Pictures speak louder than words
Accra (Greater Accra) 07 February 2002 - Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, Member of Parliament for Wenchi West on Wednesday said that a false government had been run for the past year in which the President and his members appeared to be organising forums as if views expressed at these meetings represented public opinion.
"What the government is doing only appears that they want to be told only what they want to hear, proceed to hear it, act upon what they have heard as if that was public opinion and organise praises for themselves".
Continuing the debate on the President's State of the Nation address, delivered to the House on January 31, Mr Nketiah said during the past year, "the NPP government has clearly demonstrated their shortcomings in speech writing and document preparation that it would be absurd for any critical observer to expect a better presidential address than what has been presented".
During the past year, "we have witnessed what appears to be orchestrated durbars to honour government functionaries merely for their being appointed into various offices but not their achievements in those offices", Mr Nketiah further said.
The reality was that violent criminality was on the increase with armed robbers daring the security agencies, the MP said, adding that the witticism of the President's address that: "Governments and employers pretend to pay workers, who in turn pretend to work" was a falsehood, since nowhere in the recent past had this been more applicable than the past year.
The past year had not seen any significant increases in salaries, no releases for items two and five on the budget and no transport claims for, especially agricultural extension workers, Mr Nketiah observed and added that the government did not believe in the rule of law since it appointed public servants before they were requested to apply for the jobs.
The Minister of Communications ordered right-hand drive buses, which was clearly against the law with the explanation that they intended to amend the law in future. He commended the government for its recognition that land acquisition was a critical factor to be addressed in farming but cautioned that mechanisation through leasing of tractors would not succeed without other support.
Mr Nketiah, who is the NDC ranking member on agriculture, called for a critical look at the collapsing cotton industry and to consider the use of composite flour for pastries.
He said the cocoa industry has so far not enjoyed any "pride of place" in the government's attention as was being alleged, adding that smuggling was a rational response of cocoa farmers to bad government marketing policy.
Mr Gabriel Yaw Amoah, NPP-Bosome-Freho and Chairman of the Committee on Local Government, commended the President for his forthrightness in identifying the problems of the local government system and trying to find solutions.
He said lack of political will, by the previous government to implement the decentralisation programme had created a lot of inconsistencies at the district assembly level.
Mr Amoah said of particular concern was the setting up of the Non-Formal Education Division (NFED), which absorbed most trained teachers and depleted most schools of qualified teachers in the interest of adult education.
He said adult education rightly belonged to the Department of Community Development and to improve the sector there was the need for the non-formal sector to be referred back to the department.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 February 2002 - Mr Boahene Aidoo, Western Regional Minister on Wednesday needed more than words to state his position on the state of the nation address so he "tendered" in an album of pictures of feeder roads.
"Mr Speaker, I tender in these pictures in evidence of what I want to say." Mr Aidoo's action is the first of its kind in this session but joins the queue of members in previous Parliaments, especially, Mr Kwaku Baah, who took fried fish and kenkey to the Third Republican Parliament.
He said: "The pictures are in two sets and they tell two stories. The first one talk about what I met and the second one about what we have been able to do." Mr Aidoo said for the first time in the history of the Western Region, a long stretch of a feeder road had been tarred. Roads in his region were being put in good shape to facilitate development.
"The President was right for making infrastructure development the first priority among his priorities." Mr D. Y. Mensah,NDC-Atebubu North, said the government had portrayed to the world that Ghana was a patient "whose disease was incurable and the NDC, the virus responsible"
He said Ghanaians, especially opponents of the government, have been intimidated through arrests and threats. "So it left them no time to concentrate on the affairs of the nation." Mr Mensah commended government for supporting Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas to become the ECOWAS Executive Secretary.
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