Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the Presidential Hopeful of the ruling New Patriotic Party in Ghana
By William Yaw Owusu
Saturday June 28 2008
THE controversy over Tsatsu Tsikata sentencing reared up when Nana Akufo-Addo, flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party took his turn at the Institute of Economic Affairs’ ‘Encounter with Presidential aspirants’, in Accra on Thursday.
At question time, a reporter asked whether the sentencing of Mr Tsikata, a former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, in the absence of his counsel amounted to a violation of his human rights.
Nana Akufo-Addo, a constitutional lawyer responded that it is legally acceptable for a court to take its decisions in the absence of defence counsel.
He explained however, that if those decisions infringed on the rights of the individual he or she is at liberty to use the same judicial processes to seek redress.
“We do not want to live in a country where the courts themselves become agents of human rights abuse.”
Nana Akufo-Addo said “I do not like to comment on the decisions of the court. I was not in the country when the Fast Track High Court took its decision but I believe that when all the facts are made known we will see whether or not the court acted wrongly.”
“The trial judge in the case is a respected member of the bench. I do not think the judge will take any irresponsible decision being a refined criminal lawyer herself.
Nana Akufo-Addo said he will sponsor the facilitation of the passage of Right to Information Bill when given the nod in the December poll as president.
“The passage of the RTI bill would be passed within the early months of my administration to boost other intervention by government especially the Whistleblowers Law in the fight against corruption.”
Nana Akufo-Addo said he is committed to developing a modern society where the economy would grow at the rate of 10 per cent, rate improve the time for processing business applications and reduce the time for doing business in Ghana.
“The NPP government under President Kufuor has suceeded in laying a solid foundation to ensure accelerated growth and when given the nod, I will build on the foundation to ensure a prosperous Ghana.”
On agriculture, Nana Akufo-Addo said the government will irrigate the northern part of the country and the Accra plains to increase food production and reduce hunger in the country.
He said the northern part of Ghana is capable of becoming a bread basket in the West African subregion and promised to modernise the agric sector for that purpose.
He said he would ensure a value addition to the country’s raw materials, intensify the process of decentralisation and reform the public sector to ensure efficiency in government business.
Nana Akufo-Addo said, “I will be action oriented, demanding results, chase progress, reject bureaucracy.”
On haphazard development of cities and towns, Nana Akufo-Addo said, “I would enforce zoning regulations to ensure proper planning of our towns and cities with provisions made for parks, schools and other recreational facilities’.
He said his government would support real estate developers to construct at least 50,000 affordable houses to ease the accommodation problems facing the country.
He said about 20,000 sanitation inspectors would be deployed to deal with the problem of sanitation and increase resources for garbage treatment.
On security, the NPP flag-bearer said, “I will increase the number of police personnel in the country to 50,000 within the next five years from the current 22,000, provide modern security training and equipment to tackle the challenges of security facing the country’.
On education, Nana Akufo-Addo said a next NPP government would establish one university in every region in Ghana, expand infrastructure of existing tertiary institutions to enable many more people to attain high quality education.
He said Eastern and Volta regions will have new universities and also improve infrastructure in all the existing ones adding “the University for Development Studies, which has three campuses in Tamale, Navrongo and Wa would be strengthened”.
“Government will absorb additional user fees for science students to encourage the study of science.”
Nana Akufo-Addo said the nation would spend about 75 million Ghana cedis to implement free compulsory secondary education programme and teacher training colleges would be upgraded to tertiary level to train more qualitative teachers who would be capable of implementing the New Education Reform.
He said the school feeding programme would be expanded to enable parents send their children to school.
The NPP flag-bearer said he was committed to ensuring that the gap in education between the north and south of the country is bridged.
On decentralisation, Nana Akufo-Addo said the District Assembly Common Fund would be increased from five per cent to ten per cent to enable district assemblies to undertake development projects for the benefit of the majority of the people.
Nana Akufo-Addo said he would institute measures to collaborate with agencies in the United States and the United Kingdom in the fight against the narcotic drug trade and trans border crime.
Nana Akufo-Addo called on all Ghanaians to contribute to the success of the 2008 Election since the world would be watching Ghana.
The IEA under the auspices of the Ghana Political Parties Programmes (GPPP) has designed the “ Encounter” to offer platform for flag-bearers of the registered parties to share their vision with the public.
It gives the public the opportunity to be properly informed about all options and proposals being offered by the Presidential aspirants and the political parties.
The ‘Encounter’ further enables the electorate to discern what each aspirant stands for, what each aspirant intends to do and the direction in which each aspirant intends to take Ghana.
The programme was broadcast live on Ghana Television and Joy FM.
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