Ghanaians urge Kufuor to reconcile the nation

Accra, Jan. 7, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor was on Friday urged to use his next four-year term to further reconcile the nation. Various people who spoke to the Ghana News Agency on the day President Kufuor was inaugurated said he needed to do more to reconcile the nation.

Mr Mike Griffiths, a Director at Sunny FM, an Accra private radio station, noted that the reconciliation process initiated by the President and the Government was a good thing.

However, in recent times, there had been certain actions and inactions by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which impeded reconciliation.

"I was disappointed for instance to see the statue of Dr J. B. Danquah, at Danquah Circle at Osu in Accra, covered with NPP flag although that roundabout and the statue are national monuments and not party monuments," he said.

Mr Griffiths said doing things in such a way went a long way to deepen the already existing politically pent up feelings, which were not good for national reconciliation.

The GNA was sampling opinion for a cross section of Ghanaians to express their views on their expectations from the President. Mr Akunu Dake, Chief Executive of Heritage Development, a Public Relations, Events Management and Hospitality Practitioners and Consultants, urged the President to be more indigenous minded in whatever decisions he took for the nation.

"The President should keep it in mind that no matter how well intentioned foreign support is, it can never solve all our problems unless we consciously develop and tap on the self-confidence of our own people."

Mr Dake said in the next four years he expected the President to approve only policies and programmes, which would fully integrate the contribution of Ghanaians in the national development process. Mrs Vivian Nuhu, a Wildlife Specialist at the Forestry Commission, said she expected the President to use the next four years to revamp the education system to ensure that education was made affordable from the nursery to the tertiary level.

She said education was the key to development and there was the need to widen the coverage as much as possible to ensure that many Ghanaians were educated.

"In recent times we've been talking about wealth creation, but that cannot be achieved effectively if the majority of our people remain illiterate."

Mrs Nuhu also noted that the education campaign on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was deceptive, saying that it created the impression that subscribers of the scheme would have all healthcare service for free.

"We all know that is not true and I expect the President to come out boldly and let his people do the right things," she said.

Mr Franklin Adumuah, a Waiter at La-Palm Beach Hotel, expressed disappointment about what he described as the President's silence about cases of corruption in his Government in the first four years.

"I will be glad to see the President come out to stem corruption in his own Government as he promised in the zero tolerance for corruption policy contained in the Positive Change Chapter One manifesto," he said, adding: "The President cannot continue to pretend as if he does not know about the corruption cases in his Government."

Ms Bilikis Nuhu, Dress Designer at La in Accra, said she wanted to see salaries improve within the second four-year term of President Kufuor.

"I understand they said they want to half poverty by 2015 so by 2008 salaries should be high enough to keep Ghanaians above the poverty line."

Mr Gideon Allotey, Businessman, said: "I want to see the President and his government focus on the fulfilment of the promises in the Positive Change Chapter Two manifesto because that is why we voted for them."

Ms Mavis Sowah, Nurse, shared Mr Allotey's concern, saying that the President should focus on the promises and fulfil them in time and on time.

Mr Kweku Ayub, Musician, said he would want to see the President maintain his fatherly figure, which he did so well during his first four-year term, in spite of all the attacks in sections of the media on his personality.

"He should continue to ignore his detractors and focus on consolidating the image that has made him even more popular within his first four years."

Mr Ayub said: "I think if the NPP is going to win the 2008 election it will depend to a large extent on the way the President carries himself in this second term."

Mr Tetteh Agidi, Driver, said the President should not take the speculations that government officials were likely to loot the national coffers on their way out of power for granted.

"The President must institute preventive measures to protect the national interest against any possible malfeasance on the part of any politician."