God will expose killers of Ya-Na -Kufuor
President Kufuor has repeated his innocence in the events leading to the death of the Overlord of the Dagbon Traditional Area, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and some of his elders.
Speaking at the palace of the Regent of Gukpe-gu Ziblim Abdulai, Kufuor said he has not rested since the Dagbon crisis.
President Kufuor who is on a two-day visit to the northern region to assess the extent of the damage caused by last weekend’s rainstorm expressed regret that the murder of the Ya-Na has sown mistrust between him and some of his Dagomba friends.
Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and forty others died on March 2002.
President Kufuor called on Ghanaians to “begin to trust each other and find a way forward for Dagbon.”
“I am waiting for the day when God in his wisdom would expose those who committed the crime,” he declared.
The President’s comment followed an apology by the regent regarding the inability of the Andani family to visit him to show their gratitude for his role in the burying of the Ya-Na.
Regent Ziblim Abdulai thanked the President for the numerous projects being carried out in the region and called for more.
He asked President Kufuor to consider renovating the Tamale Teaching Hospital which is in dire need of help.
In response, President Kufuor said the government has signed a 45 million euro contract with the Dutch government to rehabilitate the hospital. He disclosed that the hospital needs about 70 million dollars to have a facelift.
President Kufuor who described the hospital as a disgrace blamed successive governments for allowing it to degenerate to that level.
He chastised the Tamale concerned citizens for embarking on a demonstration describing it as a pretence march conducted to score political points.
Source:
JOY ONLINE
Mills attacks $30 million presidential villa
The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress for Election 2008, Professor John Atta Mills, has criticised the government for spending $30 million on a presidential villa whiles students are facing accommodation problems.
He said: “Instead of investing more on education to help reduce the burden on parents, the government is spending 30 million dollars on the construction of a presidential palace.”
Prof Mills said this at the handing over ceremony of the Tertiary Education and Institutional Network (TEIN) of the NDC at the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) in Accra.
He therefore urged the government to inject more capital into the construction of hostels to help alleviate the accommodation problem facing students.
Prof Mills said the accommodation problem facing students could have been solved had the government used the 20 million dollars for the 50th anniversary and the money meant for the construction of presidential palace to invest in education.
Prof Mills said as a developing nation, more emphasis must be given to education and that the current educational situation in the country needed more attention from the government.
He said the NDC had learnt lessons from the recent Nigeria general elections and that his party would not accept any attempt by the government to rig the 2008 general elections.
Prof Mills said the government was arrogant due to its inability to accept criticisms in good faith and called on NDC supporters to be more vigilant in the 2008 general elections.
Dr Sekou Nkrumah, son of late President Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, said the NDC was not a violent party as being peddled by the NPP and that it was rather the Dankwa-Busia tradition that had the history of originating political violence in the country.
He said the Conventional Peoples' Party (CPP) had failed since 1992 to unite.
Dr Nkrumah said the NDC stood for social justice that should be the hallmark of Pan-Africanism and called on the electorate to vote for the NDC in 2008 election.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South and Minority spokesperson on communication, said the NPP had been benefiting from NDC's policies.
He said the current ¢1.6 trillion and ¢3 trillion benefits from the road fund and the GET Fund respectively were some of the legacies left by the NDC to the NPP.
Mr Ato Ahwoi, a leading member of the NDC, said the current power rationing was as result of the insensitive nature of the government to the plight of ordinary Ghanaians.
Mr Ahwoi said the NPP government was the only government that had not added any megawatts to the country's power.
He said the current situation calls for measures such as importation of more emergency power plants, importation and distribution of compact fluorescent lamps to conserve about 20 percent of energy and also to ensure that the 80 megawatts of electricity generating set imported by the mining companies became operational.
Mr Saint Osei, the President of IPS TEIN, stressed the need for the youth to sacrifice for the party and called for unity among the NDC.
Source:
GNA
Kufuor re-assures Tamale disaster victims of support
Tamale, April 29, GNA -
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Sunday paid a day's working visit to disaster areas within Tamale Metropolitan Area and called on Ghana's development partners for support to re-settle the affected victims.
"Government alone cannot meet the total cost of the damage. Ghana's economy would dislocate if government alone bear all the cost," he added.
President Kufuor made the call when addressing some disaster victims in Tamale.
"Government would take the necessary steps to bring relief to the disaster victims in Tamale," he said.
The disaster caused by a severe rainstorm on Saturday, April 21 destroyed 750 private homes, 59 government bungalows, 36 schools, 180 electricity poles and displaced 6,900 people. The total cost of destruction was estimated at about 39.8 billion cedis.
President Kufuor said Government would not concentrate on government properties that were destroyed but pay more attention on private homes to relieve the affected persons from the trauma they had gone through.
"Whether it is a natural disaster or man-made, Government cannot overlook it and leave the people to suffer," he added.
President Kufuor advised the committee inaugurated to supervise the distribution of relief items to work diligently and make fair and just distribution to ensure that political tags were not attached to them to win public confidence.
Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister said President Kufuor and Government shared in the plight of the victims and called for co-operation and understanding during the distribution of the relief items.
President Kufuor on arrival paid a courtesy call on Alhaji Ziblim Abdulai, Regent of Tamale and assured the chiefs and the people of Tamale that the Tamale Teaching Hospital was receiving attention. He announced that Dutch Government had provided 40 million dollars out of the estimated 70 million dollars needed to renovate the hospital and Government would provide the remaining 30 million dollars for work to begin soon.
President Kufuor appealed for the sustenance of peace in Dagbon, mutual trust and understanding between the people to ensure that the country was developed for Ghanaians.
He was accompanied by Mr Boniface Gambilla, Upper East Regional Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive and some District Chief Executives. 29 April 07
Source:
GNA
