KUFUOR INSISTS ON FIVE-YEAR TERM FOR PRESIDENT

Former President, J.A. Kufour

FORMER PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has reiterated his call for Ghana to increase her presidential tenure of office from the present four years to five years, with two terms.

Mr. Kufuor in his last sectional address before exiting office in 2009 advocated a five-year tenure of office for a President.

Speaking on GBC URA Radio in Bolgatanga on Friday, the former President explained that Ghana is a developing country and one may get elected into office as President without any background in public administration and not knowing how the civil service works.

According to Mr. Kufuor, the first year is often used to get the team members in place and also to learn the rudiments of governance, while the second year is used to launch policies; meaning the political leadership would have to be in control of the civil service, where the policies are worked and formulated, to be captured in the bills that are submitted to Parliament to make laws and policies.

After their implementation to translate these policies into projects such as building roads, hospitals and schools, the second year would have gone. He said in the third year when these projects would have matured and people are beginning to appreciate what the government is capable of doing, it would have been entering into its fourth year - the election year.

'The election year gets to be like a mad year. All the politicians want to retain power so you can't focus on the work of government. For that reason, I thought for a five-year turn for a developing country that needs to have good laws and policies to be implemented to serve the needs of people.

'If we have a five-year term, the third year would see to the maturing of policies and laws, the fourth year will see the good policies that would serve the nation. By the fifth year when people are canvassing for power, the good works can be judged by all', he stressed.

He said when he was invited by the Constitutional Review Commission, he stated this position to the committee and hoped it would be considered.

On the Woyome saga, Mr. Kufuor said 'we have been misconstrued'. He said the NPP are demanding a transparent public commission so that anybody whose name has been mentioned would be put before the public commission to be openly quizzed.

'My government didn't give any contract to Woyome. If they say we gave a contract to Woyome, then put Kufour before this commission and quiz Kufour for the truth to come out, and I will do the same with the present government. But I can assure you that my government never gave any contract to Woyome', the ex-President stated.

Responding to a question about his feeling on the upcoming general elections, he said he was hopeful the elections would be free and fair, if the EC is up to the task.