GRi in Parliament 20 – 02 - 2003
State of the Nation
Address was unambiguous
He said it was not an ordinary
address as it provided the impetus for the positive change that the President
promised on his assumption of office. The youngest member
of Parliament was moving for the debate on the State of the Nation address in
Emmanuel Zumakpeh,
NDC-Nadowli South, said the address was silent on certain
crucial areas and activities in national life that continue to blight the life
of the ordinary person.
"We did not hear of corruption
and how it is being addressed, we did not hear of the dwindling value of the
cedi, we were not told anything about the gross indiscipline in society."
He said the government had not
delivered on its promises adding, that, "at least, we should have been
told the problems countered and how the President intends to deal with those
problems assuming that the people of Ghana believed that he tried to deliver on
those promises."
The member said it was strange
that after the promises of old were not fulfilled, the President was making
more promises. "Cost of living is now so high, while wages and salaries
are low, price hikes are expected soon, we want the government to soften the
ground a little bit."
He appealed to the President to
extend his special initiative programmes to
He said the perennial problems that
blight rural economies like harvest loses, credits and lack of water would soon
be a thing of the past. The Minister said roads that were neglected over the
years were being tackled under the present administration.
He said government would have proceeded
on a faster note in the building of roads in the Western Region, had it not
been the "IFC loan waterloo" "IFC or no IFC, the roads are being
built, road projects are coming to us like an evening rain storm."
GRi.../
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