President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday appealed to Ghanaians to exercise restraint and give the government time to put the economy on a sound footing.

He said though the government took over the reigns of power five months ago efforts made to improve on the economy would soon reflect in the lives of the people.

President Kufuor was addressing separate durbars of the chiefs and people of Kasoa and Winneba as part of a two-day official tour of the Central Region.

Accompanied by Miss Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State in-charge of Media Relations and Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, President Kufuor would visit Twifo Praso, Cape Coast, Assin Fosu and Mankessim.

President Kufuor stressed the need for Ghanaians to exercise patience and allow the government to deliver on its campaign promises instead of engaging in acts that seek to undermine its efforts at resuscitating the economy.

" The government would always stand for the truth and be transparent to the people on issues that are of national concern. Those who oppose the government, should wait patiently for the next elections to decide on its fate."

He appealed for unity and co-operation among Ghanaians irrespective of their political affiliations to assist the government in moving the country forward.

President Kufuor reiterated that the government opted for the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative because of the huge debt it inherited from the previous government.

Many countries including Britain, Italy, Holland and Canada have cancelled debts Ghana owes them because of the joining of the initiative.

President Kufuor gave the assurance that the Accra-Kumasi and Accra-Cape Coast roads would be rehabilitated soon to reduce the high rate of motor accidents on them.

Mr Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister, said the government has the socio-economic development of the region at heart and asked the people to support its efforts to achieve these objectives.

He therefore advised them to bury their political differences, eschew petty squabbles and chieftaincy disputes, which have retarded the development of the region.

Nai Asafoatse Doodo, Chief of Ofankor appealed to the government to help solve the perennial water problem facing the people in the Awutu-Senya area.

At Winneba, Neenyi Ghartey, Omanhen of Efutu Traditional Area, appealed to government to upgrade the University College of Education at Winneba (UCEW) into a full fledged university, reactivate a machine at Dental unit of the Winneba Hospital, which has been idle for the past two years as well as solve some of the problems fishermen in the area face.