Stephen Odoi
20 February 2009
The President of the Republic of Ghana, John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills yesterday made a promise to Ghanaians to bring to a halt the brouhaha surrounding the mysterious deaths of the Paramount Chief of Dagbon, Ya-Na Andani Yakubu II and some of his elders, the Northern Regional Chairman of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Alhaji Issah Mobila and several women whose unsolved cases still remain a headache to the nation.
"We will bring to closure the lingering issue of justice in the murder of the Ya-Na and many of his elders, Issah Mobila and the several women whose unsolved cases still remain a national mystery", he noted.
The President made this remark when he appeared before Parliament to deliver his maiden State of the Nation Address, dubbed "Rescue Plan for a Better Ghana".
The previous government, upon several attempts in its two terms of office, was unable to identify the suspects behind the assassination of the Dagbon paramount chief.
About fifty people were wounded with several other houses burnt in the fighting between the Andanis and Abudus, the two rival factions that form the Dagbon state. Many believe that the two groups have been rivals since Ghana attained her independence from Britain in 1957.
Yidana Sugri, who was alleged to have assassinated the warlord of Dagbon, walked out of an Accra High Court a freeman, after being acquitted and discharged.
Just a couple of days ago, Members of the Andani Gate, residing in Ashaiman petitioned the President to re-open investigations into the death of their late overlord, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani.
According to the statement, the Andanis voted massively for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to fast track its investigations into the case, in order to bring the perpetrators to book. It would be recalled that during the electioneering campaign, the NDC promised Ghanaians that it would set up a probe into the mysterious deaths that the country witnessed during the era of the Kufuor led administration, of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
President Atta Mills, who was dressed in a sharp-looking suit, also told parliament that he would fight the drug menace and provide adequate security to Ghanaians, by reviewing the Narcotic Drugs Control Board (NACOB) and the Enforcement and Sanctions Law of 1990 (PNDC LAW 236).
"We aim to create a more potent drug enforcement agency that will collaborate more effectively with international drug enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute offenders. We will bring to closure investigations into numerous high profile drug trafficking cases of recent years and bring to book all those involved", he noted.
According to the President, re-opening of investigations into the aforementioned cases falls in line with his government's pledge to deepen the democratic credentials of the country and also to make it a safe haven for its sons and daughters and other visitors.
The President also promised to engage all independent governance institutions in a peer review of their conditions, and together define the solutions that will propel them to fulfill their constitutional mandates, since most of them are under resourced and their staff poorly motivated.
The President, committed to ensure transparency in his governance, urged the legislative House, through an appropriate amendment of its Standing Orders, to consider allowing the leadership of the National Media Commission (NMC), the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) and the Electoral Commission (EC) to appear on the floor of the House to defend their own budget. This, he believed, would eliminate the criticism of the Executive of starving them of funds.
According to him, his administration, during its tenure of office would address transparency through three dimensional approaches, namely; ensuring the passage of the Freedom of Information Act, expediting the passing of a National Broadcasting Law and the elaboration of a Code of Conduct in Government that includes key information disclosure, ethics and anti-corruption measures.
"Together, these measures will enable both citizens and statutory Constitutional bodies to access the needed information to demand accountability from office-holders in the public and private sectors", he noted.
He also promised establishing Member of Parliament Constituency Development Fund (MPCDF), apart from the District Assemblies Common Fund to enable Parliamentarians work effectively and efficiently without relying on District Chief Executives (DCEs) for the release of funds for developmental projects in their various constituencies.
This move by the President, also seeks to bring to halt tensions between the DCEs and Members of Parliament (MP). Touching on Agriculture, which continues to be the back bone of the nation's economy, President Mills promised to address simultaneously the issues of food availability, access to food, response to crises situations and malnutrition.
He again promised to revive the Aveyime Rice Project to boost rice production for the local market as well as for export.
He said, his government would invest significantly to maintain the production of crops that have surplus production, whilst adequate measures would be put in place to increase the production level of crops that have deficit production.
According to him, his government would embark on massive irrigation methods to drive agriculture production in the country. By so doing, he promised to rehabilitate existing irrigation schemes to ensure their efficient utilization, in addition to the construction of additional dams, boreholes and other water harvesting facilities in areas with high agricultural potentials.
The President further noted that he would vigorously pursue the Accra Plains Irrigation Project to make it available for all year round production, saying "It will be the flagship of the agricultural revolution of this administration".
President Mills, desirous of the efficiency level of farmers in food production, promised to provide them inputs on credit basis. He also assured them to continue the fertilizer subsidy programme that the previous government embarked upon.
The President further promised to encourage large scale cultivation of maize and soyabeans to reduce the cost of feed for poultry production, in order to address the situation of cheap poultry and meat imports.
Fishermen were also provided with a reprieve as the President promised to review all existing agreements in the fishing industry within Ghana's territorial waters to ensure that their livelihood and long-term interests are guaranteed.
He promised to enhance the capacity and capability of the Ghana Navy and Air Force towards protecting the territorial waters of the country, as well as the enforcement of pair trawling regulations.
President Mills, abiding by his campaign promises to create more jobs to the youth, stressed his government's commitment to revise the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), alongside the Youth in Agriculture programme.
Touching on the foreign policies of the country, President Mills promised to remove the bottlenecks surrounding the free movement of persons and goods throughout the sub-region to encourage integration and economic development.
He said the country would continue to maintain an active role in the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies, as well as in other multilateral organizations such as the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned Movement, among many others.
He promised to hold himself and all public officials accountable in his government, adding "that principle is non-negotiable".
President Mills paid glowing tributes to his predecessors; ex-president John Agyekum Kufuor and Jerry John Rawlings, and in particular, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in whose honour he (President Mills) intends to declare a national holiday which would be marked on his birthday. He named the national holiday as "Founders' Day".
President Mills promised to renew government's pledge to improve the housing stock of workers. In line with this, he promised to ensure equitable distribution of houses constructed under the affordable housing programme.
He also pledged his government's commitment to continue with programmes such as the Urban Transport project which aims at providing mass transit facilities and services in Metropolitan areas.
According to him, his government would work vigorously to eliminate duplication whilst streamlining the policy direction for mass transit, to ensure that the country obtains the maximum benefits from the initiatives undertaken.
On health, President Mills promised to enhance and expand the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and noted that his government would work to ensure a universal premium for the Scheme, to enable card bearers to enjoy quality health care wherever they found themselves.
He added that the one-time NHIS enrollment fee still remains an achievable goal under his government and would work tirelessly to make the Scheme "truly national".
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