A statement signed by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Deputy Minister for Information stressed that the government of President John Evans Atta Mills will not take Ghanaians for granted and that serious efforts will continue to be made in fulfilling promises made to the peoplein its 2008 Better Ghana manifesto, stressing that government was on course in this regard.
Government said it remains conscious of the need to entrench political accountability and ensure confidence and trust in our body politic. Government welcomed calls from sections of society especially its political opponents to fulfill all of its manifesto promises and assured Ghanaians that after
studying the NPP’s abysmal record and knowing that it is substantially for this reason that the patience of the good people of Ghana for the NPP run out in 2008, “we are minded not to repeat that unenviable first term feat with our first term.”
“It is also for this reason that President Mills established a policy coordination and implementation unit headed by a senior presidential advisor Dr. Christine Amoako Nuamah to ensure adherence to the most optimum level,” the statement added.
Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa said “it is important that our politics generates confidence among the citizenry and that political accountability is crucial to sustain our democratic experiment and ensure the rapid development of our nation.”
The deputy minister added that while he does not begrudge the NPP for making demands home and abroad on the Government to fulfill all of its manifesto promises, it found the insincerity and sanctimonious piety on the part of the party troubling .
It is for this reason that it is important to assess the NPP’s own record to ascertain if they come to equity with clean hands, especially as they are up and about again this time in Europe making fresh promises to unsuspecting Ghanaians.
The statement asserted that “it is for this reason that we seek to remind all Ghanaians of the NPP’s abysmal track record in fulfilling its lofty manifesto promises as the facts below reveal:”
NPP’S 2000 MANIFESTO
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NPP’S LITANY OF BROKEN PROMISES
LEST WE FORGET – HOW THE NPP EXECUTED THEIR FIRST TERM
MANDATE
BROKEN PROMISES PAGE
1) Create jobs for all persons able and willing to work and to reward each of them appropriately
2) Reduce the tax burden especially on workers and pensioners
3) Empower all Ghanaians, especially our women and youth, by supporting their entrepreneurial initiatives
4) Ensure an even balanced development of all the regions in Ghana
5) Totally develop the rural areas through the pursuit of an aggressive integrated rural development programme
6) An NPP government will cut the size and budget of the offices of the President and the Vice President, the budget and the size of the cabinet secretariat, the number of Ministers and other Presidential Appointees, and channel the resources to spur greater economic growth
7) An NPP government will provide government loan guarantees under a new programme called the Small Business Assistance Programme. Under this programme, an NPP government will guarantee 80% of the loans provided to qualify SMEs
8) Creation of Ghana Investment Fund. NPP government will contribute 30-50 billion Cedis each year for four years to raise 25 percent of the share capital
9) Large scale exploitation of Ghana’s bauxite, clay and stone deposits will be commenced
10) Ghana’s aluminium-based products will be promoted to penetrate the wider international market Continued…
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