The NPP message of economic transformation

The curtain is being gradually drawn on President Kufuor’s administration and that will bring to an end another full term of administration under the 4th Republic in which both the NDC and the NPP would have ruled for 8 years respectively. That would also mean that Ghanaians would be left the choice of which of the two administrations has the message strong and appealing enough to be given the opportunity to continue with the administration of the country. The issues for our people are such bread and butter issues such as the one with our democracy, the economy, health, welfare and education of our people, especially the children and the issues about environment. These issues affect us all irrespective of our political alienation. Therefore the issues before Ghanaians as we go into election 2008 are whether the quality of good governance is what we are going to continue, the management of the economy that we have seen under the Kufuor era have their support, whether the steps that have been taken to bring social justice in our country is what they need and then we are going to ask ourselves about the future of our country, who best can manage and transform the emerging Ghana. These are the questions. The answers will determine the results in December. Our democracy has grown for strength to strength. Never in our lives as Ghanaians has there been so much freedom in our country as has been under President Kufuor.

Nana Akufo-Addo in his recent address to the NPP faithfuls in London recently laid the firm foundations of the NPP message of transformation of our economy beyond the Kufuor era yet when he said, “when we came into office the rates of interest were over 50%, inflation was raging over 40% and our cedi was depreciating everyday in its value. As result of the disciplined approach of the management of our economy we now have a sound micro economy in Ghana, stable currency, inflation at 10-11% and we are still determined to go into down. Interest rates have fallen from the horrific 50+% to 15-17% in the banks. And all this is taking place when crude oil prices have risen in the manner that no body dreamed was possible 5 years ago. We are dealing now with $100 barrel oil; but despite of all this because of the skill with which the national economy has been managed there is still stability in our economy today. These are the main planks of the achievements of the Kufour era. Now the platform has been created that would allow us to move forward to accelerate the development of our economy and now to begin also its transformation”.

The message of transformation sits at the very centre of the new NPP message in the Agenda for Positive Change Part 111- 2008 and beyond. The successes of President Kufuor’s era present their own challenges. The challenges that our economy faced in 2000 are completely different from the ones we face today. When the NPP took office, the economy was in the doldrums. Hon Victor Selormey, the NDC Deputy Minister of Finance described the economy he supervised as “between the devil and the deep blue sea” and that decisions had to be made before the end of the year. The NPP had to make those decisions to fix the economy. The measures that are needed to fix an economy from grade F in 2000 to B+ in 2006 are different from that needed to transform it from B+ to A*. We need to make a quantum leap. This is the point Nana Akufo-Addo was alluding to when he reminded the audience in his address in London that “We cannot be a nation that lives on the production and export of raw materials. If we continue to be just a raw material producing country we can never generate the incomes and prosperity that the masses of our people are looking for. We now have a platform to begin a systematic attempt to transform our national economy”.

He continued with the message about the quest to move the economy on towards industrialisation. He said “the President in his valedictory address to the Parliament, two or three week ago said the next phase of the development of our country was its industrialisation and we in the NPP are going to be responsible for the genuine industrial development of Ghana. So that is where we are and that is also what we have for the future. In the last 18 months we have discovered that our sea is full of crude oil. The find that has been made which is the first of many that are on the way is already assuring us of enormous revenues. We are looking at the first find of about 3 billion barrels in the first find and the possibilities in Ghana are enormous. We are going to use these discoveries and the revenues that flow from them in a responsible and accountable manner. Ghana is not going to fall into the trap of so many counties in our continent who have been more cursed than blessed by the discovery of oil. We are going to make it possible for it to be a genuine blessing to create the revenues that will allow us to industrialise our economy because we are going to put in place a transparent, open and accountable system with the oil revenues. This is a pledge that we are making with you tonight, and it is a pledge to Ghanaian people that if we come to power in January 2009, already there will be in place this accountable mechanism so that the Ghanaian people can see in the plain light of day, every pesewa that is accrued from the oil is used and distributed. It is time that the world saw a successful, modern African state and Ghana is going to be the successful modern African state. When I say I believe in Ghana people ask why and that is what I mean when I say I believe in Ghana”.

Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP’s message of transformation of the economy give us a new hope of renewal based on the democratic foundations of our founding fathers. We must use our newly found freedom and democracy to create opportunities for our generation and generations after us. We have a choice in Ghana, the choice of change, the politics of renewal, of transformation and of opportunity shared by the NPP against the politics that breed division, conflict and cynicism represented by our opponents.

We must use our democracy for the good in our people. We were told by the NDC that the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law would bring chaos and anarchy and would not be good for democracy. We took a different view. We felt that the freer the individual to express himself the better would be his contribution to the growth and development of the society. The Criminal Libel Law has been repealed. Those who cried anarchy and chaos are the best beneficiaries of it. But we must not use the excesses of the newly found freedom of our opponents and their mouthpieces as an excuse to make mistakes with democracy, otherwise we will be making mistakes to simplify, stereotype and amplify the negatives to the point that distort the reality of democracy.

God bless our homeland Ghana