Audio Attachment:Listen to Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku |
A leading member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has expressed disappointment at the State of the Nations Address delivered by President John Dramani Mahama.
Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, who was once a Former Minister of Trade and Industry in the erstwhile Kufuor administration says Mr Mahama's address was too verbose and full of so many promises which he believes will be difficult to achieve.
President Mahama on Thursday presented his maiden State of the Nation�s Address in Parliament. His address which lasted close to two hours contained a number of projects he and his government will be undertaking during the four year tenure of office.
He outlined what he called four �vital pillars� which will be the foundation for national development programmes.
These are: �putting the people first, a strong and resilient economy, expanding infrastructure and transparent and accountable government�.
However, Dr Apraku is of the view that the President�s address veered away from the real situation facing Ghanaians, adding �his speech lacked hope for the future�his address was too wordy. He wants to do everything but definitely cannot achieve all. He should have pointed to two or three areas he will be tacking especially on unemployment, water and power. He should create jobs and bring down the high cost of living. They are too many and so as for me, I don�t think his address offers any hope to the hopeless in society��
The one-time NPP Presidential Aspirant would also have preferred that the President stated the specified the time frame within which the litany and "flood" of promises he made would have been realized.
Elections
President Mahama in his address also congratulated the Electoral Commission (EC) for conducting a free and fair Presidential and Parliamentary election. He described the 2012 December elections as one of the freest and fairest elections he has ever observed.
However, speaking in an interview on Thursday�s edition of Peace FM Midday News, Dr. Apraku strongly differed. According to him, once the issue of the conduct of the 2012 Elections is being contested by one of parties in court, President Mahama should have kept his opinion to himself.
�He is not the one to tell us if the elections went well or not and moreover, the issue is in court�are you trying to intimidate the court, are you prejudging? He shouldn�t have said that. He should let the judges pronounce their own judgment. Don�t pre-judge it; it is wrong�� he stated.
Source: Rebecca Addo-Tetteh/peacefmonline.com
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