Prez Debate: NDC govt to seek good deal in negotiations

Accra, Nov 17, GNA - Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress on Tuesday said his government would ensure that it obtained a good deal from any negotiation with the Bretton Wood Institutions.

Answering questions at the Presidential Debate, Prof Mills admitted that it would not be easy to wish away the IMF and the World Bank but said it was possible for Ghana to tell the two institutions what would improve the welfare of its citizens.

"Indeed because we have always been focusing on the short-term measures we do not prepare well and we therefore do not get leverage from our negotiations," he said.

Prof Mills said when the country was able to negotiate conditions on its own terms; the IMF policies would be complementary to the country's domestic entrepreneurship.

On Petroleum prices, Prof Mills said the NDC government would review the price of fuel by looking at the 13 cost items embedded in the current prices on the market.

The cost items, he said, were not aimed at ensuring that cost recovery in the petroleum sector but were only revenue generating avenues.

"By looking at them critically, I am sure we can come out with a realistic price for fuel that meets the need of Ghanaians," he said. Touching on macro-economic stability, Prof Mills said, lowering of key economic indicators such as inflation was alone not enough to propel the country out of its economic difficulties.

He said the current stability was attained because of good world market prices for cocoa and gold, saying that the figures could change anytime depending on the changing fortunes of the world economy. Prof Mills said what the country needed now was a strategic drive for investment in productive sectors to break the over reliance on cocoa and gold.