Loan rejected because of stringent conditions - Bagbin
Accra (Greater Accra) 26 July 2001
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, on Wednesday said giving up the power to prosecute Journalists for expressing their views was the most refreshing thought and deed that ever seized him.
"It is an irony that I am forgoing the power to jail Journalists, some of whom have vilified and maligned me and the President but nothing could be more refreshing."
Nana Akufo-Addo was making his concluding remarks during a debate on a motion to expunge the Criminal Libel and Seditious Laws from the Criminal Code.
He said in spite of the fact that the repeal of the laws was part of government's policy of making whole the idea of good governance most Ghanaians view the criminalisation of libel as improper and oppressive.
"Many actors in civil society including the Ghana Bar Association have unconditionally backed the repeal, I don't think that I have erred. If I have erred at all, I prefer to err in the company of those who love freedom."
He said: "It is a measure by which we are going to be judged in the day of reckoning and I know that when the history of Ghana is being written in the next four years, it would favour President Kufuor and his Attorney-General (himself)."
Nana Akufo-Addo, who is Member of Parliament for Abuakwa, said he would never hesitate to tell Ghanaians that Ex-President Jerry Rawlings used the Criminal Libel Law excessively.
"Four Journalists were jailed in eight years of the NDC rule. I am saying that the facts of history can never be distorted even if it is supposed to bring about consensus building (in Parliament)."
The member described the repeal as a "fulfilment of government's commitment. This is a way of guaranteeing the re-election of President Kufuor.
We shall fulfil all promises because we cherish our nation."
"To those who are hankering for the return of the Criminal Libel Law, I say they are out of step with public opinion today".
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 July 2001
The Minority on Wednesday explained that it rejected the 110 million-dollar loan agreement for the third Economic Reform Support Operation (ERSO III) because of the stringent conditions attached to it.
The Minority by 63 votes against 67 defeated the agreement brokered between government and the International Development Association (IDA) in support of the budget, which needed 100 votes to pass.
The same loan Agreement could not be passed by Parliament last year because of the conditions the donors attached to it.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader, said his side considered as unacceptable certain conditions including increasing prices of petroleum products and consumers paying for the full cost of utility services.
The conditions also demanded the re-launching of the divestiture process for Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), which publication should be made in the local and international media requesting expressions of interest from potential buyers interested in the purchase of the government remaining shares in the bank.
Another condition also called for the divestiture of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the issuing of export licences to private cocoa buying companies.
Mr Bagbin said these conditions were the same that were attached to the loan that induced the NDC government not to contract it.
He said it must be emphasised that loans from donor countries must have a humane face and that it must take into cognisance the social ability of the people to pay for the total cost of utility services and fuel prices without endangering the productive capacity of the country.
Mr Bagbin said as a developing economy the people within the set up were not matured to bear the full cost of a loan that would impose more hardships on them adding that subsidy was needed in some cases to prop up productive elements in the economy.
He said to generate the needed revenue to support the subsidy the government could look at other areas of economic activities like tourism.
He said the previous government was able to raise tourism from the doldrums and made it the third major foreign exchange earner.
Mr Bagbin said as an alternative to the Highly Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) initiative, which the government has adopted, tourism could be made attractive to bring in the needed hard currency.
He said the Ministerial position on tourism could be raised to Cabinet status and in that way the necessary environment would be created for the industry to gain the financial and logistics support to entice tourist into the country with a good packages like the current homecoming summit.
He said with such packages the country could earn about five to six billion dollars just like Pakistan did.
GRi…/
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