PRESS RELEASE
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
AKUFO-ADDO’S MESSAGE TO HIS EXCELLENCY JOHN AGYEKUM
KUFUOR ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 72ND
BIRTHDAY AND IN COMMEMORATION OF
THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS HISTORIC VICTORY OF 2000
Good evening and a hearty welcome to all of
you here.
I invited you so that together, we could celebrate the 72nd
birthday of our outstanding leader, John Agyekum Kufuor, and
also commemorate the 10th anniversary of his historic
victory in the presidential election of 2000, which saw the
first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another
in our turbulent history. I chose this day sometime ago for
this event. But, as Providence would have it, earlier today,
Ghana joined the league of oil producing nations across the
world. After over a century of search, we discovered oil in
commercial quantities, in 2007. It took a careful and
determined effort on the part of the NPP government, led by
President John Agyekum Kufuor, together with all the Jubilee
partners, for this feat to be achieved. Like many others,
who know how far our nation has come on that front, and how
much you personally put in to ensure this discovery, we say
to you your Excellency, ayekoooo!
The discovery of oil in 2007, under your leadership, is one
of the myriad of achievements that the NPP government
recorded in our eight year rule.
A few days ago, Ghana’s Social Health Insurance Model was
recognised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and the World Health Organization (WHO), and singled out for
the coveted South-South Cooperation Excellence Award, in
Geneva, Switzerland.
A documentary on BBC in 2008 stressed the importance of the
School Feeding Programme and the Capitation Grant and the
positive impact the two are having on primary school
enrolment in Ghana.
In your time, Ghana scored an excellent record of good
governance. The separation of powers and the independence of
the Judiciary and the Legislature were respected. The media
enjoyed unprecedented freedom. The rule of law prevailed and
the fundamental human rights of the people were respected.
Poverty statistics indicate that in your period, rapid
economic progress helped half national poverty rates, which
fell from approximately 50 per cent in 1991 to 28.5 per cent
by 2006. The GDP of our nation was quadrupled (or grew ten
fold per rebasing) in your time. Those who fiercely
challenged that fact are today basking in the recent
assertion that Ghana has now reached middle income status.
The argument as to who is the best president in our history
will in due course be settled by the historians. For me, it
is enough to say how proud I was and am to have been a
member, dare I say it even a senior member, of the most
progressive administration in my adult life, an
administration that brought to life the concept of
development in freedom. I was particularly proud to have
been the instrument chosen by your Excellency to facilitate
the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law which has led to a
radical expansion of media freedom in our country. There are
many people today, who, when they see the abuse to which
that freedom is being subjected by some irresponsible
elements in the media, question the wisdom of the repeal.
Even though I am one of the greatest victims of that abuse,
I still insist that media freedom is of itself vital for the
welfare of the society.
Much as the nation is rejoicing at first oil, there are
already disquieting developments on the horizon as to the
manner which our oil reserves and revenues are to be
treated. The decision by the majority in Parliament to amend
its own bill to allow for collateralization of our oil
revenue is unfortunate and ill informed. Available evidence
from the experience of other oil producing countries
suggests that the policy of collaterization of oil revenues
became prominent during the booms of the 1970s when oil rich
countries, like Angola, Nigeria and Venezuela, excited by
the prospects of increased future oil revenues, embarked on
heavy borrowing, usually on projects with inflated price
tags. The effect was that their economies were tied to their
creditors whilst the subsequent servicing of these debts
crippled economic transformation. Ghana risks joining this
tried and tested cursed path.
I would like to take this opportunity to urge the President
of the Republic not to give his assent to the Bill
containing the amendment to Clause 5, which removes the
agency of restraint on government expenditure embodied in
the original Bill, which was approved by his own Cabinet, as
it is not in the interest of both current and future
generations. To do so would be to go against his own
Cabinet’s considered opinion and the expressed wishes of the
people of Ghana as were reflected in the view of the over
80% of Ghanaians who contributed to the nationwide
consultations on how best to manage and utilize petroleum
revenues.
The amendment to Clause 5 opens the possibility for
Government to increase the debt burden of the nation to
unsustainable levels as witnessed to the detriment of
funding frontline social services and workers’ salaries,
when such borrowing (even on a far lower scale) resulted in
Ghana becoming a Highly Indebted Poor Country. The President
who is the first in our history to deal with oil revenues
should set a positive precedent of prudent and far-sighted
management of these revenues.
Another disturbing development is taking place next door in
La Cote d’Ivoire. Our Government, under the leadership of
President Kufuor, my predecessor, Hackman Owusu-Agyemang and
I as Foreign Ministers, spent a great deal of energy in
trying to help put together a peace process for the
resolution of the Ivorian crisis. We had all hoped that at
long last, long-delayed credible elections would lead
finally to the resolution of the crisis. Unfortunately, as a
result of lust for power, a disease that seems to afflict so
many African leaders, that conclusion is in serious doubt.
We can take comfort, however, from the fact that the wave of
democracy on the continent continues to gather pace.
Our continental organization, the African Union, and our
regional body, ECOWAS, are to be both applauded for standing
up firmly for the interests of the Ivorian people, who
expressed their will so clearly in the November 28 election.
Let us hope and pray that the current impasse will be
speedily and peacefully overcome, and the freely declared
will of the Ivorian people prevail. That is why I want to
commend the conduct of my friend, Prime Minister Celou
Diallo, who, after due process, has accepted the result of
the Guinean presidential election and conceded victory to
that great champion of Guinean freedom, Prof Alpha Conde,
who deserves all our congratulations for his victory after a
life time of struggle for democracy in his country. Celou
Diallo has shown he is a patriot and statesman, who is
ensuring the unity, peace and stability of his country. You
know that l know something of this, having conceded victory
in the narrowest presidential election result of our
history, perhaps in Africa’s history. The peace, stability,
freedom and unity of Ghana take precedence over all other
considerations.
In all of this, what can you expect of me, as I strive to
fill the large outside shoes of our guest of honour? I want
to be a strong, fair minded leader, with deep convictions, a
high sense of integrity, who will promote reconciliation and
unity in our party and our nation, and encourage the sense
of enterprise of the Ghanaian people, one who will deliver
on his promises and help create a brighter future for all of
us Ghanaians, under conditions of freedom, respect for the
liberties of the Ghanaian people and the rule of law. This
is the vision of leadership that inspires me, and I am
counting on the active cooperation and support of all of you
here, and millions beyond, to help make this vision a
reality, for the benefit of our nation’s development. In the
process, we shall confirm the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition
in our politics as the greatest force for progress in our
nation.
Next year will be a year of intensive preparations for our
party as we gear up for the great battle of 2012. We have to
win that battle. The welfare of our nation demands it. We
dare not contemplate any other outcome.
Let me wish you all a merry Christmas and, if not a
prosperous New Year in the conditions of Dufuor’s budget, at
least a productive one. Thank you all for honouring my
invitation in your numbers. Once again, join me in wishing a
happy birthday to His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor and
many more in the years to come, certainly to witness the
birth of another NPP administration in 2013, which will
build on the solid foundations for progress that were laid
in the eight years of his presidency.
Mr. P, God bless and more grease to your elbow.
May God bless all of us and mother Ghana.
