Nduom launches 2012 presidential bid

The 2008 presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, has launched his second bid for the top job.

“I Papa Kwesi Nduom am here this morning to announce the launch of my campaign to become President of the Republic of Ghana. Let me make it clear here and now what I am doing today as far as the CPP is concerned. It is only Congress that can determine who becomes the Presidential Candidate of the Party. This is a declaration of intent to enter the contest the second the nominations bell rings. I love competition. I am ready for it.”

Dr Nduom said the people of Ghana deserve a better leadership than has been offered them by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He catalogued a litany of critical national projects he said were initiated under his tutelage as Public Sector Reform Minister under the Kufuor administration, citing the National Identification system, the new pension scheme, amongst others.

“If one CPP man can bring very many good ideas for millions of Ghanaians to benefit from, imagine what would happen if the entire government was put in the hands of the new CPP”? he asked rhetorically.

“I can tell you today, I believe I am the person most suited for the position of president of the Republic of Ghana come January 2013,” he stated.

“We had a great message of change you can feel in your pocket to give hope and dignity to the Ghanaian in his or her own country. There was an enthusiastic army of young men and women who believed that Ghana deserves better. We experienced the hopes and dreams of ordinary men and women who walked and used their sweat to support our campaign. We could not give many the T shirts they wanted to wear to identify with us, and money they asked for because they truly needed it and yet they came out to work and cheer our efforts.

“In 2008, we promised that together, we would build a great country. We promised that together, we would unite our people. Together, we would run an inclusive government and do something different – bring inclusiveness into Ghanaian society so that the best people get the right jobs and contracts. We promised that a CPP administration led by me would be open, transparent and will attack corruption and indiscipline with a sense of urgency so that we could build a just and caring society that is prosperous. I still stand by these promises,” he stated amidst applause.

The former Member of Parliament for Komenda-Edina-Aguafo-Ebirim listed ten areas of priority his presidency will tackle.

1. Create a just and disciplined society. Create a just and disciplined society with a passion for excellence within ten years and with science and technology as the cornerstone, become a higher level middle income country.
2. Improve the Performance of Government. Reform state institu’tions, make government efficient and raise revenue to be able to pay public servants well to motivate them facilitate the work of the private sector and Ghanaian society in general.

3. Give Power to the People for Development. Sponsor changing the Constitution to enable the election of all District Assembly Members and District/Municipal/Metropolitan Chief Executives to ensure local accountability and rapid development. This we will do in one term of office.

4. Strengthen Parliament to perform its legislative duties effectively. Sponsor changing the Constitution to abolish the provision that allows Ministers of State to also serve as Members of Parliament. We believe that this move will make available for governance a large pool of qualified, experienced Ghanaian talent whose expertise is currently unused and therefore lost to Ghana. This we will aim to complete in one term of office. Concurrent with this objective will be a solid determination to give Parliament the facilities and resources needed to pass good laws and scrutinize the proposals submitted by the Executive. effectively.

5. Provide Quality Education for Every Ghanaian Child. Standardize school facilities from kindergarten to Senior High School with libraries, toilets, classrooms, kitchen, housing for teachers, playground, etc: and Ensure free and compulsory education in public schools from kindergarten to Senior High School (including computer training). An integral part of this objective will be an objective will be to significantly increase vocational training so that all,school leavers gain employable skills.

6. Provide Energy for Industrialisation and Rapid Development. Implement solutions with a sense of urgency to meet domestic needs for industry and domestic use and make Ghana a net exporter of power again in four years. To enable us achieve this objective, we will provide tax incentives to enable development of alternative sources of fuel and power – bio fuels and solar. We aim to ensure that the contribution from alternative sources of energy reaches a minimum of 10% of what we need in a deca.de.

7. Provide Better Health Care and Cleaner Environment. Ensure a cleaner environment free from preventable diseases like malaria, cholera and guinea worm. Provide affordable and accessible health care for all in every region. Ensure emergency care throughout the country to save lives. Our focus will be in the area of prevention where education is the key.

8. Attack Crime, the Drug Trade and Corruption. Attack crime, the drug trade and corruption aggressively using leadership by example, being modest in government, passing and implementing the Right to Information Bill and ensuring an independent prosecutor’s office exists separate from the Ministry of Justice.

Strengthen the Narcotics Control Board to make it the agency responsible for fighting the drug trade with all the human, financial and other resources needed for success. Strengthen the Police Force by providing resources and training to fight crime.

9. Create a Homecoming Secretariat. Establish a Secretariat to cater for the needs of Ghanaians Abroad and the African Diaspora by June 30th 2013. Provide a support system to encourage re-entry, investment, safe and healthy vacations and transfer of knowledge and technology.

10. Create Jobs. Use government’s purchasing power to ensure that we eat what we grow and use what we produce in Ghana. Improve Ghana’s business climate to enable investment in job creation so that our people will stay at home to help develop the country and its economy. We will be relentless in providing support to Ghanaian industry and our farmers and fishermen using low interest loans, technical assistance, tax incentives and priority access to the Ghanaian market. To accelerate job creation nationally, an inter-region highway will be built with the same high quality throughout the country to open up the country for investment and development.

From: Ghana l Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com