC Regional Chairmen’s Caucus, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview to mark the first anniversary of President John Dramani Mahama’s presidency that it was time to give a new image and face to politics in the country.

“Politicians must do away with the tradition of refusing to see anything good about their opponents....the persistent attempts by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its functionaries to trivialise and down play the creditable performance of President Mahama’s administration,” he said

Mr Ade Coker, the NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman, said the government would not be distracted by the diversionary tactics of its opponents and appealed to Ghanaians to have faith and confidence in the government and to continue to show understanding and support for its policies and programmes.

He said there would be no discrimination under President Mahama’s administration in the sharing of the national cake in terms of development projects.

Mr Ade Coker said in spite of the challenges the President faced last year, “his performance in office is far better than a pass mark,” and appealed to Ghanaians to evaluate the gains made so far.

"The government has stabilised the economy and restored the confidence in the currency...I don't see many failures though I see a lot of room for improvement," he said.

He said in accordance with the NDC Election 2012 manifesto, the government would continue to pursue a vigorous agricultural production drive this year.

He said the government had worked to deepen prospects for self-sustaining economic growth, continued to invest in social and economic infrastructure and pursued appropriate fiscal, monetary, legal and other measures to generate the takeoff of a vibrant national economy.

“We have been true to what we said in our manifesto ‘Creating a receptive and coherent climate for private, foreign and domestic investment will be a national priority,’ he said.

Mr Ade Coker said the economy was growing, adding “the evidence is all around us. This growth has been made possible by the single-mindedness of our leadership not to subordinate the management of the economy to any other consideration and also by the sacrifices of ordinary Ghanaians.”

He said the NDC government would seek to create a balance between the needs of government employees and rural dwellers, between the public and private sectors; and above all, between the needs of current and future generations.

Mr Ade Coker said as the President enters the second year in office, the NDC had re-dedicated itself to a determined fight against inflation by means of appropriate fiscal and monetary measures on the one hand, and boosting production on the other hand.