President John Evans Atta Mills, has stated, during his first sectional address on the state of the nation to Parliament , that for a country to grow effectively, it isl vital to add to what is working and change that cause when it is in the national interest to do so. He said it is time to depart from the present day practice of undoing the valuable contribution of past governments.“A house that is constantly rebuilding its foundations will be stuck at the foundation level, never nearing completion, but Ghana deserves better” President Mills said.President Mills paid shimmering tributes to his predecessors; ex-presidents J.A. Kufuor and J.J. Rawlings, and particularly to Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, in whose honour a national holiday, "Founders’ Day" he proposed for institution to be marked on his birthday.
According to him, the three had played their part in efforts to build a strong nation and deserved gratitude.
"The nation is grateful to them. The nation is grateful for their service. The nation is also grateful to them for moving our democracy along the path to maturity," he stated, praying God's guidance for him to be able to add to their rich legacy.He said the 1992 constitution attained a number of governmental institutions; however he said a close look at these institutions which relatively performed well showed they are under resourced.“We will have a peer review mechanism in order to find out what options will propel them to give of their best in the interest of mother Ghana, to safeguard the constitutional independence of these institutions, namely, The Electoral Commission (EC), The Commission Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Media Commission and the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE).“I will urge the house through an amendment to your standing orders to permit the leadership of these institutions to appear before you in person to defend their budget. By so doing the criticism of executives starving them of funds will be a thing of the past”.The president noted that transparency in government and the fight against corruption was cardinal for sustainable development. He said his administration would address the transparency issue through ensuring the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, expedite the passing of the National Broadcasting Act and elaborating on the Code of Conduct for government officials which would cover extensive information, ethics and anti-corruption measures.Regarding Parliament and Parliamentarian, President Mills said, his government had a plan to establish an MPs Development Fund which would be separated from the District Assembly’s Common Fund and would release the funds for the exclusive use of District Assemblies and thereby remove tension between MPs and DCEs.He stated that government would work closely with the judiciary without compromising or sacrificing the independence of the judiciary and that his government would support any reform, including anti-corruption reforms from them."I make a firm commitment to fight vigorously against the drug menace. In line with this we will amend the Narcotics Drug Control, Enforcement and Sanctions Law of 1993. We will also ensure that all high profile cases involving narcotics which are still outstanding are investigated and prosecuted".“We will also bring to closure, the lingering issue of justice in the case of the death of Ya Na and his followers, Issa Mobila and other outstanding cases”.
BY: Audrey Micah
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