Accra, March 19, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday said it was opposed to the New Patriotic Party's (NPP's) plan to abolish private lotteries since that would worsen the already unemployment situation and would deprive many from their livelihoods.

The NDC said it was surprising that the NPP should be pursuing a policy of nationalisation of the lottery business in an era of privatisation and divestiture.

Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Flag bearer of the NDC at a press conference he held and diagnosed the 2003 Budget wondered what happened to the NPP'S Golden Age of Business and much vaunted support for the private sector.

He said if the private lotto was abolished it would driv! e the operators underground and the security measures required to police the ban would not make it cost effective.

"The resultant effect will be the criminalisation of the large number of Ghanaians who will be tempted to engage in this then illegal activity, diverting the attention of the security agencies from legitimate security pursuits and clogging the law courts with unproductive lotto cases.

"The evolution of the banker to banker, which was one of the major reasons for the liberalisation of the lottery business, shows that you cannot enforce a ban on the private lotto business".

Prof Mills said the NDC was opposed to the abolition of private lotto because it was inconsistent with the NPP government's own appointment of a Games Commissioner who was supposed to regulate competition within the industry.

He said for those reason the NDC MPs were being advised to vote against the bill to restore the monopoly of the Lottery Business to the state when the bill was introduced in Parliament.

"Should they fail and the NPP majority passes the bill I wish to serve notices that the next NDC government would introduce a new Bill to liberalise the Lottery industry and allow for private participation in the Lottery business."

On wages for workers, Prof Mills said it was regrettable that prices and costs went up in excess of 80 percent and wage increase was 28 percent as announced in the budget.

"Clearly, the minimum wage is incapable of taking care of the very modest daily expenditure of the average Ghanaian family.

"Meanwhile, we are yet to know the salary adjustment for public and civil servants whose living conditions are deteriorating under the weight of the transport fare hikes, the rent increases, the rising cost of food, and all the other unconscionable increases in the cost of living.

Prof Mills said the increases in petroleum prices and VAT would shoot up electricity and water bills while school fees would rise judging from the notice the Ghana National Association of Private Schools GNAPS) have served that fees would go up in May this year.

He said "a bag of cement now sells at 45,000 cedis, up from 20,000 cedis in 2000. Landlords have raised their rents and many tenants who cannot afford to pay the higher rents are being ejected.

"The phenomenon of homelessness is being added to the growing list of social problems that the NPP Government is leaving behind for the NDC to come and solve", he said