President Mills addresses Ghanaian students in New York

President Atta Mills

President John Evans Atta Mills has underscored the need for the youth to be taught how to advance their arguments through debates instead of using intemperate language.

“I think that it is important that young people are taught the right things,” he said, during interaction with17 Ghanaian students, who were in the office of the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations in New York, on Friday morning.

The students, selected from various first cycle schools, including those from some deprived communities are in the United States, for a week to participate in a Model United Nations Conference at the State Department, in Washington, DC.

President Mills said at the UN the students would see how debates are done and how arguments are advanced without the use of intemperate language.

He tasked them to look at things very critically and ask the necessary questions.

Responding to questions from the students, the President recounted efforts by his government to modernise agriculture and the provision of irrigation facilities.

“Luckily with the Chinese loan that we have been able to procure, we are targeting irrigation of about 11,000 hectares of the Accra Plains and want to make sure that we can have an all-year farming season, President Mills said.

He also identified the marketing of agriculture produce as another area that the government had taken keen interest in.

President Mills said it was very important waste to be properly managed in order to control the spread of diseases and pollution.

He said a number of organisations were interested in helping Ghana to develop her waste management techniques, some of whom had contacted the government on the issue.

Referring to his last State of the Nation Address, the President reiterated his determination to ensure that deprived communities got the needed infrastructure to improve on lives.

President Mills disclosed that when met his Togolese counterpart, Mr Faure Gnassingbe they discussed the possibility of Ghana and Togo teaming up to have access to cheaper laptops

Asked about his efforts to solve the water problem in New Ningo, he said Government was providing boreholes to alleviate the problem.

“We are also working on the Kpong water project, which is going to add about four million gallons of water to water supply in the Accra Region.

“For almost 50 years nothing was done about the main electricity power transmission lines... For now we are working very seriously on it since power supply is very crucial and fundamental to the country's development.

“We are going to have a second compact of the Millennium Challenge Account. We had the first one, which ended with my (inauguration) of the N1 Highway. We are getting a second one. In that one, the emphasis is on energy supply and we want to ensure that there is enough power to go round the whole country.

“Furthermore, solar energy systems are being encouraged to address the country's energy problem.

Mr Ernest Danquah, County Director of Lifeline Ghana, Leader of the students informed President Mills that Ghana won four out of the 36 awards with 1,500 participants at last year's Model UN Model Conference in New York.

He explained that the government's current policy of establishing Information Community centres throughout the country had made it possible for many students in the deprived areas to have access to internet facility, to broaden their knowledge and to take part in the UN programme.