Council of State gives Kufuor thumps up

Accra, March 30, GNA - The Council of State has commended President John Agyekum Kufuor for the significant achievements made by his Government, which it said, should not be glossed over.

"We believe that on the balance our country has moved significantly forward and this must be attributed to your excellent, thoughtful, careful and sober leadership"

Professor Adjei Bekoe, Chairman of the Council, said in opening remarks at their second quarterly meeting with the President at the Castle, Osu, on Thursday.

He mentioned some of the achievements as the implementation of the Capitation Grant, massive improvement in public transportation, Ghana's access to the Millennium Challenge Account, inauguration of the new national airline, Ghana International Airline and the re-start of the operations of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO).

The others were the construction of the West African Gas Pipeline, taking Ghana through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), launch of the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS), approval of the 2006 budget before the beginning of the Financial Year, noticeable improvement in time management and discipline at public functions and ceremonies and the support for the Black Stars that helped the team to qualify Ghana for the World Cup.

Professor Bekoe said these were substantial achievements for which all Ghanaians should be proud of. He, however, cautioned against complacency.

The Chairman drew attention to the need for all to be mindful of the rights of other members of the society to ensure peaceful co-existence and harmony.

"We want to see Ghana succeed and we can go a long way towards this end if each of us will make every effort to put Ghana first in all we do."

The Council raised concerns about safety on the highways, traffic congestion in Accra and the related wastage of time and highly priced fuel, indiscipline and poor sanitation.

Responding President Kufuor said Ghanaians should be proud of the Council for the invaluable advice it had been giving to him that was helping to move the country forward.

He said he was not blowing his own horns but the truth was that the progress made within the past few years had been tremendous, adding: "The Government is as good as any that has tackled infrastructure development."

The President mentioned the improvement in the road network and efforts being made to inject efficiency into the electricity supply system; the tackling of water problems including that of Cape Coast and Tamale and the connectivity of the entire nation to Information Technology (IT) among other things.

The weakest spot, he said, was environmental sanitation and called on all Ghanaians to get on board to bring the situation under control. President Kufuor said the Government was making every effort to equip the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies with refuse disposal systems.

The Assemblies, he said, should complement by enacting bye-laws to punish those who showed disregard for sanitation.

President Kufuor also touched on indiscipline and said the Government was open to views on how to deal with this, pointing out that, it could not be tackled by simple propaganda.