Mills Is President Of Broken Promises

THE FLAG BEARER of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo at the weekend fired a salvo at the newly-elected presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Evans Atta Mills, referring to him as a president of broken promises. He said President Mills who was decisively elected at the weekend as the party�s flagbearer in 2012, promised Ghanaians �heaven� but has delivered �hell� to them. Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing a large crowd that thronged the durbar grounds of Begoro in the Fanteakwa district of the Eastern region on Saturday, when he visited the constituency as part of his Listening tour of the region. He said none of the promises made by the president before the 2008 elections had been fulfilled, stressing that the �drastic reduction of fuel prices� could not be met, �reducing taxes and utility bills� could not be done, ensuring a �one-time� premium for health insurance has not been done and creating jobs for the teeming youth has still not seen the light of day. �Instead of Ghanaians benefitting from these promises, we are seeing the opposite where petroleum prices have rather been increased �drastically,� tax rates have gone up sharply and no single job has been created with some companies even folding up because of bad policies of the government.� The NPP flagbearer stressed that Ghanaians were beginning to mistrust politicians but with his experience in politics, he knew that it was suicidal to make political promises and fail to meet them. He indicated that he was touring the country to listen to the needs of the people so that the party would incorporate them in its 2012 manifesto. He said aside the party�s manifesto which will be unveiled before the elections; he was making a personal pledge to seriously tackle education and employment when voted into power. �I stand here as Nana Akufo-Addo and not Atta Mills and want to offer my words which are non-negotiable that I will completely change the basic school system and make it free of charge.� According to him, instead of basic school ending at the Junior High School (JHS) level, it will now end at the Senior High School (SHS) level, where parents will bear no cost in sending their children to school. �From the nursery to the Senior High School level, my government would make it free for all Ghanaians,� he said adding that teachers will also be well-motivated to impart the right knowledge that would be required to change the status quo. �We will improve conditions of service for teachers, provide enough accommodation for all teachers and also strengthen Colleges of Education in the country,� he indicated. He noted that the lack of jobs had also contributed to the high level of poverty and as a government; the NPP would create a good number of jobs for the teeming unemployed people in the country to help improve their living standards. On President Atta Mills� re-election as NDC flag bearer, the spokesperson for Nana Akufo-Addo, Herbert Krapa said Nana Addo was really ready to contest President Mills. He said currently he (Nana) was concentrating on his campaign and that he would make sure he beats President Mills convincingly in the 2012 general elections. The NPP flagbearer ended his Eastern regional tour on Sunday in the Suhum constituency where he and the MP for the area, Hon Opare-Ansah visited a number churches in the Suhum township as well as other selected towns to meet with the people.