A leading member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has called on the rank and file of the party to rise above individual ambitions which have weakened the party and rather unite to form a viable party to win power in order to defend the philosophy, legacy and name of Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
He said the failures of the members to form a strong and united CPP had offered the detractors of the founder of the party, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the opportunity to denigrate him because the CPP was not in a position to defend him.
“The opponents of Dr Nkumah still hold sway in Ghanaian politics and are able to mobilise their forces to malign the name of Dr Nkrumah and oppose the decision to make his birthday a national holiday”, he added.
Mr Pratt was speaking at a public lecture on the topic, “The Fallacy of the Big Six” organised by the Greater Accra branch of the party in Accra on Thursday.
“Instead of rallying together to build a viable and strong political force to fight neo-colonialism, we are concentrating our efforts on individual ambitions of a few people who will want to lead us to nowhere”, he said.
He added that with the current stuttering state of the party, it would be a fallacy for anyone to believe that he or she could become its presidential candidate and use such weak structures to win the presidential elections.
He also appealed to the party’s members, especially the leadership, to stop the blame game and added that at any point in time in the recent history of the party, some members had found it pleasant to blame the leadership and brand them as inept thus calling for their dismissal, while the leadership also blame the party members for sitting on the fence.
“How different is the debate in the party today concerning the leadership, different from when Dr Edmund Delle was the chairman”, he asked.
According to Mr Pratt, the only antidote to the current woes of the party was the recruitment and education of cadres as well as regular meetings to discuss the welfare and the forward match of the party as well as the mobilisation of funds from the membership.
He said since the formation of a party was an intellectual exercise, the CPP must make conscious effort to ensure that members understood the economic and social situation pertaining in the country and the party’s position on them.
Mr Pratt said because Dr Nkrumah imbued the members of the party with good education, people like Mr Krobo Edusie who had very little education could work assiduously in the First Republic to become one of the best ministers in Ghanaian history.
Touching on the topic, “The Fallacy of the Big Six” he alleged that Dr J.B. Danquah and other members of the UGCC could not be described as members of the big six because they never provided any leadership role in the fight for independence.
He described them as “enemies” of the Republic of Ghana because they connived with the colonial masters in their bid to thwart the independence struggle.
“The ideas of Dr Nkrumah which included mass mobilisation, strikes, agitation and propaganda to overthrow the colonial rule was against what J.B. Danquah and others stood for. They believed in accommodation and negotiations”, Mr Pratt said.
He said Dr Nkrumah would remain the founder of the nation because he provided an outstanding leadership role in the formation of the state of Ghana.
Mr Kosi Dede, another leading member of the party, for his part said there was nothing like the big six, and explained that apart from Dr Nkrumah and some chiefs and grass root members, Dr J B Danquah and others played no role in the independence struggle.
He said Dr Nkrumah had already started mobilising blacks in the Diaspora for the independence battle and that was what made the members of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) to invite and make him their General Secretary.
He said if there were other persons who needed to be remembered for their contribution towards the independence, it should not be Dr J.B. Danquah, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and Dr K. A. Busia but the market women and members of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) who held high the flame of the struggle.
Monday, May 4, 2009
NPP to hold emergency conference in June
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) will by June this year hold a special national emergency delegates conference to deliberate on the various constitutional amendment proposed by the members of the party.
Consequently, the general secretary and the constitutional and legal affairs committee of the party have been tasked to collate possible concerns of party members, work on them and distribute to all wards, constituency, regional and national offices, as well as all oversees branches of the party for their perusal and comments.
According to the National Chairman of the party, Mr Peter Mac Manu, after that, the proposed amendment would be presented to the party’s congress by June and if two-thirds of the delegates agree on the amendments, they would be accepted and effected.
It is believed that one proposal that is expected to dominate the attention of the conference is the call for the widening of the number of people who constitute the delegates for the selection of constituency, regional and national executive as well as presidential candidate.
Last four years, this issue was raised at the congress at Cape Coast but could not attract greater attention but the recent interest had generated due to the processes leading to the congress that elected the presidential candidate for the 2008 election.
Party members, especially some leading members are of the view that widening the base of the members who select office holders of the party, particularly the flag bearer, would minimise the acrimony associated with such selections by a few delegates.
For the process of submitting the proposed constitutional amendment, a member must submit such amendment to the general secretary of the party two months before the congress date and the general secretary in turn would also circulate them to all branches not later than a month before congress.
Regarding the 2008 elections, Mr Mac Manu said the Heyman Committee was working around the clock to solicit the views of all members of the party as to what went wrong in the party, strengths that needed to built upon and the way forward.
He said the setting up of the committee to review previous elections was normal with the party because even in 2004 when the party won the elections, a similar committee was tasked to review issues that cropped up during the elections.
He said the issues, views, complaints and suggestions of the party members concerning the 2008 elections would form the basis for the review and strategising towards winning the 2012 elections.
Mr Mac Manu said the party hierarchy would take every issue, concerns and suggestion of every member seriously and deliberate on it to chart the cause for victory.
He said the Heyman Committee which is expected to finish its work by April this year, would also move round the country as part of measures to ensure that more members, especially those who could not read or write present their concerns and suggestions to the committee.
He said this and other effective strategies put in place by the party, were all in consonance with the party’s nature as broad base and its believe in internal democracy and the respect for every single member.
Consequently, the general secretary and the constitutional and legal affairs committee of the party have been tasked to collate possible concerns of party members, work on them and distribute to all wards, constituency, regional and national offices, as well as all oversees branches of the party for their perusal and comments.
According to the National Chairman of the party, Mr Peter Mac Manu, after that, the proposed amendment would be presented to the party’s congress by June and if two-thirds of the delegates agree on the amendments, they would be accepted and effected.
It is believed that one proposal that is expected to dominate the attention of the conference is the call for the widening of the number of people who constitute the delegates for the selection of constituency, regional and national executive as well as presidential candidate.
Last four years, this issue was raised at the congress at Cape Coast but could not attract greater attention but the recent interest had generated due to the processes leading to the congress that elected the presidential candidate for the 2008 election.
Party members, especially some leading members are of the view that widening the base of the members who select office holders of the party, particularly the flag bearer, would minimise the acrimony associated with such selections by a few delegates.
For the process of submitting the proposed constitutional amendment, a member must submit such amendment to the general secretary of the party two months before the congress date and the general secretary in turn would also circulate them to all branches not later than a month before congress.
Regarding the 2008 elections, Mr Mac Manu said the Heyman Committee was working around the clock to solicit the views of all members of the party as to what went wrong in the party, strengths that needed to built upon and the way forward.
He said the setting up of the committee to review previous elections was normal with the party because even in 2004 when the party won the elections, a similar committee was tasked to review issues that cropped up during the elections.
He said the issues, views, complaints and suggestions of the party members concerning the 2008 elections would form the basis for the review and strategising towards winning the 2012 elections.
Mr Mac Manu said the party hierarchy would take every issue, concerns and suggestion of every member seriously and deliberate on it to chart the cause for victory.
He said the Heyman Committee which is expected to finish its work by April this year, would also move round the country as part of measures to ensure that more members, especially those who could not read or write present their concerns and suggestions to the committee.
He said this and other effective strategies put in place by the party, were all in consonance with the party’s nature as broad base and its believe in internal democracy and the respect for every single member.
Polarisation of media erodes public confidence
The Programme Director for Media Foundation for West Africa, Mrs Jeannette Quarcoopome, has said the polarisation of the media along political lines during the 2008 elections have eroded the trust of the public in the profession.
She has, therefore, urged members of the inky fraternity to be guided always by the principle of objectivity, balance and accuracy in playing their key role at ensuring lasting democracy in the country.
Mrs Quarcoopome stated this at a day’s workshop on post-elections review with media practitioners in Accra.
The workshop was organised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to review the media’s role during the 2008 elections and fashion out a strategy to provide better coverage of the next elections.
She said non-adherence to the principle of accuracy, objectivity and balance deprived the public of a balanced picture of contesting parties and important issues raised during the election period.
She said another dangerous thing done by a section of the media during the elections was the peddling of rumours, the use of defamatory language and inflammatory statements which nearly undermined the security and unity of the state.
She cited instances where some radio stations repeatedly broadcast rumours that helicopters were being used to steal ballot boxes, dead people were voting and some ballot boxes had been stuffed with ballot papers which all turned out not to be factual.
Mrs Quarcoopome said the most dangerous aspect was that such media houses failed in their professional duty to cross-check such information but repeatedly announced them which heightened passions among the supporters of the various political parties.
She however commended the media for providing adequate opportunity for debates and information about political parties for the electorate.
A former Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Ms Ajoa Yeboah Afari, said despite the seeming saturation of political coverage during the election period, the media did not do enough to provide basic information on the process to the electorate.
“It is not enough to reduce electoral coverage to giving air time to serial callers, or newspapers space to political opponents to throw mud at each other. Surely, in our circumstance, voter education should be part of the media’s social responsibility,” she added.
She said if the media had done more in the area of voter education, the huge numbers of spoiled ballots during the election could have been reduced.
She has, therefore, urged members of the inky fraternity to be guided always by the principle of objectivity, balance and accuracy in playing their key role at ensuring lasting democracy in the country.
Mrs Quarcoopome stated this at a day’s workshop on post-elections review with media practitioners in Accra.
The workshop was organised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) to review the media’s role during the 2008 elections and fashion out a strategy to provide better coverage of the next elections.
She said non-adherence to the principle of accuracy, objectivity and balance deprived the public of a balanced picture of contesting parties and important issues raised during the election period.
She said another dangerous thing done by a section of the media during the elections was the peddling of rumours, the use of defamatory language and inflammatory statements which nearly undermined the security and unity of the state.
She cited instances where some radio stations repeatedly broadcast rumours that helicopters were being used to steal ballot boxes, dead people were voting and some ballot boxes had been stuffed with ballot papers which all turned out not to be factual.
Mrs Quarcoopome said the most dangerous aspect was that such media houses failed in their professional duty to cross-check such information but repeatedly announced them which heightened passions among the supporters of the various political parties.
She however commended the media for providing adequate opportunity for debates and information about political parties for the electorate.
A former Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Ms Ajoa Yeboah Afari, said despite the seeming saturation of political coverage during the election period, the media did not do enough to provide basic information on the process to the electorate.
“It is not enough to reduce electoral coverage to giving air time to serial callers, or newspapers space to political opponents to throw mud at each other. Surely, in our circumstance, voter education should be part of the media’s social responsibility,” she added.
She said if the media had done more in the area of voter education, the huge numbers of spoiled ballots during the election could have been reduced.
NDC to hold NEC meeting on Monday
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will on Monday, March 30, 2009 hold its first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting after assuming the reins of power in January 7, 2009 to strategies in readiness for the 2012 elections.
The meeting is intended to review the party's activities before, during and after Election 2008, as well as its performance in government for the past three months.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Deputy National Organiser of the party, Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan said, “complacency and procrastination would never have any room in our government and party. Ghanaians have given us a mandate to rule and we will do that to please them and ensure that they never hesitate to vote massively for us in 2012”.
The NEC meeting will be attended by President J. E.A Mills, Vice-President John Dramani Mahama and former President J.J Rawlings who is also the founder of the party.
Others are the leadership of Parliament, all national officers, regional chairmen, secretaries, and organisers.
Mr Boateng Gyan said, although, the party won the 2008 elections, the margin it used in winning the presidential elections as well as the number of seats it had in Parliament fell below its expectations.
He said, the Brong Ahafo Region should have voted hands down for the party if one considered the amount of work the party did during Election 2008. “Surprisingly we lost Techiman North and Berekum”.
In the Ashanti Region, Mr Boateng Gyan who was part of the Prof. Mills Campaign Team, said, “ NDC should have done better in the region and not lost the Obuasi seat to the New Patriotic Party (NPP). These are some of the few areas that we did not understand why we lost to the NPP,” he added.
He explained that it was due to some of these reasons that the party had tasked its regional representatives to liaise with constituency executive and come out with possible reasons that caused the problems.
Mr Boateng Gyan said the regional executive were also to solicit from the party foot soldiers the possible solutions to the issues and present them at the meeting.
“They are also to find out from the people their perception about the performance of the NDC government in a frank and bold manner,” he said.
He added that Ghanaians voted for the NDC based on its promises and the contents of its manifesto and gave the assurance that the party had put in place adequate measure and systems to ensure that it was always on track in fulfilling its electoral promises.
Mr Boateng Gyan said with its experience in government from 1992 to 2000, and in opposition for eight years, the party had come to appreciate that Ghanaians could never be taken for granted and that nothing would be spared to ensure that the nation’s scarce resources were used economically for the benefit of the ordinary Ghanaian.
The meeting is intended to review the party's activities before, during and after Election 2008, as well as its performance in government for the past three months.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Deputy National Organiser of the party, Mr Yaw Boateng Gyan said, “complacency and procrastination would never have any room in our government and party. Ghanaians have given us a mandate to rule and we will do that to please them and ensure that they never hesitate to vote massively for us in 2012”.
The NEC meeting will be attended by President J. E.A Mills, Vice-President John Dramani Mahama and former President J.J Rawlings who is also the founder of the party.
Others are the leadership of Parliament, all national officers, regional chairmen, secretaries, and organisers.
Mr Boateng Gyan said, although, the party won the 2008 elections, the margin it used in winning the presidential elections as well as the number of seats it had in Parliament fell below its expectations.
He said, the Brong Ahafo Region should have voted hands down for the party if one considered the amount of work the party did during Election 2008. “Surprisingly we lost Techiman North and Berekum”.
In the Ashanti Region, Mr Boateng Gyan who was part of the Prof. Mills Campaign Team, said, “ NDC should have done better in the region and not lost the Obuasi seat to the New Patriotic Party (NPP). These are some of the few areas that we did not understand why we lost to the NPP,” he added.
He explained that it was due to some of these reasons that the party had tasked its regional representatives to liaise with constituency executive and come out with possible reasons that caused the problems.
Mr Boateng Gyan said the regional executive were also to solicit from the party foot soldiers the possible solutions to the issues and present them at the meeting.
“They are also to find out from the people their perception about the performance of the NDC government in a frank and bold manner,” he said.
He added that Ghanaians voted for the NDC based on its promises and the contents of its manifesto and gave the assurance that the party had put in place adequate measure and systems to ensure that it was always on track in fulfilling its electoral promises.
Mr Boateng Gyan said with its experience in government from 1992 to 2000, and in opposition for eight years, the party had come to appreciate that Ghanaians could never be taken for granted and that nothing would be spared to ensure that the nation’s scarce resources were used economically for the benefit of the ordinary Ghanaian.
Replace multi-party democracy with all inclusive govt — Obeng
A former Member of the People’s National Defence Council (PNDC), Mr I. K. Obeng, has called for the abolition of the multi-party democracy which he says breeds rancour, hatred, tribalism and could destroy the nation because of its winner takes all nature.
He consequently suggested that the current system be replaced with what he called an “All inclusive national government” which would bring all Ghanaians on board.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Obeng urged President J.E.A. Mills to initiate steps, especially constitutional amendment, for the realisation of the new system he was proposing.
“Had it not been the peaceful nature of Ghanaians and the intervention of God, Election 2008 could have spelt doom for this country. This is because both leading parties knew that a loss would mean to be in opposition for four years,” he added.
Mr Obeng said Ghana was not different from other African countries that had been in flames due to electoral disagreements and that the earlier “we changed the system, the better”.
He said with the multi-party democracy, the preoccupation of the opposition parties was not to assist the government with constructive criticism and good suggestions for it to do better but to work assiduously to ensure that it failed in its endeavours so that the electorate would vote for it (minority) in next elections.
According to him, this is done irrespective of the damaging effect to the ordinary Ghanaian.
He said another damaging feature of the multi-party democracy was that even when the majority was wrong, it could have its way to the detriment of all Ghanaians, because it had enough numbers.
On how the proposed “All inclusive national government” would work, Mr Obeng explained that it would start from the various unit committee levels where uncorrupted, qualified, knowledgeable and respected members of the area would be selected from among the people to represent them in the unit committee.
He said this would be replicated in the district assemblies as well as constituencies and that at each stage the selected few would also choose their leaders.
Mr Obeng said at the constituency level, a member from each constituency would be selected to form the national assembly who would in turn appoint one from within to be the President and the Speaker of Parliament.
He again proposed that the assembly with the input of their local people would single out some knowledgeable, experienced and qualified members of the society from diverse background to form the cabinet.
He said the new system would be transparent, devoid of the acrimony usually associated with elections at various levels and ensure that at any point in time the government would not be a baby of a particular political party but that of the entire nation.
Mr Obeng said under the new system, removing or punishing people who undertook dubious activities or corrupt practices would not be difficult because unlike in the current system where a political party would do everything to defend its appointees.
He added that because under the proposed system owning such people up would not affect the electoral fortunes of any party, the members would never hesitate to do that.
According to him, the Nkrumah regime came close to establishing this system but because all the parties were abolished with the exception of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), people did not accept that and this did not work consequently.
He consequently suggested that the current system be replaced with what he called an “All inclusive national government” which would bring all Ghanaians on board.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Obeng urged President J.E.A. Mills to initiate steps, especially constitutional amendment, for the realisation of the new system he was proposing.
“Had it not been the peaceful nature of Ghanaians and the intervention of God, Election 2008 could have spelt doom for this country. This is because both leading parties knew that a loss would mean to be in opposition for four years,” he added.
Mr Obeng said Ghana was not different from other African countries that had been in flames due to electoral disagreements and that the earlier “we changed the system, the better”.
He said with the multi-party democracy, the preoccupation of the opposition parties was not to assist the government with constructive criticism and good suggestions for it to do better but to work assiduously to ensure that it failed in its endeavours so that the electorate would vote for it (minority) in next elections.
According to him, this is done irrespective of the damaging effect to the ordinary Ghanaian.
He said another damaging feature of the multi-party democracy was that even when the majority was wrong, it could have its way to the detriment of all Ghanaians, because it had enough numbers.
On how the proposed “All inclusive national government” would work, Mr Obeng explained that it would start from the various unit committee levels where uncorrupted, qualified, knowledgeable and respected members of the area would be selected from among the people to represent them in the unit committee.
He said this would be replicated in the district assemblies as well as constituencies and that at each stage the selected few would also choose their leaders.
Mr Obeng said at the constituency level, a member from each constituency would be selected to form the national assembly who would in turn appoint one from within to be the President and the Speaker of Parliament.
He again proposed that the assembly with the input of their local people would single out some knowledgeable, experienced and qualified members of the society from diverse background to form the cabinet.
He said the new system would be transparent, devoid of the acrimony usually associated with elections at various levels and ensure that at any point in time the government would not be a baby of a particular political party but that of the entire nation.
Mr Obeng said under the new system, removing or punishing people who undertook dubious activities or corrupt practices would not be difficult because unlike in the current system where a political party would do everything to defend its appointees.
He added that because under the proposed system owning such people up would not affect the electoral fortunes of any party, the members would never hesitate to do that.
According to him, the Nkrumah regime came close to establishing this system but because all the parties were abolished with the exception of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), people did not accept that and this did not work consequently.
John Mahama denies cracks in NDC
Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has denied claims that there are cracks in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), explaining rather that there were different shades of opinion and power centres in the party which are not peculiar to it.
He added that the NDC remained strong and that the government would work assiduously to deliver on its campaign promises.
Vice-President Mahama also disagreed with a suggestion by former President J. J. Rawlings that President J. E. A. Mills was not asserting himself to ensure that the government machinery moved in the proper direction.
Mr Mahama said although things seemed slow, especially with the appointment process, it was because the Mills administration was following the dictates of the Constitution.
“Things are slow. Some of the things are moving in the wrong direction and this has allowed some characters around him to take advantage of the situation to do things they are not supposed to do,” the former President had said.
The two addressed the press separately in Accra during the first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the NDC after it won the 2008 elections. They had to leave the meeting midway because they had to attend pressing engagements.
The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, brought together the leadership of the party throughout the country.
The Vice-President said things seemed slow because of the high expectations of the people and that most of the procedures for taking certain decisions and appointments by the government had been prescribed by the Constitution and they must be followed.
“We must realise that we are working with a Constitution and people must also bear in mind that we are not in a coup d’etat era when people can be blanketly dismissed and replaced,” he said.
He cited the instance of the service commander who could not be appointed without prior consultation with the Council of State and added that “the Council of State was only recently sworn in and they have just approved the names of the service commanders and that within days their names will be announced”.
Mr Mahama said some para-statal institutions had been listed on the stock exchange, making the replacement of their chief executives not simply easy, adding that even with the rest the Mills administration would not want to go back to the era when chief executives were told to leave office en bloc and replaced.
He said the Constitution required that the government make appointments taking into consideration gender, regional balance and majority of such appointees from Parliament.
According to former President Rawlings, “President Mills is not providing the dynamic leadership that the people are demanding, such as calling the tunes and dictating the pace. Things are slow.”
On recent ministerial appointments, he said quite a number of them were good and had integrity “but others are mediocre. This is obvious and the people know them”.
He said the NDC was aware of those issues, it must be assertive and make its voice heard on all matters and “remind the people we have elected that they are not independent candidates but were elected on the platform of the NDC”.
He added that the NDC remained strong and that the government would work assiduously to deliver on its campaign promises.
Vice-President Mahama also disagreed with a suggestion by former President J. J. Rawlings that President J. E. A. Mills was not asserting himself to ensure that the government machinery moved in the proper direction.
Mr Mahama said although things seemed slow, especially with the appointment process, it was because the Mills administration was following the dictates of the Constitution.
“Things are slow. Some of the things are moving in the wrong direction and this has allowed some characters around him to take advantage of the situation to do things they are not supposed to do,” the former President had said.
The two addressed the press separately in Accra during the first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the NDC after it won the 2008 elections. They had to leave the meeting midway because they had to attend pressing engagements.
The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, brought together the leadership of the party throughout the country.
The Vice-President said things seemed slow because of the high expectations of the people and that most of the procedures for taking certain decisions and appointments by the government had been prescribed by the Constitution and they must be followed.
“We must realise that we are working with a Constitution and people must also bear in mind that we are not in a coup d’etat era when people can be blanketly dismissed and replaced,” he said.
He cited the instance of the service commander who could not be appointed without prior consultation with the Council of State and added that “the Council of State was only recently sworn in and they have just approved the names of the service commanders and that within days their names will be announced”.
Mr Mahama said some para-statal institutions had been listed on the stock exchange, making the replacement of their chief executives not simply easy, adding that even with the rest the Mills administration would not want to go back to the era when chief executives were told to leave office en bloc and replaced.
He said the Constitution required that the government make appointments taking into consideration gender, regional balance and majority of such appointees from Parliament.
According to former President Rawlings, “President Mills is not providing the dynamic leadership that the people are demanding, such as calling the tunes and dictating the pace. Things are slow.”
On recent ministerial appointments, he said quite a number of them were good and had integrity “but others are mediocre. This is obvious and the people know them”.
He said the NDC was aware of those issues, it must be assertive and make its voice heard on all matters and “remind the people we have elected that they are not independent candidates but were elected on the platform of the NDC”.
Nduom advocates home grown stimulus package
DR Paa Kwesi Nduom, the Convention People’s Party (CPP) 2008 Presidential Candidate has advocated a Gh¢ 5 billion home grown stimulus package to cushion the country against the spilling effect of the current global crises.
He also suggested that the government put together a team of experienced business people, experts from Bank of Ghana and the financial sector to be called “Ghana Domestic Business Stimulus Committee” who would select some local industries and assist them to build their capacities to make them globally competitive.
He said the team which would be headed by the President should identify beneficiary local enterprises, find ways of raising the funds required and ensure the effective implementation of the package.
Dr Nduom made the call at a press conference in Accra to suggest ways of enabling Ghanaians to gain control over the domestic economy and adopt nationalistic policies in the management of the nation’s development agenda.
“I am not asking us to copy the American, Japanese, British, French or Chinese stimulus package. .The kind of stimulus package I am calling for is one that will give the commanding heights of the economy to Ghanaians, domesticate the economy and create productive and sustainable jobs,” he added.
“This is not the time for textbook economics written for the developed markets, even the developed world is putting those textbooks aside and seeking practical solutions right for the times we are in, ”Dr Nduom added.
He said the policy thrust of the 2009 budget was to reduce the current budget deficit to a sustainable level, improve the exchange rate regime and work towards the attainment of single digit inflation.
“This policy thrust goes against the grain of what is needed to achieve self-determinations which requires growth and aggressive actions to get the productive sectors of the economy moving,” he advised.
On how the GH¢ 5 billion would be generated, he said the Government of Ghana should commit GH¢ 2 billion, Bank of Ghana would also cough up GH¢ 1.5 billion while financial institutions would also provide GH¢ 1.5 billion as their share of the low cost funding for the stimulus package.
He said aside these, the Parliament should adopt a “Buy Local” policy to ensure that the state used its purchasing power for goods and services produced locally to encourage local production and restrict imports through a combination of tax incentives, import tariffs and technical assistance.
Dr Nduom also suggested other means for achieving the capacity building of the local industry to compete favourably, transform the economy from a raw material producer to a manufacturing producer capable of creating jobs and wealth for Ghanaians.
He said firstly, government must support locally produced items such as fruit juices, electrical supplies, soaps, stationary, drugs, rice through hard and secure policies that restricted all government-funded organisations and projects to buy locally with no exceptions.
On the restriction of importation of consumer goods that could be produced locally, he said just as the European Union did not embrace all imports from every country without quotas, tariffs or special arrangements, Ghana could emulate the same.
He said Ghanaians must also bear in mind that great and prosperous nations were built on sacrifice and a high sense of patriotism and cited Japan that started production of products in smaller and less quality state but because their government supported them they had attained well-developed status.
Dr Nduom said it was high time the government spelt out its policy on value addition to raw materials prior to export that would ensure that the nation’s raw materials were not exported in their raw form at cheap prices to the western world.
He said although Ghanaians have great entrepreneurial ideas, the biggest stumbling block to the realisation of these vision was the lack of capital to start, continue and expand their dream industries.
However, he said, examples abound in the developing world that showed that state support was a means to building huge private industries.
He gave the example of Korea where the government under its Heavy and Chemical Industries Initiative, companies like the Goldstar, Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo were nurtured and promoted through low interest government loans, tax incentives and export facilities to their current state.
Dr Nduom said the Ghana Domestic Business Stimulus Committee could emulate the Korean example to support selected private industries in the country to lead the way in industrialisation.
He called for the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the new Pension Law which if diligently done and actively promoted would help accumulate a significant pool of long term money that could be used in financing productive ventures in the country.
He described as incomprehensible the situation of high interest rates and yet Ghanaians expected that agriculture and manufacturing, particularly agro processing would gain a boost.
According to him, the maximum level of interest rate should not exceed 15 per cent for those enterprises selected to participate in a stimulus packaged designed to strengthen local production capacity.
Dr Nduom said in addition to the funds ,the Bank of Ghana should provide to selected enterprises by the state, it must lead in the effort to reduce the cost of money that was used for productive purposes and not for buying and selling imported goods.
He also suggested that the government put together a team of experienced business people, experts from Bank of Ghana and the financial sector to be called “Ghana Domestic Business Stimulus Committee” who would select some local industries and assist them to build their capacities to make them globally competitive.
He said the team which would be headed by the President should identify beneficiary local enterprises, find ways of raising the funds required and ensure the effective implementation of the package.
Dr Nduom made the call at a press conference in Accra to suggest ways of enabling Ghanaians to gain control over the domestic economy and adopt nationalistic policies in the management of the nation’s development agenda.
“I am not asking us to copy the American, Japanese, British, French or Chinese stimulus package. .The kind of stimulus package I am calling for is one that will give the commanding heights of the economy to Ghanaians, domesticate the economy and create productive and sustainable jobs,” he added.
“This is not the time for textbook economics written for the developed markets, even the developed world is putting those textbooks aside and seeking practical solutions right for the times we are in, ”Dr Nduom added.
He said the policy thrust of the 2009 budget was to reduce the current budget deficit to a sustainable level, improve the exchange rate regime and work towards the attainment of single digit inflation.
“This policy thrust goes against the grain of what is needed to achieve self-determinations which requires growth and aggressive actions to get the productive sectors of the economy moving,” he advised.
On how the GH¢ 5 billion would be generated, he said the Government of Ghana should commit GH¢ 2 billion, Bank of Ghana would also cough up GH¢ 1.5 billion while financial institutions would also provide GH¢ 1.5 billion as their share of the low cost funding for the stimulus package.
He said aside these, the Parliament should adopt a “Buy Local” policy to ensure that the state used its purchasing power for goods and services produced locally to encourage local production and restrict imports through a combination of tax incentives, import tariffs and technical assistance.
Dr Nduom also suggested other means for achieving the capacity building of the local industry to compete favourably, transform the economy from a raw material producer to a manufacturing producer capable of creating jobs and wealth for Ghanaians.
He said firstly, government must support locally produced items such as fruit juices, electrical supplies, soaps, stationary, drugs, rice through hard and secure policies that restricted all government-funded organisations and projects to buy locally with no exceptions.
On the restriction of importation of consumer goods that could be produced locally, he said just as the European Union did not embrace all imports from every country without quotas, tariffs or special arrangements, Ghana could emulate the same.
He said Ghanaians must also bear in mind that great and prosperous nations were built on sacrifice and a high sense of patriotism and cited Japan that started production of products in smaller and less quality state but because their government supported them they had attained well-developed status.
Dr Nduom said it was high time the government spelt out its policy on value addition to raw materials prior to export that would ensure that the nation’s raw materials were not exported in their raw form at cheap prices to the western world.
He said although Ghanaians have great entrepreneurial ideas, the biggest stumbling block to the realisation of these vision was the lack of capital to start, continue and expand their dream industries.
However, he said, examples abound in the developing world that showed that state support was a means to building huge private industries.
He gave the example of Korea where the government under its Heavy and Chemical Industries Initiative, companies like the Goldstar, Hyundai, Samsung and Daewoo were nurtured and promoted through low interest government loans, tax incentives and export facilities to their current state.
Dr Nduom said the Ghana Domestic Business Stimulus Committee could emulate the Korean example to support selected private industries in the country to lead the way in industrialisation.
He called for the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the new Pension Law which if diligently done and actively promoted would help accumulate a significant pool of long term money that could be used in financing productive ventures in the country.
He described as incomprehensible the situation of high interest rates and yet Ghanaians expected that agriculture and manufacturing, particularly agro processing would gain a boost.
According to him, the maximum level of interest rate should not exceed 15 per cent for those enterprises selected to participate in a stimulus packaged designed to strengthen local production capacity.
Dr Nduom said in addition to the funds ,the Bank of Ghana should provide to selected enterprises by the state, it must lead in the effort to reduce the cost of money that was used for productive purposes and not for buying and selling imported goods.
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