Political Parties Give Mixed Reactions To Prez Kufuor's Address

Representatives of the various political parties in the country have been giving mixed reactions to President Kufuor’s last State of the Nation Address delivered on Thursday, February 14, 2008. They generally agree that the President was more conciliatory and spoke directly to the issues than he has done in other state of the nation addresses. The General Secretary of the Convention Peoples Convention (CPP), Ivor Green Street commended the government for rebuilding neglected edifices built by the Nkrumah government. He however, was not happy with government’s inability to create jobs. The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said the president spoke to the issues which was commendable. He was not, however enthused with president Kufuor’s remarks about micro-economic stability, saying he was over concentrating on the subject. Mr Asiedu Nketia said he expected the president to also disclose that his government received more resources than any other government in the history of the country. The Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin expressed disappointment at the president’s failure to mention the drug menace that has plagued the country. He also faulted President Kufuor for politicizing the oil discovery, saying he expected the president to have outlined being put in place to make the discovery truly a blessing. On the issue of corruption, Mr Bagbin said the address ought to have dwelt more on the canker, arguing the president should have recalled the seriousness he attached to fighting corruption.