Accra, Feb. 18, GNA - The Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Nii Noi Ashong returned home on Tuesday after participating in the People's Assembly in London - the United Kingdom.

Speaking to Journalists on arrival, he said the programme, which was the third of its kind was at the invitation of the Ghana High Commissioner, Isaac Osei.

He said he used the opportunity to explain Government policies and projects for the coming years as well as the achievements that it had been chalked so far at the meeting, which a large number of Ghanaians resident in the UK attended.

Dr Ashong said the majority of Ghanaians expressed interest in coming to invest in Ghana especially in the area of agriculture because of the tax exemptions that would be enjoyed by prospective investors. He said Ghanaians there expressed concern about the issue of the dual citizenship and whether the Government had plans to allow them to vote over there in the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Deputy Minister said they suggested that the people's assembly needed to be replicated in other countries. Mr Kwabena Oku Afari, Principal Economist at the Ministry of Finance accompanied him

EXIGENCIES OF THE 2004 ELECTIONS WILL NOT DIVERT GOVERNMENT FROM THE PURSUIT OF RATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICIES -SAYS DR. SAMUEL NII NOI ASHONG

Dr. Samuel Nii Noi Ashong, Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has said in London that the exigencies of the 2004 elections would not divert government from the pursuit of rational economic polices.

He said that the government would not be lured into making extra budgetary expenses that would present difficulties for the country in the future and stressed that implementation of government?s polices would continue to be guided by prudence and strict fiscal discipline.

Dr. Samuel Nii Noi Ashong who made the comments at the third annual forum for the Ghanaian community in London organised by the Ghana High Commission under the theme ?Eleven years of constitutional rule- Good Governance through democracy? called on Ghanaians to rally around the government in the search for solutions to the growth of the economy.

The forum is held annually to sensitise Ghanaian residents in the UK on government and the Mission?s programmes over the past year and to elicit their views and suggestions on the way forward.

The forum was interlaced with renditions of patriotic songs and cultural performances by the Ghanaian Chaplaincy Choir and the Abrempong Cultural Troupe respectively

Among the dignitaries present at the function were Mr. Isaac Osei, Ghana?s High Commissioner to the UK, and his wife, Mrs Marian Osei, Mr. Kwabena Baah-Duodu, the Deputy High Commissioner and Mrs. Edith Baah-Duodu, Mr. Adolphus Arthur, Head of Chancery of the High Commission,. Mr. Kwabena Oku Afari, Principal Economist of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Mr. Roger Allotey, Manager of Ghana Airways, UK and Ireland

Other personalities present were Rev Nii Odonkor, the Ghanaian Minister in London, Rev James Enin, a Ghanaian Catholic Chaplain, Alhaji Ahmed Jumba, Chief Imam, Mr. Ima Plahar, President of the Ghana Union London and Heads of Sections of the High Commission.

The forum attracted about one thousand, two hundred Ghanaians including representatives of Ghanaian community Associations, Chiefs, the clergy, the Ghanaian media in the UK, political parties and friends of Ghana.

Dr Ashong noted that the government?s bold and forward-looking policies had culminated in healthy and robust economy which had laid the foundation for steady progress and sustained growth.

The Minister announced that the country had met three out of the four convergence criteria for the establishment of a second monetary zone in ECOWAS and gave the assurance that Ghana would be ready for the scheme by end of the year with the attainment of a single digit rate of inflation .

?In recognition of government?s sterling performance the country has been nominated as the headquarters of the West African Central bank?, said Dr Nii Noi Ashong.

He gave a vivid account of achievements chalked by the government in the various sectors especially in education, road construction, health, cocoa industry and agriculture and stressed that the overall thrust of government?s policies would remain poverty reduction and the empowerment of the private sector.

He described the 154% appreciation of the all share index of the Ghana Stock Exchange, which won the best performing bourse in emerging markets worldwide as unprecedented .

The Minister touched on a broad range of tax holidays granted under the current budget to promote investment particularly in agro processing and Waste management plants and the location of businesses in the districts and the deprived areas of the country.

Commenting on the government's decision to shelf the divestiture of Ghana Commercial Bank, Dr. Ashong urged Ghanaians to take a controlling stake in the bank by subscribing for shares during the planned floatation of part of government?s holdings in the company through the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Dr. Ashong said the government had achieved modest successes through its partnership with the Ghanaian business community and the good people of Ghana and expressed the hope that the partnership would be strengthened in future to enable government improve on the quality of life for all Ghanaians.

On sanitation, he said the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had been decentralised to enable the sub-metros to effectively handle sanitation in the localities.

Responding to a question on Ghana Airways Mr. Isaac Osei pointed out that efforts were being made to find a lasting solution to the problem which had existed over the decade.

To a question on what government was doing for Ghanaians desirous of returning home, Mr. Osei said the Ghana High Commission had provided direction and support for all those interested in returning home and added that it was the patriotic duty of all Ghanaians to heed the call made by the government on assumption of office to return home to assist in the re-building of the nation. He emphasised that Government could not treat Ghanaian professionals abroad differently from those who stayed at home.

Responding to a question on corruption, the High Commissioner pointed out that it would require the collective effort of all Ghanaians to uproot the canker and emphasised that where there were always two sides involved in this - the bribe taker and the bribe giver.

In his answer to a question on Ghana Airways, Mr. Roger Allotey described the airline as a potentially viable business and explained that Ghana Airways Board was currently evaluating proposals that would enable the Airline to enter into partnership with a strategic partner to source resources to bail the airline out of its present financial predicament.

He announced that the Airline would soon announce increases in luggage allowance and improve punctuality on their scheduled flights. He invited Ghanaians to help salvage the Airline by patronising the national carrier.

Among issues that emerged for discussion included the failure of Blacks Stars to qualify for the recent African cup of nations tournament, strategies to combat sanitation problems in Ghana, implementation of the Dual citizenship facility, unemployment and the exodus of medical professionals from the country.

ISSUED BY GHANA HIGH COMMISSION 18 FEBRUARY 2004