The presidential candidate of the NDC, Prof Mills has alleged that each of the 71 trips made by President Kufuor cost the Ghanaian taxpayer not less than $100,000. This means that President Kufuor has spent more than $7 million on his foreign travels alone.

In an interview with the Insight newspaper, Professor Mills said: “There is one thing people do not know, I have been vice President and I have even acted as President. Moving a President is not easy. It is very expensive. If a President decides that he wants to go outside this country, he will be spending not less than $100,000 on one trip”.

Prof Mills said he would reduce waste substantially if elected President and increase revenue through more efficient tax collection. According to him, it was almost criminal to continue squandering public resources on the comforts of officials when the vast majority of Ghanaians are unable to provide for their health needs and access education for their children.

He said an NDC government guided by the ideology of social democracy will move away from prescriptions of the IMF and World Bank and focus on building a self reliant national economy.

I Will Use Only 4 Cars – Mills

The campaign for the 2004 elections appears to have began in earnest with candidates making promises and throwing jibes at each other. The Flagbearer of the NDC, Prof Mills has promised that if elected President, his Presidential convoy will not have more than four vehicles.

He said in the current government, “officials are traveling first-class everywhere, and the President’s convoy is made up of about 20 vehicles. I say that I will not have more than four cars in my convoy”.

When the interviewer from the Insight newspaper asked if that was a promise, Prof Mills answered “Yes, President Kufuor promised that he would cut down on the number of Ministers. What do we see now?”

Prof Mills dismissed claims that the NDC is broke and disunited and said the prospects for the party in the 2004 elections are very good.