NPP should apologies to Ghanaians – Mills

The President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has told critics who are urging him to render apologies to Ghanaians for increasing the prices of petroleum products between 25 to 30 per cent to purge themselves.

Instead, the President contended that the fuel hikes is in the best interest of the nation, which in his opinion, would go a long way to help address the financial isolation of government.

He insisted that monies that would be derived from the increases would help government in the provision of ‘social interventions’ to other sectors of the Ghanaian economy, arguing that spending monies on social interventions are prudent than spending it as subsidies on fuel.

“I have been called upon especially by the NPP to apologise for increasing the prices of fuel, but I want to tell them that in this situation, I owe no apology to Ghanaians- and it is rather the NPP that should render unqualified apology to Ghanaians for leaving behind a huge debt at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).”

President Mills made these statements during a media interaction with editors and senior journalists at the Castle, the seat of government last Friday in Accra.

He divulged that upon assuming office in January 2009, he was “really shocked” about the state of the economy, but said he had no excuse at the time than to “move on from there.”

Though President Mills justified the recent fuel price hikes, he said government was left with no option than to review the prices of petroleum.

On that score, the President pledged government commitment to remove all bottlenecks facing the economy to make life bearable for the ordinary citizenry, adding that he had not forgotten the plight of Ghanaians.

President Mills who appeared very unruffled in his delivery seized the opportunity to brush aside claims in a section of the media that his deteriorating health would prevent him from contesting in the impending national delegates’ congress of his party (NDC), which is expected to come off later this year.

On the contrary, he disclosed that he was more than fit to wage a vigorous campaign to beat his contenders in the upcoming general election in 2012, reiterating that news of his awful health was a hoax.

Touching on his recent ministerial reshuffle which has since being described by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) as musical chairs, the President contended that there is absolutely nothing wrong if the individuals used in the “musical chairs” are competent and can deliver at their various portfolios.

“Running a government is like a basketball team it is important to make substitutions and re-strategise your team and that is exactly what I have done. Zita is part of my team and she would come in again at the appropriate time,” President Mills asserted.

The president went on to dismiss Wikileaks’ publications that he had gotten wind of a greater number of his ministers who were engaged in drugs and that he was afraid that if scanners were to be installed at the airport he was going to be embarrassed, claiming that “the story is a misrepresentation of the fact.”

While admitting that he has learnt a lot of lessons over the past two years of his tenure as president, he declined to comment when he was asked to access his performance.

“I was severely castigated in a section of the media when I rated myself 80 per cent in my first 100 days in office,” President Mills pointed out.

Against that background, he intoned that Ghanaians would be in a healthier position to assess his administration and whether it has so far been able to offer decisive leadership to address their plight.

Asked to assert government’s position on the Ivory Coast political crisis, he stated emphatically that government was going along with whatever decision the regional grouping; ECOWAS is prepared to take, labelling rumours of him supporting incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo as “vicious, groundless and the figment of people’s imagination.”

“Reports of Ghana government sending arms to Ivory Coast to support one faction (Mr. Gbagbo) are absolutely untrue. It is not our mandate to interfere in the affairs of the country and what we seek to do is to mind our own business,” President Mills averred.