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Delivering On Your Promises:
IEA
Ghana
THE INSTITUTE
OF ECONOMIC
AFFAIRS
A Public Policy Institute
President Mills’
social Contract with the
people of Ghana
President Mills’

THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
IEA
GHANA
Delivering On Your Promises:
President Mills’ Social Contract with
the People of Ghana
Commitments of President Mills during the 2008 Presidential
Debates and Evening Encounter
An Institute of Economic Affairs / Ghana Political Parties Programme Publication
I

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Ghana, was founded in October 1989
as an independent, public policy institute dedicated to the establishment and
strengthening of a market economy and a democratic, free and open society. It
considers improvements in the legal, social and political institutions as necessary
conditions for sustainable economic growth and human development.
The IEA supports research and promotes and publishes studies on important economic,
socio-political and legal issues in order to enhance the understanding of
public policy.
Further information may be obtained from the Publication Officer:
The Institute of Economic Affairs
P.O.Box OS 1936, Osu Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233-302244716 / 0307010714
Fax: +233 302- 222313
Email: iea@ieagh.org
ISBN: 9988-584-87-3
ISSN: 0855-3238
©2010 Copyright by The Institute of Economic Affairs
Printed in Ghana. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be published,
used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher
except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews.
Publication of this work signifies that The Institute of Economic Affairs regards
it as a competent treatment worthy of public consideration. The findings, interpretations
and conclusions of this paper are entirely those of the authors, and
should not be attributed to the Institute of Economic Affairs or any organisations
that support it.
II

CONTENTS
Preface
1. An Evening Encounter with President Mills 1
2. Presidential Debate, Accra 30
3. Presidential Debate, Tamale 44
Index of Issues 60
III

PREFACE
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Ghana, seeks to promote the consolidation
of democracy and good governance in Ghana and West Africa.
The IEA works at this through national and sub-regional programmes
of advocacy for democracy in economic and political governance. Over
twenty years, The IEA has initiated far-reaching processes of multi party
democracy in Ghana, and carried out events of national cohesion and political
accommodation and accountability.
Since the year 2000, The IEA has organised Presidential Election Debates
ahead of each of the nation’s Presidential Elections. In each election year,
these debates have provided Presidential candidates a platform on which
to debate the policies and programmes that they believe will best serve the
national interest. The Presidential Election Debates are gradually instilling
an issues-driven approach to Presidential campaigns. The debates offer the
electorate information on the policy direction of each Presidential candidate’s
manifesto, with which to make informed choices.
The IEA has created yet another platform to enhance the development of
an issues-driven approach to national elections and the establishment of
accountable leadership in Ghana. This is the Evening Encounter Series,
which was initiated in the year 2008.
The Evening Encounters concept differs from that of the Presidential Debates,
in that while the focus of the Debates is the interaction between
Presidential candidates, the focus of the Encounters is the interaction between
candidates and the electorate. These Encounters offered the four
Presidential candidates, whose political parties had representation in Parliament,
an evening each of interaction with a cross section of interest
groups.
By providing a public forum in which each of the candidates can present
their policies and be challenged by both the other candidates and members
of the public, both the Evening Enounter series and the Debates serve
to enhance the level of accountability demanded from Ghana’s potential
IV

leaders. This is particularly important with respect to the candidate who
subsequently goes on to win the election.
This publication provides a transcript of President Mill’s (candidate Mills
as he then was) presentation and responses at the Evening Encounter held
on 26 June 2008 as well as at the Accra and Tamale Presidential Debates
held on 29 October 2008 and 12 November 2008 respectively. The IEA
has also published transcripts of each of the Debates and each of the Evening
Encounters of the other candidates separately.
This combined publication focusing on President Mills recognises that the
commitments that he made at each of the events constitute a contract that
he and his Administration made with the Ghanaian people in exchange for
their support. By publishing the transcript of these events it is hoped that
the terms of this contract are not readily forgotten and that the public continues
to demand public accountability from its present leader.
While this publication contains three distinct sections based on each of the
events, it includes an index at the end of the document to assist readers to
identify President Mills’ comments on various subject matters. We hope
that you find this publication useful.
Thank you.
Jean Mensa
Executive Director
V

1. AN EVENING ENCOUNTER WITH
PRESIDENT MILLS
(insert picture - to be provided)
Candidate Mills delivering his presentation at his Evening Encounter
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I dedicate this presentation to my
good friend and colleague Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata. I speak today with the aim
that if anybody thought that jailing Tsatsu was going to lower my resolve,
and dampen my spirits, they were wrong. I am going to go on.
I am grateful to The IEA for giving me this platform to present myself and
the vision of the NDC for a better Ghana when we assume office in January
2009.
We know, ladies and gentlemen, that Ghanaians are at this time concerned
about the future of our country. They are worried about the harsh living
conditions; they are also worried about the upsurge in crime and of course
the dramatic growth in narcotic trading in this country. I share their concerns
and as I go along, I will tell you how we intend to assure them that
the future will be better.
There are some who argue that the election should be based on a comparison
of the records of the various political parties and their candidates.
We have no problems with this because we feel that if this comparison is
fairly done the NDC will come out tops. And we are also certain that we
will perform even better when we assume the reigns of government in
January 2009.
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My distinguished ladies and gentlemen, who here can deny that the election
is about the leadership and qualities that the Presidential candidate
will bring to bear on the state of affairs of this country? Who can tell me
that leadership, character and decency are mutually exclusive? It is not for
nothing that our electoral rules insist that the parties indicate who is going
to be their Presidential candidate before the elections are held. Otherwise
they would just ask the parties to go for elections and after the elections
they will decide on who is going to be the leader of the party.
I bring to the table my core values of truth, honesty and humility. I will
lead a government that is decent, truthful, honest and caring, to mend the
broken trust between elected officials and the people of this country.
Due to political partisanship over the years, our country has become polarised.
Indeed, if you do not belong to the ruling party, you are discriminated
against. Let me say this, I Atta Mills will be President not only of the NDC
but of all the people of Ghana. Once the elections are over we should all
be united in a common cause with a common objective. There is no need
to make any distinction.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have said before that this country is not short of
blueprints and plans for development. The problem is with implementation,
which is easily traceable to leadership. Sometimes we lack the political
will. There are instances where we have beautiful promises but we
over-state the successes. Sometimes, even before policies are implemented
or before they finish the implementation, government ministers rush to
announce successes just to score cheap political points.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, good governance means fairness. Indeed
leadership must strive for the common good. I will not rig the economy
to benefit my relations, my family, my close friends and members of
my party. Indeed those of us who subscribe to the social democracy theory
believe that it is the responsibility of the government to take care of those
who are underprivileged and marginalised because as you can see these
fingers are not equal and we believe that we should be each other’s keeper.
Those on the other side also insist that it should be the survival of the fittest.
They say we should have each man for himself and God for us all. We
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consider this unacceptable. Even more unacceptable to us, is the statement
that it is each man for himself and God for us, the selective few.
My brothers and sisters, fairness is being gradually lost in our society.
When we were in power, we implemented a policy where, if there were
funds in the Road Fund, we would equally distribute them to contractors
whom we owed so that they could keep their businesses on the road. That
was fairness. What do we see now? The discrimination that is going on in
our society!
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen; it is my candid view that government
should be a tool in the service of the people. It should not be an instrument
to aid people to loot state coffers or acquire illegal wealth. That is why I
have said and repeat that Atta Mills will crack the whip when any of my
appointees crosses the line or does anything that smacks of illegality and
corruption.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, good governance also means that the
government must be alive to its responsibilities. The government must
solve ordinary problems confronting the people; the government must be
interested in the welfare of people and what it’s going to achieve will inure
to the common good.
We have some problems in this country. Water is a rare commodity. You
are lucky if water runs through your tap continuously for one week. It
will be a miracle. Electricity supply is as erratic as ever and yet nobody
seems to be doing anything. It is pathetic to see children and women walk
long distances to fetch water. A government that is caring must be interested
in solving these many problems. There are other matters of concern.
When you go round our country especially in the cities, you see structures
springing up. They are developing urban slums. Do we have structural or
zoning laws? If we do are we enforcing them? And I will suggest that we
involve the transport sector to synchronise our activities.
My brothers and sisters, the global economic crisis is causing additional
hardship for the people of this country and any government must be interested
in this. The India example is worth looking at where austerity
3

measures were taken. Indeed, it has been announced that ministers should
avoid expensive expenditures. They should avoid foreign air travel; they
should avoid meetings in five star hotels and cut down expenditures. This
is a government which is interested in taking austerity measures to solve
a problem.
My brothers and sisters, another problem of great concern to many Ghanaians
is the upsurge in crime. Many of our colleagues have harrowing
stories of being victims of criminals, especially armed robbers, and yet I
am told that the police records show that crime is on the decrease. Well it
may be so but my own suspicion is that many victims have lost confidence
in the ability and willingness of authorities to solve the problem and therefore
they do not bother to report.
Atta Mills’ government will make sure that we bring together experts of
all political shades, for after all, when criminals want to attack you they do
not ask whether you are NDC, NPP, DFP or whatever you are. We will tap
the expertise in order to come out with strategies to deal with this particular
problem. Indeed, we will revive the regional partnership in intelligence
gathering, which we initiated when we were in power, which enabled us
to solve many cross-border criminal problems.
Ladies and gentlemen, the police should be in the front line of the fight
against crime. But indeed, they themselves are in serious need of revival
and restoration. I promise you our government will initiate measures to
ensure that we restore morale and confidence in the police service. Need I
talk about the dramatic growth in narcotics trading in and through Ghana?
Ghana is fast losing our hard-earned reputation because of the activities of
drug barons who, because of the economic power that they wield, succeed
in compromising the individuals and authorities who should be enforcing
our laws. Is it any wonder that the many probes that we have had have not
yielded any positive results? Indeed, the perception out there is that the
NPP government has created an atmosphere which allows drug barons to
go scot free and sometimes even be welcome.
I am concerned about the drug problem because of the correlation between
drug use and crime. I am also worried about the effect on health especially
4

HIV/AIDS. Indeed, about a week ago Dr. Asare, the Chief Psychiatrist
at the Mental Hospital gave an interview to the VOA in which he talked
about the monumental levels to which drug use has reached in our country.
And indeed, he also went on to talk about his concern about the effects of
drug use on our human resource base. Atta Mills’ government will cooperate
with the appropriate agencies, both local and foreign, to stamp out the
drug trade. As I said not too long ago, Atta Mills will not allow the drug
barons to make Ghana a subsidiary of their activities. Ghana is a signatory
to the UN laws on narcotics control especially the part that deals with seizure
and forfeiture of assets of those convicted of dealing in narcotics. We
shall faithfully and diligently follow our obligations, honour our obligations
under these laws. And I can assure you that Atta Mills will be in no
hurry to arrange for the exchange of these prisoners or their transfers from
foreign jails where they are justifiably languishing in Ghanaian prisons.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am sure you will want to have an
idea as to some of the initiatives that we want to take when it comes to
the economy, which obviously is what the whole thing is about. We will
adopt a set of policies, which will ensure high economic growth. We will
do this by anchoring it in an increase in domestic savings to support a high
volume of investment in infrastructure. Our emphasis on infrastructure
is deliberate. By so doing we will be facilitating industrial development,
which will enable us to create jobs for our people. We will not be unmindful
of the need to have macroeconomic stability. But we are not going to
have macroeconomic stability for its own sake. We will want an environment
that gives us the fiscal space to invest meaningfully in agriculture, in
education, in housing, in health, among others.
We shall also review the exemption scheme under our tax laws and also
put in place measures that will enhance revenue collection. But ladies and
gentlemen, we will also not hesitate in cutting out extravagance, filth and
profligate expenditure in government.
Now when it comes to agriculture, that, as I said, is going to be the backbone.
A nation that cannot feed itself is a nation in distress. We have a
situation where the average Ghanaian spends almost 70% of his income on
food. Now with the rising prices he may be spending 80% of his income
5

on food. This is unacceptable. Atta Mills will want to begin a renaissance
in agriculture. We will want, at the end of our term, to ensure that the Ghanaian
spends much less on food. How do we intend to do this? We intend
to double production of cereals and other staples and the cultivation of
vegetables, fruits and even flowers. Indeed, ladies and gentlemen, there is
no country in the world which has succeeded in agriculture without paying
attention to one important ingredient; that is water.
Unfortunately these days, due to climatic changes we cannot rely on rainfed
agriculture. For this we are going to rehabilitate all the irrigation projects
that we have in the country and even establish new ones in designated
areas. But our flagship irrigation project is going to be the canalisation
of the Accra Plains consisting of 178,000 hectares of land. I want to remind
you, ladies and gentlemen, that this was indeed an important, but
unimplemented programme of Kwame Nkrumah with regard to his Volta
River Project. We shall also establish a factory to produce fertilizer in the
Western Region using our gas reserves. Next, we are going to continue our
agro afforestation, which we bequeathed to the NPP. This time round we
are also going to encourage bamboo cultivation.
Ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to poultry it is a very sad story. In
1992, 95% of the poultry consumed locally came from local sources. At
the moment, due to the unbridled importation of poultry products, local
poultry sources account for only 10%. The poultry industry is near collapse.
We want to reverse this trend. We are going to impose tariffs and
duties on imported poultry products and this can be done in accordance
with WTO rules. We will also reduce the cost of poultry feed and finally
help poultry farmers reactivate their businesses, through the establishment
of a poultry sub-sector fund. When it comes to fishing, the activities of
foreign fleet and trawling activities have indeed led to a situation where
our fish stock is seriously depleted and where the livelihood of some of our
fishermen is being adversely affected.
We propose to reserve a 200-mile exclusive economic zone for purposes
of conservation. This can be done under the new end law of the sea and
during this period trawling will be monitored and regulated. Now when it
comes to pre-mix fuel we will attempt to remove the bottlenecks associ-
6

ated with its production and distribution. And within that, the interest of
fishermen will be best served if the pre-mix fuel is made the responsibility
of our chief fishermen.
Ladies and gentlemen, any country which ignores education does so at his
own peril. Now let’s look at pre-school and primary education. In this 21st
century, it is unpardonable and unacceptable for children to acquire education
under trees, dilapidated structures and life-threatening sub-structures.
It is not good. We will take steps to rehabilitate these structures. We will
also, in addition, extend the school feeding programme to cover all primary
schools. We will, in addition, take seriously the de-worming exercise
and also in cases where the people cannot afford school uniforms, we will
give them standard school uniforms.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to secondary education
I must say that the Prof. Anamuah Committee did a very professional
job. But when it came to the level of political decision-making, the NPP
government thought it was important to put its seal on the educational
reform programme by tinkering with the component on secondary education.
Now the tinkering indeed, appeared very petty in certain respects
especially the change of name from Junior Secondary School to Junior
High, Senior High. One will ask what will the NDC do? Are you going to
reverse the decisions? The answer is no. We do not want education to be
regarded as a football to be kicked around by parties in power. What we
intend to is to convene a meeting with all the stakeholders and all political
parties so we agree on the way forward.
There is also the problem of access. At the moment only half of the people
who qualify for secondary education gain access. In our time we were able
to provide 250 secondary schools. In the 7 and half years of the NPP government
they have provided only 15; we have a shortfall of 300. We need
to do something about this. When it comes to the curriculum now in this
globalised world, demand driven areas happen to be creative arts, French,
Spanish, Sciences, etc. These subjects in addition to religious and moral
education will be included in the curriculum and then emphasised. Indeed,
the Constitution stipulates that education should be progressively free. We
will take steps to ensure that over a period we are able to achieve some
7

degree of provision so that eventually we make secondary education free.
When it comes to tertiary education, we are not in favour of cost recovery;
we want cost sharing. And here, we think that needy but brilliant students
must be assisted, and also students who study science, mathematics and
technology must also be aided. Therefore we propose to set aside a portion
of the GETFUND to aid such students. We also propose to expand accommodation
and other facilities on the campuses. I will see to the request
of NUGS to have a modern office complex and complete the campus for
Ghana Institute for Journalism as well as get together with NUGS and
stakeholders to review the students loans scheme.
When it comes to health, it is our proposal to review the National Health
Insurance Programme, which is one of the spin and propaganda the NPP
government refused to do. We want to make it truly national. We also want
to continue with the rehabilitation of our Teaching Hospitals and our Regional
and District Hospitals. We also want to provide Koforidua, Wa and
Bolga with modern district hospitals. We also want to procure diagnostic
equipments for our Teaching Hospitals and for our medical profession.
Ladies and gentlemen, we intend to bring about an innovation in the training
of medical personnel; the physician assistant who will be below a fully
fledged medical officer. We are also going to pay attention to the training
of nurses and indeed auxiliary nurses.
Regarding the issue of energy at the dialogue which was organised by the
Kwame Nkrumah University at which I was represented by my runningmate,
in whom I am well pleased, I gave a comprehensive outline of what
we intend to do. In the medium term we intend to increase the energy situation
from 1,600 megawatts to 5,000. We are going to rely on gas-fired
energy, rather than oil fired energy, which will make sure that the cost of
energy is low. It will enable VALCO not only to operate but it will also
enable us to have an aluminium industry, which will indeed make use of
our bauxite deposits; something which has been our dream since the First
Republic. We also intend to expand the Osagyefo Barge and also to implement
the Aboadze Steam Turbine hero. We are delighted that we have
struck oil, but ladies and gentlemen, nobody can deny that this is a crown-
8

ing glory to the efforts by the GNPC under Tsatsu Tsikata who is now
languishing in jail. And I believe that Tsatsu will take pride in the fact that
through his selfless efforts this country has been blessed by the Almighty
with oil reserves!
Now let me say that we are going to account strictly for the revenue which
will come from the oil and gas. We are going to have an independent allparty
body to oversee the operation of this segment of our economy. We
are not going to engage in profligate spending. We are going to make sure
that we use the revenues for the benefit of our people. We want our oil
discovery to be a blessing and not a curse.
Ladies and gentlemen, the oil companies will be well advised, given the
experience of other countries, to form meaningful partnerships with the
communities in which they operate, especially with the fishermen, so they
do not feel that their livelihood is being destroyed by the operation of
these companies.
Ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to renewable energy, we have wind
energy, which is a result of research done during our time by the Energy
Commission. And indeed we are told that we can get about 5,200 megawatts
using wind energy. With solar energy, we will go ahead to exploit
it, and indeed it is possible for us to have hydro schemes on Tano, Pra,
Ankobra, and Gwollu.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, what is the future picture? There are
some who will say that our ideas are big; others will say they are too simple.
There are those who are going to ask how are you going to fund these
schemes? Let me tell you, if we cut out the excessive spending, that will
be first step in a journey of a hundred or a million miles. There are those
of our sceptics who will say you cannot eradicate poverty in this country.
Poverty, like corruption started from the time of Adam. But let me say
ladies and gentlemen, it is ironical that in seven and a half years, some
elected officials who were wallowing in poverty have been able to get out
of it and yet they tell us that it is too short a period for us to be able to do
something about eradication of poverty.
Ladies and gentlemen, Atta Mills will want to have a society where every
9

child of school-going age has the ability to do so; where women are going
to be empowered to take their rightful place in society; where Ghana
will be the financial hub of the sub-region; where food will be in abundance;
where we shall be each other’s keeper; where we will not be fighting
among ourselves.
Atta Mills will want to head a government which is caring, which is honest
and which is accountable. Kwame Nkrumah had a creative spirit, that is
why he was able to achieve so much. Former President Rawlings in whose
government I was privileged to serve, had big ideas and courage. It is no
wonder, therefore, that under his watch we were able to extend electricity
to the northern parts of our country even though people were told that it
was impracticable to do so. Atta Mills believes that with the right kind of
leadership which is not vindictive, which is forward looking, which has a
common objective, we should be able to attain our objectives as a nation.
Atta Mills will want to be remembered as the leader during whose period
of stewardship the people of Ghana did what was pleasing in the sight of
God. May the Good Lord Himself shower our nation with His blessings!
Thank you very much.
10

QUESTION AND ANSWER SECTION
Matilda Asante, JOY FM:
In making your presentation Prof, you did talk about the fact that you will
crack the whip on members of your government who will go wrong.
It was your government that passed the law on causing financial loss to
the state, and yet at the start of your statement, you said you were sad that
Tsatsu Tsikata had been jailed.
Were you sad because the law you passed had been applied, or because
you thought that he was unjustly sentenced?
Prof. Mills:
I had the privilege of going to court on a number of occasions, and listened
to the proceedings. I am also a lawyer; I was there when that law was
passed. And I must say that I was taken aback by the judgement. I thought
that Tsatsu had done the best that he could. Rather than throwing him into
jail, I genuinely believe that he deserves our honour; somebody who rendered
selfless and dedicated service to our nation. Tsatsu has no property
to his name, he has nothing. And if you serve a nation that does not honour
its heroes, you will think twice about making any sacrifices. But this will
be my statement. At the appropriate time I will come out fully. But I know
the good Lord is going to be Tsatsu’s judge.
Question via text message from Sena, Volta Region:
Prof Mills, you spoke about agriculture and how you wanted to double
cereal, fruit and vegetable production. You didn’t tell us exactly how you
plan to do that.
Prof. Mills:
When it comes to agriculture, one of the main ingredients is water. If you
have been engaged in agriculture, you will know this. The way we are
going to do this is through irrigation. I believe therefore that with the investment
in infrastructure that we are going to have, and the particular
attention that we are going to pay to agriculture, not lip service, we think
that we should be able to do this. I told you about the Accra Plains. Where
11

you have regular supply of water, where you have fertilizer and where you
have the commitment and dedication, I don’t think that there is anything
that you cannot achieve. Other countries have achieved their objectives;
why can’t we as a nation? Indeed, let me tell you it was done some time
ago. You were all witnesses in the 1970s where through Operation Feed
Yourself, we were at least able to increase agriculture production. I am not
saying that we should liken what we intend to do to this, but I am saying
that where there is a will, there is a way.
Amos Safo, The Public Agenda newspaper:
Still on the Tsatsu case, what will you do regarding the law on Causing
Financial Loss to the State? Will you consider repealing it?
Prof. Mills:
It will remain on the statutes books until we, as a party or government,
think otherwise. But I believe that it is not a question of the law being in
the statutes books. There are so many laws; it is a question of interpreting
it. This is where I have a problem with this. It is not the law per se. How
do you interpret it? And I believe that in this particular case, it has been a
great miscarriage of justice to Tsatsu.
Dr. Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Ghana Medical Association:
The Ghana Medical Association is concerned about the state of mental
healthcare in the country, aspects of which are a spin-off of the narcotic
drug trade. There are records of increasing incidence of narcotic use in
secondary schools. We have a severe shortage of staff in the Psychiatry
Hospitals and a handful of doctors and nurses. Generally it is something
that requires attention.
For over three years, we’ve had the Mental Health Bill, which has still not
been passed. What are the plans of the NDC, as far as reforming the state
of mental health care is concerned?
Prof. Mills:
I wish you had said that the years in which NDC was in power. If it hadn’t
been passed, then you know where to lay the blame. But that is one reason
why I am worried about the narcotics trade. It is the effect it has on our
12

youth, who are the future. Here we are, we now have to find additional
resources to ensure that we are able to control the harmful effects of drug
use. We have no option but to prevail on parliament so they can go ahead
and look at the bill and pass it into law. Whatever resources we have, we
also have to look at the state of mental health in our country and see what
we can do. I mean it is the responsibility of our government. If we have
not been vigilant enough; if we have allowed drug use in our country; if
we have opened our doors; the least that we can do for our youth is to redeem
them from the pits into which they have fallen.
Mr. Kwesi Jonah, University of Ghana:
What the professor has told us this evening is very interesting. But if you
want what interests me, it is about what he refused, or failed, to say. We
have not heard one word about private sector development; we have not
heard one word about corruption.
Finally, regarding what you said about irrigating the Accra Plains, I want
to find out from you whether you are aware of those research findings that
say that large scale irrigation schemes do not work in developing countries.
Thank you.
Prof. Mills:
I hope you are not implying that they work elsewhere, but not in developing
countries. Mr. Kwesi Jonah, as I was speaking they passed a note to
me. They were telling me that my time was up. In 25 minutes you cannot
cover every subject. I believe that when our manifesto is published, many
of these areas will be covered. But let me say that when I appeared before
the AGI I had the opportunity to discuss with them private sector development
and to look at their concerns.
On corruption, I believe that you’ve heard me speak time and again about
corruption. We are told that we have the institutions to check corruption. If
indeed we have them, we must give them their independence and resource
them to be able to do their work and when they come out with their findings
we must not only bark, we must bite. We must show that corruption
is indeed inimical to the interest of our country.
13

Prof. Takyiwaa Manu, University of Ghana:
Prof, you are speaking on a topic that is dear to both of us; education. You
mentioned that there was a problem with access and you mentioned that
under your leadership all students who qualify in science and technology
will be given scholarships.
First of all, the National Council for Tertiary Education has a 60-40 mix
between science and arts in our universities. That is what we are supposed
to do to as a developing country; to have 60% of science students and 40%
arts students. Prof Adarkwa, the Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah
University says that even if we were to admit all the science students that
qualify we will still not make that 60% of science students.
So I would like to know what your government will do to encourage the
production of science students. And I want to link it to the issue that you
raised about primary education; the issue of content. I think that we can
build all the classrooms that we want in this country, but the issue is one
of quality.
I want to link again the issue of quality and science education to the issue
of language. I want to know what your government policy will be on
language instruction in primary schools to enable children to understand
science and mathematics and other such abstract disciplines.
Prof. Mills:
Takyiwaa, the thing is this; you will find that students, in choosing their
subjects, will take a lot of things into consideration. When they know that
they can go to the universities and they can get scholarships and sponsorships,
more students are going to be more inclined to choose science subjects
or to read science.
I had the privilege of teaching in the university. Many of the students who
read administration were top science students but they chose administration
because of the attractive nature of the jobs afterwards and also because
some companies were sponsoring them. That is just to show that
once you have an attractive package there will be tendency for students to
move into that area.
14

Now you ask about the language we are going to use in the primary school.
I think communication is very important. There are some who say we
should teach them in their native language. Now let me say that our native
language is limited in so many areas. There are so many things that you
cannot describe in our native language. I will say that the basic language
should be English but at the same time we should teach our children our
native language. I think that English should be the medium of instruction
because as you grow up you will find that our native language is incapable
of interpreting many of the concepts that we have and I think that this is
the way we should go.
Matilda Asante, JOY FM:
My understanding of research done with regards to primary education is
that the children tend to understand the issues better in the local dialect,
which should be the first language they pick up growing up, than they will
ordinarily in English.
Prof. Mills:
Well, I don’t know. Let’s face it. When you go to school, your first language
is your native language, but as grow you will find that there are
certain shortcomings in the language. So that if they decide that at the
very primary level they are going to start with the native language, I think
that there should be a combination of the two because it is going to serve
them well. If indeed you don’t give them a good grounding in English,
by the time you decide to do so it’s going to be too late. Let me say that I
am not an authority on linguistics but from my own experience, this is my
proposal.
Mrs. Irene Adanusa, GNAT:
Prof, we have had so many reforms in Education. The focus over the past
10 years has been more on basic education. Considering our limited resources,
what will your government focus on? Will you still focus on basic
education or will you try and balance over the various levels of education?
For whichever design you choose, could you give us one or two prescriptions
as to how you will handle quality issues; quality in the sense of instruction,
quality of teachers, quality of the social status of the teachers,
15

and especially quality of technical vocational education that will be effective
for the development of our country.
Mrs. Rose Karikari Annan, Ghana Employers Association:
Prof, in an economy where there is low skills, low productivity, and low
wages, we cannot reduce poverty. But we are in a vicious cycle of inadequate
education, poor training, low productivity, and poor quality jobs,
which land people low paying jobs. It doesn’t allow workers who have not
got relevant skills to participate in economic and social development. And
this in turn fuels a negative impact on the development of enterprises. So
enterprises are also not able to compete on the global market.
My question is, what are you going to do about the low productivity issue
of this country?
Prof. Mills:
Thank you for the two questions. Mrs. Adanusa, yes you are right; nothing
is static; everything is dynamic. When it comes to education, you have
to review the educational system to respond to needs of the people. I will
say that my government will periodically review the educational structure
from top to bottom to see if our educational system responds to the current
needs. If indeed in the past we have concentrated on primary education,
perhaps it was felt that there was a certain need. But I will want a situation
where we take a holistic view of education. Now there was something that
you’ve touched on; you were talking about quality education. You are not
going to get quality education unless you have educators who are properly
motivated. This is the problem that we have. If you have teachers who are
well motivated I can assure you, you are going to get the quality.
But you have a situation where the teacher is not properly paid so he goes
to class and he does not give his or her best. And because the teacher is
poor based on his social standing of course he comes down. Now we have
situations right in the universities where you find that a big portion of their
emoluments is in the form of allowances. Now these allowances do not
count when we are determining the pension of university lecturers. I am
using this because I am familiar with this. How do you expect anybody to
accept to teach in the university when he knows that after so many years
of work the emoluments which they considered important when he was
16

teaching will no longer be taken into consideration in paying his pension?
I think that the problem we have is that if we want quality education we
have to pay for it. We have to give them a realistic salary so that they will
be well motivated.
People keep telling me we can never get quality education because we
can’t even get teachers. The reason why we cannot get teachers is that
people do not think that the teaching profession is attractive. I am not surprised
that people don’t want to go into teaching. In 2000 when I suggested
that university graduates should go into teaching, the NPP government had
an advert in which some young people threatened to teach Mills a lesson,
saying, ”When we want good jobs you say we should go into teaching...”
Now if we don’t have teachers does it worry anybody? Teaching is a noble
profession and I believe it holds a number of opportunities for many of
us. I think that we must pay teachers well, we must see to the education of
teachers, we must make sure that they get what it takes to give of their best.
Now about employment and low productivity, when I spoke on the economy,
I told you that we were going to increase domestic savings and more
importantly, investments in infrastructure and I mentioned education.
Where you make the right type of investments in education, i.e. the right
type of education, and where you are able to provide people with water
and energy.
Have a look at energy, when we had the energy crisis, which in my view
could have been avoided, the private sector was severely affected. They
spent as much as $733 million to supplement their energy needs. Brothers
and sisters, can we imagine what they could have used this amount for? 33
companies filed for bankruptcy, many workers were laid off and some of
them decided to abandon their businesses and import items.
What I am saying is that where the infrastructure is not there you are going
to get low productivity. Government must provide an enabling environment
which is corruption free, where you are able to eliminate crime. You
will find that there will be a good return on investments. There will be
further investments; you are opening the doors for people so that in addition,
there will be income-producing activities. You will not have to tell
17

people where they should go. So the emphasis is on infrastructure. Unless
you pay attention to infrastructure and cut out the frills, you are going to
always be caught in this vicious cycle.
Nii Acquayefio, Accra (text message):
What change will we see in Ghana when we vote for you? What will you
demand from road contractors to ensure better quality roads?
Prof. Mills:
You will see a new type of government. I am going to be truthful. When
the road contractor is given a contract and the corrupt official asks for a
percentage, can you complain if he does shoddy work? Again where the
contractor has not been paid for a long time, how do you expect him to
stay in business and pay his workers so that they will give of their best? I
think that if you have a responsible government; a government which is
not going to run after contractors and demand percentages, and where the
right atmosphere is created, contractors will have little to complain about.
Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo, University of Ghana:
Prof Mills, you outlined a lot of lofty and ambitious things you want to do
in education and agriculture particularly. Have you done any costing for
these things? Often times our politicians give us promises and when they
come into power they tell us the reality is that the national budget cannot
support it. Have you done any costing for expanding the school feeding
programme, for increasing classrooms, for giving pupils free school uniforms,
for making sure that everybody has access to primary education
and for irrigating some stretches of land?
Prof. Mills:
I have taken these things into consideration. That is why I said that we are
going to rely on increased domestic savings, which we are going to invest
in the productive sectors. If we look at our current domestic primary balance,
and if we weigh revenues against expenditures, in 2007, this government
was in the negative of 6.7% of GDP. In 2006 it was 4.6%. If you look
at the gap between revenue and expenditure, the government was overspending.
Where you have a situation as in 2007 where the fiscal deficit is
almost 10% of GDP, the government cannot meet its performance targets.
18

It tells you that where you have a government that is overspending; that is
not saving, you have a problem investing in the important sectors.
We have to cut out the filth; we will begin from somewhere. But I have no
doubt whatsoever that if we are able to increase domestic savings, and I
think that with our programme, detailed in our manifesto, we will be able
to do it. I am not talking about some other revenues but I think that in our
system there is a lot that needs to be done. You take Customs for example,
I know that we are capable and that is why I told you about the exemptions
scheme but we seem to be looking the other way. I have been Commissioner
for the Internal Revenue Service before and I believe that given the
right kind of impetus, the right kind of incentives, we will be able to do
more than we are doing. So I think that it’s a question of tightening expenditures,
cutting out the waste and maximising your revenue and you will
be able to do more.
Kwesi Gyasi:
Prof, in advanced economies, the health of people running for public office
is public property. There has been a lot of speculation about your
health and if you were reported correctly, you have said that everybody
has a hospital card. How has been your medical condition in the past 2
years and what do your doctors say about your health?
Prof. Mills:
Atta Mills is not a super human being. At the moment I am fit and doing
my work just like any other human being. But like you or like anyone
here, nobody can say when the good Lord will call him. I may live to be
80 to 90 years or I may go next week. It is only God who knows. So I leave
everything in the hands of God. Now that I am fit and doing my job, the
rest is in the hands of God.
Network of Women’s Rights Organisations:
We got together and invited all the various political parties to a lunch
where we informed them about the work that we have done around the
Women’s Manifesto for Ghana. We gave them a fact sheet which also summarised
the main demands contained in the document and we also gave
them copies of the document. So I wanted to find out from you what we
19

should be expecting from the National Democratic Congress’ manifesto.
Our second question relates to a point you made in relation to water. Water
is a very key issue for women. Please give us highlights on how you will
deal with the problem of water.
Prof. Mills:
Those of us who are old enough, Prof Kwame Gyasi, I believe that you
and I are in the same age bracket, will attest to the fact that in years past,
water harvesting was one of the most important things in our country. In
fact, many buildings had water reservoirs. Where I grew up, we fetched
water from reservoirs. We have a situation now where we have abandoned
water harvesting.
I think that as a national policy, especially with public buildings and public
institutions, some form of water reservoir or water harvesting must be
undertaken. I think that this is an important requirement. I think that it
should be the responsibility of government to invest in water production
facilities. Water is life, I do not support the idea that it should be in private
hands. Government may decide that they want to do this in collaboration
with the private sector but I think that it is the responsibility of government
to provide the resources for the water facilities.
The other question that you posed was in connection with an invitation
you extended to the NDC. At the time I was not around but if you did I can
assure you that this has been taken into consideration in the preparation of
our manifesto. But let me say that I have said publicly that I want at least
40% of my cabinet to be women. Now in doing so I am not doing the women
a favour, I am only acknowledging the realities on the ground. Women
now are on top of everything. They have proved their worth. Those I have
worked with have worked very creditability so I think that this country
will be the better for it if we have women taking up this challenge. I can
assure you that we in the NDC, and Atta Mills in particular, are very much
interested in enhancing the fortunes of women; empowering women. So
whatever representation you made to them you can be sure that they have
been taken care of in our manifesto.
20

Ernest Owusu Aboagye, Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana:
The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana believes that industry is critical to
increasing GDP and development. Like you said, a lot of the blueprints are
there; the question is implementation.
How do you hope to link trade, finance and industry? Other countries like
India and South Africa have shown that if trade, finance and industry are
brought to support the pharmaceutical industry we can grow our GDP.
Secondly, what is your personal opinion on doctors prescribing and dispensing
and then claiming under the NHIS, since we believe that this practice
is contrary to best practices anywhere in the world? What is your
personal opinion on that?
Prof. Mills:
Well I wish I belonged to the medical profession, I don’t know about their
ethics of prescribing and dispensing. I don’t know their ethics but you
know better than I in this regard. Yes, you were talking about the nexus. I
think that it is important that in coming out with a blueprint, you have to
pay particular attention to the synergies.
If indeed, the pharmaceutical society is going to benefit from this kind of
service, then I believe that any government should pay particular attention
to this. I mean we’ve had representations from quite a number of professional
bodies. I am yet to meet the Pharmaceutical Society. But it is not a
question of drawing up a separate plan for them; it will be a question of
making sure that you integrate whatever they want, into what is in existence,
so that it will work. I believe that it is something which can work;
it can be done. We don’t want ministries working in isolation; we want to
make sure that we integrate the system so that we will be able to derive the
best we can on the investment that we make.
Alice Darkoa Asare-Allotey, President of Ghana Registered Nurses
Association:
Prof, an even distribution of health workers in the country is very critical
for us to achieve the health related UN millennium development goal.
What will you do to influence health workers to accept postings to the
21

ural areas?
Prof. Mills:
I have had the privilege of going round the country many times. When you
go to some of their health facilities, there is one thing which stares you in
the face – lack of accommodation facilities. You will find that you’ve put
up a clinic or a hospital, but you’ve forgotten to make provision for accommodation
for the medical staff. It is one of the major problems why
people don’t want to go to the rural areas. And I believe also that the necessary
incentives must be given to them. Very often you go into a place
where you don’t have any facilities for your dependants; your children
need to go to school, and there is no school around. I think that these are
practical matters that we need to look at but the one which comes readily
to mind is the fact of accommodation facilities. I believe that if we take
a holistic view of this situation, we should be able to solve that particular
problem. You cannot satisfy everybody overnight, but at least you can take
important steps towards the solution of this particular problem.
The Italian Ambassador to Ghana:
Within the international community, Ghana is considered as a country
which cares about human rights protection and Ghana is being elected
with a very high number, as member of the new UN Human Rights Council
in Geneva. But there are some concerns about some aspects of the social
lives in Ghana especially abuses against some women connected to some
older cultural traditions. I think of the so called trokosi, I think of female
genital mutilation and other abuses against women. Ghana still has in its
legislation, in its Constitution, death penalty even though during the last
15 years no execution took place apart from the one that took place in
1993. So I am interested in learning how in your programme this issue will
be dealt with and what you think about these themes?
Prof. Mills:
I think that nobody should condone human rights abuses, even more so
when they are against women. And in this regard I think we are fortunate
that the women have been vocal enough to point out some of these things.
I know that some initiatives have been taken. When I come into office
what is left over will be tackled because women will have to be accorded
22

their full dignity. We have a lot of cultural practices which militate against
women and it will be our responsibility to ensure that these are removed.
There were some initiatives which we took when we were in office, but I
believe that we could not complete everything. So I think that it is an area
which we will have to look at and together with the women groups we
should be able to take proper initiatives.
Now the second issue about the death penalty. As a President, you are
primus inter-pari, but two heads are better than one. And in some of these
things you must get a consensus and then of course get some advice. Personally,
I am not opposed to the death penalty; I am not opposed to it
because I believe there are certain crimes for which the death penalty is
appropriate.
But I know there is a revolution against prescribing the death penalty.
And the fact that for so many years we haven’t applied it perhaps shows
that people who are to enforce it have their own reservations about it. But
I think that you look at developments and you also look at the nature of
crimes, how best are you going to deter crimes. I know that criminologists
are going to come out with all kinds of theories whether the death penalty
is going to serve as a deterrent or not. But I think that when you have some
of these things in your statutory books, that in itself serves as a deterrent.
That is my personal opinion. But if somebody can convince me to scrap it
from the books, it is something that I will listen to.
Samuel Kwesi Asare, President of the Ghana Federation of the
Disabled:
Persons with disability in Ghana, by the WHO criterion, constitute 10%
of the population. As a Presidential hopeful, what will you do to improve
their living conditions and also help them to participate in the socio-economic
programme?
Prof . Mills:
This is where our record as a nation has not been very good. The physically
challenged have not been factored in many of our programmes. I
know that in the University of Ghana, until very recently, the construction
of the halls was such that if you were in a wheelchair it would be very
23

difficult for you to get in; but I know that the position has been rectified. I
think that there is the growing awareness of the need for us to make provision
for the physically handicapped. We, as social democrats, believe that
that is a group unto which we have to pay special attention. The State must
make sure that their disability is compensated for by the provision of the
necessary facilities. If we have not done so in the past I think that we need
to apologise to them and then be forward-looking in the next government.
Question from Bernard Avleh, Citi FM:
Prof, having been in government for 8 years and having been vice President
for 4 years, what do you consider to be mistakes NDC made, which
you assure Ghanaians that you will not repeat?
Prof. Mills:
Life itself is a learning experience; you grow wiser everyday and you learn
from your mistakes. I will say that one mistake I personally made, and I
don’t know whether my colleagues did, was that I was not a good judge of
human beings. And therefore, those who should have been brought closer
we rather cast away and I think that this is something that we should look
at. We learnt a number of lessons; I mean there were things that we could
have done differently.
But let me also tell you that when you are in government and you have
to take certain decisions on the spur of the moment, you do not have the
benefit of hindsight, and therefore you make mistakes. But let me say that
having been in government and having been outside I am also very careful
about the statements that we make. Yesterday, when I was going home
I had the privilege of listening to Kokonsa and he played back some of
the statements which some of our politicians had made in previous years.
When I heard them, I told myself you have to be very careful, yes you
have to be very careful about what you say. Think seriously before you
open your mouth because you will find that things will catch up with you.
So I think that this is a very useful lesson.
And the other important thing is that we may belong to different political
parties but we are not enemies. There are many of you who because of discrimination
will not even want to be seen with me in broad day light. Some
24

of you come to me under cover of darkness because you have government
contracts and you want to protect them. I am not a leper. Let’s recognise
that joining political parties is a device for winning political elections.
Once we have finished we should be politically colour blind. We should
be able to dine together. We have a situation when the moment that NPP
came to power, people we have spent money to train, people occupying
positions with knowledge, were all asked to proceed on leave. Atta Mills
will not do that. We will make use of the best human resources that we
have in the country and you know political colourisation should not be a
subject. That is something that I have learnt having been in government
and having been in opposition.
Matilda Asante, JOY FM:
I just want to take you on the word that you just said. You said that you
were not a good judge of human beings. You want to be President...
Prof. Mills:
I was not, at that time
Matilda:
So you are, now.
Prof. Mills:
Yes.
Matilda:
Because my question would have been if you still aren’t a good judge of
persons, how do we trust you to make decisions on the best people to work
on behalf of Ghana?
Prof Mills:
Oh now I am very good at it.
Kwabena Oto, TUC:
I think you are aware about low wages in the country and high inequalities
in the wages structure. Additionally we have various government agencies
and ministries determining their wages and sometimes the government
25

does not even have control over the wage levels.
The NPP government has instituted a reform programme, which is expected
to result in a single spine salary structure and is due for implementation
in January 2009. What is your take on that?
You talked about over-liberalisation of our economy. I think some of the
things that you can do depends on the decisions that are taken today. On
13th December, 2007, government initialled the so-called Stepping Stone
Economic Partnership Agreement, which is supposed to ensure that at
least for a period of 15 years there will be no increase in tariffs on European
imported products into our country. And you have already alluded to
the fact that you want increased tariffs on poultry.
What are you going to do about the interim Economic Partnership Agreement
which establishes a free trade agreement between Ghana, (a vulnerable
developing country), and the most important trading block in the
world, the European Union? What are you going to do about it?
Prof. Mills:
When we were in power, we introduced the Ghana Universal Salary
Scheme, (GUSS) which the NPP promptly dismembered. They promised
that they would put money in people’s pockets and give a living wage.
Well I am happy that at the last May Day rally, after 7 years, President
Kufuor was asking workers to exercise patience. I am also being patient.
We will look at the report on the fair wages and salaries and then act accordingly.
We are not going to say that we are going to reject the report because it
was initiated by the NPP. There must be continuity in government.
You made reference to a pact which they have signed. The problem in this
country is that we tend to belittle the efforts of our predecessors. Let’s
acknowledge the good things that they have done and move on. But if we
are going to engage in fault finding it creates a problem for us. Nobody can
reinvent the wheel; you build on the foundations which others have laid.
Unfortunately, it has taken some of us too long to realise this simple truth.
26

Harry Williams:
Prof. you spoke extensively on profligate expenditures. I know that the
NDC had criticised the NPP government’s decision to purchase two aircrafts.
I want to know what you intend to do with these aircrafts when you
come to power.
What has been your own view on the current spate of accidents in this
country?
Prof. Mills:
Sometimes we talk too much. See the experience that we had with a Presidential
jet, which sat on the tarmac for years; it was sold almost as scrap.
Personally, I wouldn’t go in and buy two planes. If we do have a plan, say
a previous government has committed itself and bought a plane and it is
available, and I come as President and decide that I am not going to use
it, am I not causing financial loss? Am I not misusing the resources of the
state? I will not have bought it, but it is available.
What I am saying is let’s look forward; we criticise, which we have every
right to do. The final decision rests with the government. We wouldn’t do
it, but it has been done. What do you do? You let it sit on the tarmac for
years only to sell it as scrap? I don’t think that we are being fair to the people
of Ghana. And I will want us to be very, very objective in this.
You know it was the same with the Presidential jet which we bought. They
made so many noises about it. They could not find any illegalities about it
but yet it was left to stand on the tarmac for scrap.
Regarding the spate of accidents; sometimes you ask yourself if we intentionally
create the problems for ourselves. I find it difficult to understand
how anybody can construct a road such that it rather creates traffic jams.
I don’t want to mention any particular locations but I know in one case it
can take you as much as 3 hours to go over a distance of 2 or 3 km.
Abdul Karim Hakeem, NUGS:
Prof, coming from the university, you will agree with me that there are lots
of blueprints over there, which if implemented, will at least take us from
27

the current scarcity of state policies. May I know what pragmatic steps
you will take in integrating the universities into the development agenda
of the nation?
Prof. Mills:
I recognise the wealth of knowledge that my colleagues have. And I will
tell you some of the things that we are saying come directly from them and
therefore I will say that they are contributing a lot to the policies and the
things that we are saying. We will continue to rely on them because many
of them have good ideas. We are not relegating them to the background;
we appreciate your worth.
Gloria Ofori Boadu, WABA:
You made mention of training more physician assistants and nurses for
hospitals in the regions. How about doctors? We now have a ratio of
14,000 people to one doctor and the infant mortality rate is high. Maternal
mortality is very high, life expectancy of the average Ghanaian is below
60 years. How about the medical schools?
Prof. Mills:
If you looked at the figures on the number of doctors that we have trained
over the years you would be amazed. A lot of them have found greener
pastures elsewhere. This is another subject altogether. How do we retain
their services? For as long as the conditions which encourage the brain
drain exist, you can train any number of doctors but you are not going to
be able to succeed. I wish we had more time to talk about the causes of the
brain drain but I am happy that you have drawn our attention to it. It is one
of the things that we will have to discuss with the members of the medical
association and the medical schools.
Roland Acquah Steven, Radio Gold:
Prof. Mills what, in your estimation, made President Kufuor nominate you
for a national award? Thank you.
Prof. Mills:
I am happy you said President Kufuor nominated me, I didn’t nominate
myself so I believe that he will be the best person to answer that question.
28

Akwasi Sarpong, JOY FM:
Prof Mills, my question has to do with internal security. What do you intend
to do about the image of the police service and ensuring internal
security.
Prof Mills:
I believe that in my presentation I made reference to the fact that the police
service needs revival and restoration. I think that I was being rather
diplomatic in that respect. But I believe that it’s an answer to the problem.
How can you restore morale and confidence in the police service? And I
think that there are practical ways of doing it. I have been chairman of the
Police Council before and I think that we have some fair ideas as to how
that can be achieved.
Concluding Remarks
I have really enjoyed this evening. Nobody has monopoly over wisdom.
Very often when we are in government there is the tendency to display
arrogance and give people the impression that you know it all. As I said,
I want to introduce learning into the presentation of policies so that you
will be able to react effectively. Indeed, I have enjoyed answering the
questions and when you consider the questions you can see where they are
coming from. I pray to God that He will enable me and my colleagues to
be humble enough to face stakeholders and learn from them. Very often
we dictate to them, but let me say that we do not know any better than anybody.
Any Presidential candidate who gives the impression that he knows
everything is nothing but a charlatan. I think that the mark of a leader is to
make the best use of the human resources available. If you have a leader
who says that he knows everything, that is a leader who is likely to drive
your vehicle into a ditch. And I think that it is important that we know that.
We have so many talents in this country; we have people with all kinds of
ideas. They may not belong to your party, but that is of no consequence.
I thank you for the opportunity that you have given me to appear before
you. I pray to God that He himself will direct us and His will be done in
our lives.
Thank you.
29

2. PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, ACCRA
(insert picture – to be provided)
Candidate Mills engaging in the Presidential Debate, Accra
Question:
You have each indicated in your manifestoes that you will put money in the
pockets of the people of Ghana. This implies creating jobs. What will you
do to create more jobs?
Prof. Mills:
Thank you for the opportunity given to me and my compatriots.
When you talk about jobs, you also have to think about how you are going
to prepare people for the jobs. Training is very important. Helping people
to acquire skills is very important.
The state in this case has a role to play. One of the problems bedeviling
our employment creation is the fact that we have a large army of unskilled
people. When you take the figures, only 40% of our kids who go through
JSS end up in SSS and then at the tertiary institutions. What do we do with
them?
There are very few technical schools, very few vocational schools, no
avenues for apprenticeship and therefore they do not have the skills. I
30

know that it is not the state’s duty to provide the actual jobs. But the state
must create an enabling environment, and within the Constitution it is
very clear that all political parties are to foster an atmosphere to promote
private sector growth.
Now when you come to the productive areas of the economy; because the
economy must be such that, it can propel the private sector to produce
jobs, we are being told that agriculture accounts for about 60% of the
population workforce. Agriculture in this country has collapsed and the
reasons are not hard to find.
We need the necessary inputs. We need to give them capital. If we take
agriculture seriously we would be serving at least 60% of the population.
The private sector is in distress. The business atmosphere is indeed very
unfriendly. Our SMEs and industries have collapsed. They are competing
with cheap and sometimes shoddy imports. We haven’t given them the
necessary capital and there is slow uptake of technology. So what we need
to do is to look at the issues facing the industrial sector because when the
private sector is strong it will be able to provide the requisite jobs.
When you talk about jobs you also think about those who have gone up
the educational ladder – there is graduate unemployment. What do you do
about them? We need training, training, and training.
Follow up question:
What are the most critical issues you will tackle regarding un-skilled labour?
Prof. Mills:
The most important one is the private sector – private sector and agriculture.
The agriculture sector is crying for help and indeed, government
should pay attention to the private sector.
Question:
Ghana has found oil in commercial quantities. What will you do to ensure
that the oil money benefits all Ghanaians?
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Prof. Mills:
We have the GNPC. The GNPC has a stake in the oil revenues, but at the
end of the day it is not the investor who owns the plot of land. It is the
people of Ghana. We therefore must get a body which will make sure it
monitors what is going on, gets the companies to account to it for all the
resources so that they will be able to account to the people of this country.
We are not going to leave everything in the hands of the oil companies;
they must recoup their investments. So even at this stage our government
must be interested in the kind of investments that they are making –
whether these investments are of such a nature that indeed, when the time
comes we can sit down and allow them to recoup. So this is not the time to
say we have struck oil and then fold up our arms. Let us try and see exactly
what kind of investment is being made and whether we will allow these
investments to be recouped here.
Question:
Economic growth requires foreign direct investments as well as the promotion
of local initiatives. How will you manage foreign investment in
such a way that it does not stifle local initiatives?
Prof. Mills:
Describing an economy of a country as strong and buoyant without the involvement
of Ghanaians leaves a lot to be desired. Ghana is for Ghanaians
and we must look up to Ghanaians first. We therefore have to look to our
local entrepreneurs. Are they alright? Do they have the right atmosphere?
Are we giving them the right inputs? If you look at the private sector right
now, it is in distress. They have a lot of problems. Their contribution to
GDP is almost nil.
Over the past few years they’ve recorded zero growth. It is good to have
foreign direct investment, yes, but that is to supplement local efforts and
indeed, we have to be very careful given the problems that we now have
with the global financial problems. We are going to find that one of the
possible results is that FDI is going to dry up. So I think that FDI should
come only to supplement the efforts of Ghanaians.
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Indeed we have cases where there is capital flight; I say that charity begins
at home. Let’s look at our private sector, look at our local entrepreneurs.
There were some who were doing very well years ago. Where are
they now? When you talk about Ghanaian economic giants who are they?
I would rather talk about Ghanaian economic giants, boast about them,
rather than refer to FDIs whose loyalty to the Ghanaian economy may not
always be the kind that we want. They have problems and the problems
are well known. We should tackle them and that is the way to gain confidence,
and mind you FDIs may come when they know that Ghanaians
themselves are investing in the economy.
Follow up question:
What are your priority areas regarding the Ghanaian entrepreneur?
Prof. Mills:
Industry, Manufacturing, Agriculture. When you come to industry, what
industrial establishments do we have now? These are the sources of employment
for a number of our people. We are importing everything. When
it comes to agriculture, I made that statement that agriculture has collapsed.
What happened to the poultry industry? How many poultry farmers
can say that they are doing well?
When you look at fishing, we are importing fish into the country. When
you look at livestock, what is happening in these areas? I think that with
manufacturing, we must be able to manufacture, using our local raw materials.
I will therefore place very much emphasis on agriculture. Agro processing
is one area where you can ensure food security and also produce
for export. So it’s a combination of factors, but I know Ghanaians are
experts in these areas and can be relied upon.
Question:
What strategies do you have for Ghanaian industries to benefit from trade
within ECOWAS?
Prof. Mills:
Well, I am happy that there is emphasis on leadership, and it is coming
from people who have worked in government for 7 or 8 years. The prob-
33

lem that I see is the mistrust between our leaders. The mistrust of our leaders
to sink their differences and seek the common good and interest. We
spend all our time solving conflicts among ourselves and spend time also
creating conflicts among ourselves. I mean look at the leadership in West
Africa, on the surface they are getting on well but if you go beyond the
surface you can see that all is not well.
Not much has been done since 2000 to integrate the sub-region. Mention
was made of ECOWAS parliament, convergence criteria, ECOWAS
Court of Justice. These things were done in 2000. We decided to fast-track
ECOWAS integration. We were the ones who even initiated the West African
Gas Pipeline. We were prepared to go out and sit down with our colleagues.
What has happened to these?
It is because we just go round, chat with one another, have cocktails; but
nobody wants to give something. You will have to give and take; and it is
because you know leadership only thinks about itself. Even locally, see the
number of barriers we erect when it suits us. You get the impression that
some people have a vested interest in all this.
I think that where there is the will, there will be the way. An Atta-Mills’
government, which is interested in getting the people to move in the direction
which will ensure their welfare, will make sure that he will go round
the various leaders and help sink our differences.
Follow up question:
What unique quality will your leadership have such that you will break the
barrier of mistrust among West African Presidents?
Prof. Mills:
You must earn somebody’s trust. I want to go there with an open mind, let
them see by my actions, not by my words, that I mean what I say. We will
act in accordance with the protocols.
We have signed so many protocols, what is holding them back? They know
better than we do but I am telling you that for somebody to trust you, you
must earn the person’s trust. You must show that indeed, you mean exactly
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what you are saying. That is what many of our leaders don’t do; they say
one thing and do another and of course when you do that, it is difficult for
people to trust you and cooperate with you.
Question:
What will you do to ensure food security?
Prof. Mills:
Food security merely means availability of food for the present and also
provision for the future. And I am happy the question is linked with self
reliance. When the global food crisis arose, I wish the Government had
gone out to support the growers of local rice. Instead, we were trying to
take tariffs off imported rice. That tells you the extent to which we are self
reliant.
But what do you do with food security? First of all, you must make sure
you produce enough. And how do you produce enough? We’ve told you,
you must modernise agriculture, you must have the right inputs with marketing,
with dams, with the supporting elements in agriculture.
Two, we will have to make sure that what we produce we are able to preserve.
Now what form does the preservation take? Agro-processing; we
are recommending that we have a buffer stock management agency so that
in periods of glut they go onto the market to purchase. We want to construct
silos so that the extra can be preserved.
Then we want to look at post-harvest losses. In this area, I believe that
science and technology can play a part. We can use nuclear energy to preserve
the food. But when we talk of food it’s not only crops and then fishing,
even though I agree very much with you. You are talking about poultry.
What are we doing about poultry? We may need, as a government, to
encourage people to have large scale plantations of maize and soya beans.
So the whole thing is a package that we have to look at and I do agree
with him that we have to grow what we eat. We have a situation where we
are importing everything into this country, all the food crops. How many
people go seriously into agriculture? So agriculture is no longer attractive
35

and we must make it attractive and make it worth the while of people to
go into this area.
I think that one of the most important things that we will have to do is to
let the farmers know that they are not going to suffer any disadvantage
whether the rains come or not. When there is a glut we will come to their
aid, where there need to be subsidies, there must be subsidies. After all,
our stand during the Doha rounds showed very clearly that we are in favour
of government subsidising agriculture. So there is no reason why we
should feel shy about it. Agriculture is the backbone and we must show
this by our actions.
Question:
What will your government do to promote high quality and accessible education?
Prof. Mills:
Quality education can only be achieved if we pay attention to three critical
factors. Number one is the pupil, i.e. the students. Number two the inputs,
i.e. the infrastructure and the third one which people always conveniently
forget is the teacher. Now let’s look at the pupil. If the pupil is in such
circumstances that even getting to school is a problem, if schools are not
accessible, if you go to school and the roof is about to collapse, that needs
to be addressed.
The people must be in a position to go to school. That is why NDC is
saying that when it comes to basic education, if we will have to buy uniforms,
we will buy uniforms. The pupils must have access to education, to
secondary schools. That is why the NDC was able to build 264 secondary
schools.
Access is also a problem. Whenever we talk about sending pupils to
school, we forget that only 40% of those who pass SS have access to senior
secondary school. So we must ensure accessibility. Give them the necessary
infrastructure and textbooks. The school feeding programme which
is not a bad thing, I think should be extended to all of them. But as far as I
am concerned and being a teacher myself, and we are all here because of
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teachers, the teacher is at the centre of it all.
The teacher must be well-motivated. We know many of us went to so called
“village schools” but the teachers were motivated and prepared to make
sacrifices. But we have a situation where study leave is being restricted;
where teachers do not know how much they are earning; where indeed, in
certain areas allowances haven’t been paid to them. If you have teachers
who are not well-motivated, you are not going to get quality education.
Follow up question:
What will you do regarding the many pupils who leave senior secondary
schools but are not able to enter the universities?
Prof. Mills:
The issue really is that those who are qualified and can go to the university
must not be denied access to university education. But you are not going to
produce university graduates and leave them without jobs. It is something
that we have to take into consideration. I have always gone for the suggestion
that university education must be so telling to meet the job market so
I believe there is the need for some tinkering.
Question:
What should be the key components of an effective and equitable social
security and pension system?
Prof. Mills:
When a person has worked for the specified period of time, I think he is
entitled to go home and be assured of a respectable sum of money. But we
have a situation right now where we are operating different systems. Some
are operating under the CAP 30, others social security, the university also
has its own scheme.
One of the irregularities that I find is that especially in the university, people
are paid allowances. Sixty percent of their emoluments consist of allowances
but these are not taken into consideration when you go on pension.
The result therefore is while you are telling the person that you need
this amount to survive while you are teaching, you are also telling him
37

that once you cease to be a teacher that is the end of it – sixty percent is
no longer coming to you. I think that we have to rationalise the pension
scheme and we also encourage leaving the private sector to form their own
pension schemes.
One of the problems that we are having is that government is employing
two sets of workers – one on social security where admittedly the returns
are low and the other on CAP 30, where the returns are higher. We must
make sure that we marry the two. But I think that the pension scheme must
be updated regularly. You have a situation where people peg your pension
at the time when you retire and very little effort is being made to upgrade
it.
And one other thing, it is not even enough giving people respectable pensions.
Those who are on pension will tell you the difficulty that they experience
in even getting their pension payments made. I think that in reforming
the system the mode of payment and the regularity of payment should
also be taken into consideration.
Question:
The maternal mortality rate in the country is 50 deaths per 1,000 live
births. What will your administration do to reverse this trend?
Prof. Mills:
Where the pregnant woman has access to proper health facilities, I don’t
think there is going to be any problem. What are the causes of maternal
mortality? Lack of access to health facilities is a big problem especially in
the rural areas. I have been to villages where the roads are so bad, transportation
is almost non-existent, so you ask yourself if somebody falls ill,
how does one get the person to hospital?
And we know also of areas where you can go to the hospital and find that
there is no attendant, there is nobody to attend to the pregnant woman.
Now, we also have socio-cultural practices where there are some who do
not even want to go to hospital. They want to deliver at home. So some
education must also be given. While I have no doubt that NHIS, where
all the facilities are present, will help, I think that we are simplifying the
38

issue if we think that NHIS alone is going to solve the matter. It isn’t going
to solve the matter. Let’s look into it, let’s make sure that our pregnant
women have proper facilities and that they have access to these facilities.
Question:
What policy do you have in place to improve the lives and the rights of
women in Ghana?
Prof. Mills:
The question is on women’s rights and you are going to look at it from
three angles: their social rights, their political rights and their economic
rights. Women have carried us in their wombs and on their backs for ages
and there is no reason why we should discriminate against them. On social
grounds, if there are cultural practices which discriminate against women,
my government will make sure that we fight and uproot these cultural
practices. I mean examples exist in the record books; the intestate succession
law and female mutilation. These are barriers in getting the women
to go to school.
When it comes to political rights the NDC has already announced that
40% of ministerial appointments and appointments to public offices will
be reserved for women. This is our aim; 40% of DCEs will be women. We
will even set up a fund for women who want to participate in the nonpartisan
district assembly because that is their breeding ground.
When it gets to the economic sector, you know when a woman is working,
children never go hungry. And when you go round it’s the women who
suffer. In the market, about 80% of our food distribution is carried out by
women.
So what do you do with the women? In the north for example, women
who go round looking for shea-nut are bitten by snakes, they walk long
distances to fetch water, and then to pick the nuts. So we will help with agriculture,
modernise agriculture, give them the inputs and especially give
them micro-credit so that they will be self sufficient. There should be a
total package for them covering a broad range of women’s rights.
Indeed, we agree with the proponents of the women’s manifesto that we
39

must recognise women’s equality and then we must also mainstream
women’s affairs. In doing so, I am only emphasising the realities on the
ground. The women these days are leaving the men behind and we have to
recognise this fact. That’s all.
Follow up question:
What will you do about children’s rights?
Prof. Mills:
Children are the future leaders of our country and unfortunately sometimes
they can be very defenceless. And so with children somebody has to
stand in locus to them. We must have rules for children. Indeed we must
not leave the bringing up of children to only the parents. They are the most
natural people to do so but we must insist on children going to school, providing
them with the necessities of life and also making sure that practices
which discriminate against children, like child labour, like people beating
children, corporal punishment for children, using children for the drug
trade, and crime are eliminated. We must make sure that we have proper
measures to ensure that children are not used for activities which in the
end will not be in their own interest.
Question:
What will you do to ensure that there is constant and adequate supply of
energy in the country for domestic and industrial use?
Prof. Mills:
We’ve always maintained that the energy crisis could easily have been
avoided. And we took steps when were there. We initiated the West African
Gas Pipeline, we brought in the Osagyefo Barge. The reason that we
had the problem in 1998, the Volta Lake failed us and therefore we thought
of alternatives. So we brought in the Osageyfo Barge which can generate
110 mega watts, we brought in the Aboadze Plant which generates 550.
However, if you use the turbine steam it will go up to 660.
So indeed, we felt that we should move away from oil powered energy to
gas fired energy. That is why we initiated the West Africa Gas Pipeline and
we still think that must come to fruition. If it does we should be able to
40

get enough. We’ve already said that we want to move from 1,600 to 5,000.
We are also exploring other opportunities; mini hydro dams on the Pra and
Ankobra Rivers. We are even experimenting with wind energy. As for solar,
we did the experiment quite some time ago and we are going to insist
that traffic lights for example be powered by solar energy.
There is bio-gas also to be exploited. Even tidal wave energy. If you look
at our blueprint and manifesto, we’ve stated everything very clearly. I can
say without any fear of contradiction that if the blueprint we left behind
had been followed we would not have had this energy crisis which cost
the private sector about $700 million. So we think that everything is clear.
Atta Mills will not sit and ignore what his predecessors had done in the
handing over notes which contain solutions to future problems.
Follow up question:
Perhaps you could take 15 seconds to make a comment on nuclear energy.
Prof. Mills:
One has to learn from the experiences of others. I was in America when
we had the Three Mile Island incident. I read about Chernobyl and other
areas. I think that nuclear power, if we want to consider it, is something
that we have to study for some time. In Germany they are moving away
from nuclear power. Let’s find out from them what is causing this. There
are other safer methods, so I will say that for now let it just be on the bed.
When we are satisfied ourselves we will know what decision to take.
Question:
There have been several areas of conflicts in the country in recent times.
There has also been an increase in violent crimes. How will you ensure
security and law and order throughout the country so that every citizen
can go to sleep feeling safe?
Prof. Mills:
Well, we talk about conflicts, law and order, etc. What are the causes?
When it comes to conflict there are many causes. First, when people feel
that they are not getting justice. Number two, where the people who are
supposed to be arbiters are themselves taking sides, where you have mar-
41

ginalisation and polarisation. Four, where people who are supposed to enforce
the law are either incapable or unwilling to enforce it. Where indeed
there is also political victimisation you have this kind of problem.
Now when it comes to crime, we all agree that crime has to be brought
under control. How prepared are the law enforcing agencies? But where
you have situations where people act and then the law enforcing agencies
are not seen to be fair, people can flout the law with impunity; it’s going to
be very difficult for you to control crime.
Talking about corruption or drugs, I am really surprised because when it
comes to the drug trade yes, it is a very serious matter and it is something
that we will have to fight and uproot. But here sometimes, you feel that
there is complicity, you feel that people are incapable or unwilling. People
look at what is happening on the scene and they say, well, why can’t I do
the same?
So we have a situation where we must make sure that the law-enforcing
agencies are doing their work and the leadership must be seen to be playing
its role. If you are an arbiter or a leader, you wash your hands off; you
stay aloof so that people will have confidence in your ability to intervene.
Concluding Messages
Fellow country men and women, thank you for listening to us for the past
two to three hours. I am here because I want an opportunity to serve the
people of Ghana, to have a better Ghana where we invest in people, where
we give people jobs, where we see to people’s education and health.
This country of ours is polarised. There is so much marginalisation, we
are moving in the wrong direction. Many people are calling for change.
Our country is in distress. I support this move because the NDC believes
in social democracy. We pay specific attention to the marginalised, the vulnerable,
and we believe that leadership is what matters. You need someone
who is sincere, someone who is honest, who is transparent and who believes
that there can always be improvement.
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As a young lecturer I used to think that I was the best until I realised from
the students I was teaching that, even though they were not as educated as
I was because I had gone through the motions, they were more intelligent
than I was, so I realise that I should never describe myself in absolute
terms as the best, there are better people.
I want an opportunity to serve the people of Ghana to unite us. Atta Mills
as President is not going to be President for NDC alone. I will be President
for every Ghanaian. Whenever the Ghanaian has to be helped, whenever
the Ghanaian needs the assistance of the state, I will do so without any
consideration of political, social or religious affiliation. We need to see
ourselves as one people. There is a lot that needs to be done. We need to
tell our people the truth. Sometimes we think that by repeating an untruth
it becomes the truth. It doesn’t. By changing the label on the bottle, it does
not necessarily change the contents of the bottle. I believe therefore that
Ghanaians will give me an opportunity to serve.
But lastly, let me say that it’s God who installs kings and we must not in
this election do anything that is going to cause violence or indeed, spill
blood. If you do that, if power is tainted, we are not going to get God’s
blessing. Let all of us pledge to do what will move Ghana in the good direction.
May God bless our homeland Ghana.
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3. PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, TAMALE
Candidate Mills engaging in the Presidential Debate, Tamale
Question:
Good governance depends on sound constitutional provisions. After sixteen
years operating the present Constitution, is there any aspect of the
Constitution which needs to be reformed so as to impact positively on the
lives of the ordinary Ghanaian?
Prof. Mills:
Once again I would like to add my voice to the words uttered by my colleagues.
I thank the Good Lord for making it possible for us to be here
today and I wish my colleagues all the best of luck.
After 16 years one has to take a look at the Constitution. Clearly, changes
have come and there is the need for us to take a fresh look at the Constitution.
What needs to be done?
One area is with the Vice Presidency. If I talk about it one should not be
surprised. Keys issues include the following:
• Where the Vice President has a problem with the President what
happens?
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• We look at the judiciary - is there going to be an upper limit to the
number of judges to the Supreme Court?
• You look at decentralisation, how effective it is?
• How can we make the people decide their own fate and destiny?
• Now, there is also the question of Members of Parliament, should
they be ministers? Can they combine it effectively?
• What are we doing about Parliament, to strengthen Parliament
itself, the appropriation to Parliament; the help for Parliament?
These are all areas that we need to look at. We need to look at the powers
of the Executive.
• Do they lead to exclusion?
• Is all power concentrated in the hands of the Executive?
• Do people think that it’s a winner takes all affair?
These are areas that we need to look at. But let me say that it is for the
people to decide. Views must be sought and collated, and at the end of the
day we must take decisions which will make it possible for us to move this
country forward, to learn from the mistakes of the past and improve the
Constitution as we go along. In other jurisdictions it’s done regularly and
we should be able to do it too.
Question:
The district assemblies are supposed to be responsible for developmental
and social issues at the local level. What measures would you introduce
to deepen decentralisation of government in Ghana so that we have not
just decentralisation for decentralisation’s sake but decentralisation that
brings real benefit to the people?
Prof. Mills:
It is important that decentralisation brings power to the people. And first
of all, you have to look at the demarcation exercise. Which areas will the
decentralisation cover? Some things have been done in the past which
have not been really effective. But you want to make sure that people have
a voice in the way they are ruled, one of the things that you need to do is to
45

ensure that the District Assemblies account regularly to the people.
Before and after sittings, they must engage the people, explain policies to
them. The Broadcasting Code has to be amended so the local FM stations
can broadcast the decisions and the policies of the District Assemblies.
You need to give them revenue. There are certain activities which can
be decentralised – like passport applications, company registrations. You
need to beef up the manpower of the district assemblies. We must encourage
graduates to work there, look at their manpower requirements.
When it comes to revenue, the guidelines issued by the Local Government
Ministry on the use of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund must be
abolished. They must be given the leeway to decide how they are going to
use the revenue.
We must also find them some other areas of revenue. You also have to
decentralise certain departments – health, education, among others. There
must also be participating in the budget, so that the people at the grassroots
can decide what they want, and also drag down releases to them. We must
ensure that the District Assemblies are accountable.
As to the election of the DCE, I have my own views about that. You have
to talk about compatibility and fidelity and I believe that the Central Government,
which is partisan, needs somebody to liaise between it and the
non-partisan district assembly.
Follow up question:
You have each spoken of election at the district level, including assembly
members as well as the District Chief Executive. At the moment, election
of assembly members is supposed to be on a non-partisan basis. Would
you want this to continue or would you rather elections were held on partisan
basis?
Prof. Mills:
I think that candour in politics is very important. You want people with
the right ability, with the right expertise, to represent them. I believe that
the idea behind the non-partisan nature at the very beginning was to try
and get people who otherwise would not stand, to serve. But I agree with
46

Dr. Nduom that the time has come when we have to take the bull by the
horns. We have to agree that what is happening is in fact something like a
smokescreen.
Parties are sponsoring candidates and therefore, I think that we should
throw it open, but at the same time a certain portion can be reserved as
is being done, for the infusion of expertise, the marginalised etc, so that
they can also be appointed. A mix of the two, I believe, will ensure that
we get the right collection of people who will represent the people at the
grassroots.
Question:
Notwithstanding the existing institutional and legislative measures to fight
corruption, there is still a persistent concern that corruption is rife in our
political and public life. What further measures would you institute to deal
with this problem?
Prof. Mills:
The first step towards the solution of a problem is the admission or acknowledgement
that it exists. Let’s all admit corruption is rife in our country.
What do we do? Now leadership has a lot to do with it. As President I
will lead the fight against corruption. I will not allow any of my ministers,
my party faithfuls or cronies who are involved in corruption to go scotfree.
I will let the law take its course.
We have institutions which are supposed to deal with corruption. Are they
well resourced? Do they have their independence? Are they able to prosecute
after they have come out with their reports? We should give them
the wherewithal to be able to do this. You know, with corruption you must
be seen to be biting and not only barking. Example is very important in
this respect. And as President I will lead the crusade against corruption,
because corruption has very harmful effects. It retracts from the economic
achievements that we want to make. I think that it is the responsibility of
those at the top to set a good example.
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Question:
Ghana’s assets regime is perceived as a farce. What measures will you
take to raise public confidence in the assets declaration process?
Prof. Mills:
Assets declaration, I believe, is quite important. But what end does it
serve? I agree that assets declaration must be publicised; but first of all
we must even verify that the declaration is true. You cannot just list any
assets hoping that when you go into office you will acquire them. Number
two, at the end of the period, you must file your asset declaration form and
again the verification should be done. There was a time when the assets
declaration covered spouses. I will not limit it to spouses, there are surrogates;
there are people who are close enough who also acquire assets on
behalf of office holders.
I believe that we should be able to broaden this out. How practical this will
be is another matter. But on the issue of corruption, I believe that I speak
for a number of Ghanaians when I say that corruption is really breaking
our society. We have this framework that we are all talking about. Clearly,
it is not working; it is not working because people get away with corruption.
People can take money with impunity. The right signals are not being
sent down.
So I think that we must show that we are serious about corruption. When
people are flaunting their obscene wealth, nobody raises an eyebrow. We
should be able to say, “look, enough is enough”. Our people know what
is happening, they know; they’ve been victims of corruption. Leadership
must crack the whip, crack the whip, crack the whip and that is the only
way that we are going to get over the problem.
Follow up question:
I see that none of you has a problem with publicly declaring your assets.
Would each of you be confident enough to tell us for instance how many
homes you have?
48

Prof. Mills:
I have two. I would have been happier if you had asked about the nature
of the house.
Question:
What specific measures would you put in place to transform the rural environment
and improve the quality of life there?
Prof. Mills:
If you’ve travelled around the countryside as I have, you will see very
clearly that there is the need for us to do something. Water is a very rare
commodity. The Ghana Water and Sanitation Agency obviously has problems.
The 5% requirement before they produce or give you this facility
has to be looked at.
Number two, Health. How many of them have access to health facilities?
You go to health posts and there are no nurses there; you have no doctors
there. That is one area. You may have NHIS but NHIS only deals with the
cost when you get medical treatment.
Number three, education. You go round the countryside, the rural areas,
people are walking for miles; accessibility is a problem. Even when they
go to school, the schools’ structures are such that you wouldn’t want your
kids to be there. Then the teachers; nobody cares about the teachers, so
you go to empty classrooms.
Now the mainstay is agriculture. How have we helped to develop it? In
the north you see women walking miles to pick shea-nut, bitten by snakes.
Can’t we give them donkey carts? Can’t we help them to process the sheanut
that we have? You go to the rural areas it is agriculture. Are we modernising
agriculture for them? Are we helping them with water, harvesting,
with dams, with irrigation? Are we giving them the inputs? When they
finish do we give them access to the markets? Construction of feeder roads
is very important. We need to maintain the feeder roads regularly and we
need to ensure that District Assemblies spend money on the rural areas to
prevent the rural-urban migration.
49

Question:
Waste disposal and management are major problems all over the country.
If you looked at the 2000 Population and Housing Census you would be
shocked that between 40-80% of the population use free range for disposal
of solid waste. What solutions will the government under your leadership
provide to deal with waste disposal, not only just waste disposal but
management of waste?
Prof. Mills:
It is quite clear that government has abandoned its responsibility and this
has been relegated into the laps of the Municipal Assemblies and District
Assemblies. But Government must take control of the situation. When it
comes to waste management, everywhere you need the right kind of expertise.
I will make sure I put together a team which will look at the waste
management problems in our country. If it has to be decentralised as is
being done, who is supervising it?
You go to Accra and those who are in charge of waste management complain
that they are not being paid. If you look at the rural areas the Water
and Sanitation Agency doesn’t have enough funds. The District Assemblies
are not budgeting enough and it is only because nobody is looking
over their shoulder. In those days, you know ten, fifteen years ago, you
can even refer to the colonial times; there were people who went round to
ensure that the sanitation rules were enforced.
I will say that I will personally ensure that we have a waste management
unit, which will go round and make sure that it has the right kind of expertise.
If you decide that you were going to relegate it to the Municipal
Assemblies or District Assemblies, there must be proper supervision.
University of Science and Technology has expertise in this exercise. To
what extent have we really involved them with biogas, and all those things?
I think that this is the opportunity for us to make use of the expertise that
we have in this country. And let us also enforce the laws. If we don’t enforce
the laws people are going to break the sanitation rules with impunity.
50

Question:
According to the 2000 Population and Housing Census and subsequent
Agric Report the three Northern Regions remain the poorest in the country.
What are your plans to address this unacceptable situation?
Prof. Mills:
I won’t go for any fanciful ideas. I will do what is practical.
School feeding is free in these schools but sometimes the schools are
closed down for a very long time because the grants are not coming. I
will make sure I give them the grants. UDS has problems; we will have to
solve the UDS problems, the Tamale Hospital will have to be upgraded to
a Teaching Hospital, UDS must be given proper funding.
The three northern regions depend very much on agriculture. Instead of
importing rice we could very well make the northern region the granary.
It used to be the case sometime ago. What they need is very little – water-harvesting,
giving them the necessary inputs. Cotton industry has collapsed.
With the shea nut industry, the women have a lot of problems. We
will have to process the shea nut.
We have to open up the country. Coming to the Northern Region is not
easy. The eastern corridor, the western corridor, the central corridor and
even from Tamale up to Tumu, we have to open up the country. When we
do this, we will find that people will come in and will invest in these areas.
But unless we do that we’re going to have a big problem on our hands.
There are many areas which do not have electricity. Electricity must be
extended there. For those who have water problems, those problems must
be solved. I will make sure that effort is made to get a separate authority
which is going to look at the development of the northern regions. They
have enough potential already. It is only a question of harnessing the potential
that they have and concentrate on making the things work.
Question:
Urban planning is chaotic in this country, whilst in the rural areas, erosion
and other environmental factors are destroying the homes of our vil-
51

lagers. What is your party’s position on planned urban and rural housing?
Prof. Mills:
It is quite clear that the system is not working and we cannot take any half
hearted measures. I will first of all set up a National Human Settlement
Commission that is going to look at the whole issue of urban renewal;
two; slum prevention and upgrading, three, rural development. Now you
need experts to able to do this. We have the science and technology but
you need a whole mix of people. You must also ensure that the laws are
working. Our town and country laws are no longer working. People build
anyhow. They site buildings in places which are clearly prohibited by law
but nobody does anything. So we are going to look at urban renewal, slum
prevention.
Clearly, if you go to our cities the slum areas are getting bigger and bigger
because no physical planning is being done; nobody is insisting that the
law be upheld, no physical planners are being consulted even before all
these things are done and sometimes people who should know better are
the worst offenders.
Take traffic in Accra. You ask yourself, “where are we going?” You have
a situation where along the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange there is a shopping
mall. It complicates the problem. You ask yourself don’t we have
any physical planners? Don’t we have any town and country planning?
When it comes to the rural areas, District Assemblies should play a very
important role. The problem is that their physical planning departments
are non-existent. I will get in touch with Tech to train more of these physical
planners so that they can help with rural rehabilitation, with the houses
which are affected by erosion. I believe that something can be done with
proper planning.
Follow up question:
I am sure you all have in your manifestoes to provide affordable housing
to the population. But I think affordable housing has become a cliché. In
Ghana Cedi terms what is your definition of an affordable house?
52

Prof. Mills:
I will say that affordable is the kind of housing which any ordinary person
will be able to pay for completely over a 4 year period, using his incomes
and other circumstances.
Question:
The last 4 questions we asked dealt with the environment, housing planning;
all these questions you dealt with require massive application of
scientific and technological know-how. At the moment there is a perception
that science and technology is not receiving the sort of attention that
it requires in this country.
Prof. Mills:
Well Atta-Mills and the NDC will first and foremost re-establish the Ministry
of Science and Technology. Two, we are going to ensure that at the
JSS-SSS levels the emphasis is on science. We will encourage science
learning. We are going to revive the Science Resource Centres that we
set up in the secondary schools and which have been allowed to go into
disuse.
At the university level, we are going to give scholarships to students who
study science. Teachers of science are going to be given special incentives.
We are going to devote 2% of the GETFUND to research for science and
we are also going to have 2 science and technology theme parks for the
nation - one sited on the Aburi Mountain, the other one in Cape Coast and
link the various universities to these science parks.
We therefore want to ensure that science takes its pride of place and that
the emphasis is on science. We will encourage research and draw a close
relationship between the scientist and business so that they will know the
direction science should take our economy. I think that it’s an integrated
packet and I think that at the end of the day we will see science flourish.
We are not going to sweep science under the carpet. We are going to give
it a pride of place.
53

Question:
Oil exploration and exploitation are always associated with environmental
problems. Now we look at the Western Region, for instance, which faces
seasonal problems from what we call algae-bloom. This is attributed to
off-shore oil exploration activities in Cote D’Ivoire. These environmental
problems affect fishing activities in the region. How do you plan to tackle
the environmental problems associated with oil exploration?
Prof. Mills:
Atta-Mills and NDC believe that politics is about people; pure and simple,
the welfare of the people. How can you create wealth and prosperity for
all? If the oil which has been discovered is not going to inure to the interest
of our people then we better think twice. We have had the examples
in this country which do not give some of us cause to rejoice. Look at our
fishermen, they are complaining that trawlers are running into their nets
destroying their canoes, and nobody is doing anything. We are told that
those who should patrol our seas do not have the resources. Are we sure
that we are going to be able to do this with the oil areas?
Look at mining, many of the mining towns or communities have complained
about the environmental problems. Have those who are charged
with monitoring done their job? I believe that on the books we have very
good environmental laws but they must be enforced. And in this regard,
especially with the oil exploration, we should involve the communities.
The communities must know their rights, their responsibilities. We won’t
sit down until they are completely destroyed before we try and crack the
whip. We should be able to sit down with the oil companies, the communities
and then apportion their various responsibilities for them. If at the
end of the day you get all the money in the world but environmentally our
people are destroyed, what good is the money? Human beings must come
first and we’ll ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency does the
monitoring and that the proper laws are effected for the benefit of our people
who really must enjoy the prosperity of the nation and who should be
the priority concern of Atta-Mills as President.
54

Question:
You have each touched on issues of conflict resolution. What practical
steps would you take to resolve the conflicts that plague certain parts of
the country.
Prof. Mills:
Leadership must be interested in resolving these conflicts. The leader must
himself be seen to be a peacemaker. Who is a peacemaker? Somebody
who is impartial; somebody who wants, genuinely, to bring sides together.
If the peacemaker is seen to be an interested party it is difficult to resolve
the confusion.
Many of these conflicts centre on chieftaincy. According to our Constitution,
it’s not for Government to dabble in chieftaincy. We have the proper
institutions.
Connected with this is the element of criminality; if people do not feel that
justice is being done it will be difficult to resolve the conflict. So where
you have problems connected with chieftaincy and crimes have been committed,
separate the two and then punish people for the crimes which have
been committed.
Number three, when you investigate and realise that this is what has happened,
go ahead and make sure that you prosecute. You send a signal that
wrong doers will be punished you are not going to tolerate any breaches
of the law. You know, perception is very, very important. When people
know that your word is your bond, and that you don’t say one thing and do
another they are likely to come to terms. But where indeed you will find
that there are underlying factors where trust is not there, where trust is betrayed,
where people have lost confidence in the ability of the peacemaker
to bring them together, these conflicts will not be resolved. Poverty is one
of the causes but if you look at the conflicts that we currently have, yes
poverty applies to everybody but not all the areas have conflicts. In certain
cases you will find that there are issues which are not coming out clearly
and not been resolved.
55

Question:
Drug trafficking and abuse have become such a problem that they are
affecting the integrity of our security forces. How will your government
bring the situation under control?
Prof. Mills:
When you have a problem and you really want to solve it, admit that it
exists. Now Ghana is not only a transit point but unfortunately drug use is
beginning to gain root in this country. I will make sure that I resource the
drug enforcement agencies to enable them do their work; I will give them
the independence that they require. There will be no interference. If any
of my ministers, any of my party faithfuls, any cronies, are found to be
involved in any drug trade I will make sure that the law takes its course.
The UN has many Conventions on how to deal with the narcotic trade. We
will apply these to the letter.
Unfortunately, one gets the impression that somewhere along the line there
is complicity. Let’s face it because some times when you expect action
to be taken the action is not forthcoming. As President, I will make sure
that anyone who is supposed to enforce the law but doesn’t do it will be
disciplined. You must send the right signals. You also need international
cooperation. I am happy that recently we brought in some people to help
but to what extent have we cooperated with these people who have come
from abroad? We are still having problems of this nature. Let us let the
whole world know that we have this problem. And let us make sure that
we discipline people.
Question:
There is a perception that the nation is over emphasising football at the
expense of the other sports in which we have excelled in the past. Let’s
take for example athletics. I remember a gentleman called Stanley Allotey.
He held the Commonwealth 100 and 200 meters record for 10 years. Who
remembers him now? The Ohene Karikaris have come and gone.
Let us take hockey, we went to the world cup twice before we ever made
it to the world cup in football. Boxing, table tennis, who remembers the
Quaye brothers; E.A. Quaye and Okine Quaye. We’ve excelled before.
56

There is the perception that we are over-emphasising football. What will
you do to end the neglect of the other sports?
Prof. Mills:
Well let me say quickly that I played with Nana Addo. He was a good
midfielder. But you are going to have a President Atta-Mills who is not
only going to be interested in sports, but who’s been a player and administrator.
Government is just taking advantage of the investments that people
have made in football. There are people who are spending big money
on football. The teams are flourishing because people are bending over
backwards pumping in money. Now if you want sports to progress you
need to catch them young; you have to train them. How did some of us get
involved? The facilities were there. It’s a pity that now schools’ sports are
gone, no competitions are held. Atta-Mills will introduce sports back into
the curriculum.
We’re going to grant scholarships to performers at the secondary and university
levels. We are going to have national sports festivals. We are going
to make sure that the facilities are there. If some of us had not stood up
where we now have the hockey pitch, they were going to build there. Now
people are building in every empty space. Without facilities and without
investment you cannot do anything about sports. Government should invest
in facilities and those who are prepared to help sports develop must
be given recognition and incentives and the sportsmen themselves should
occasionally be acknowledged as sportsmen. When you get this acknowledgement
you feel that you should die even more for your country. You
don’t wait until people had struggled on their own and then give them
honours.
So let’s concentrate on the schools, let’s catch them young. There are
certain disciplines you cannot learn when you are old. You have to start
young. So schools’ sports should be emphasised. Once you do that you go
all the way up. But Nana, well done. You gave me some satisfaction as my
midfielder.
57

Follow up question:
But Prof Mills, I’m surprised. Were you not in the world cup hockey team?
Prof. Mills:
No, at the time I had left the country, but my colleagues were in the team.
Prof. Addae-Mensah:
Because I used to face you in the goal.
Prof. Mills:
Well, you know what it means is that you can aspire to the highest; be a
professor and still be a first class sportsman. And these are living examples.
It doesn’t mean that it’s only those who are dumb who go into sports,
no. Sports indeed sharpen your intellect and if you want healthy and intelligent
students, combine it with sports.
Question:
There seem to be quite a number of similarities running through the positions
you have advanced and how you want to do things. What are the
main differences between all the positions you have advanced or what you
stand for?
Prof. Mills:
I believe that with experience one should know the problems facing this
nation. I mean, no ingenuity is required to find out the basic problems.
What makes the difference is the kind of leadership that one brings to the
table. A leadership that is going to tell the truth, a leadership that is going
to offer inspiration and is not the kind of leadership that is going to be a
one man show. I have been in government before and I know that you need
a cadre of dedicated, knowledgeable and committed people to work with;
people who share your objectives and who know that the most important
thing is the prosperity of the people, the welfare of the people.
Concluding Message
Prof. Mills:
Thank you, people of Ghana; for giving me the opportunity to share ideas
58

with you. You may have heard our discussion, the questions which were
posed. Our answers point clearly to one thing: that all is not well. We have
problems with corruption, drug abuse, the non-development of the northern
sector; indeed there is no question which referred to a situation in the
past. They were all current situations. It tells you therefore that there is no
point in moving forward into this kind of mess. We have to move in a different
direction. I am proud of my association with the government which
achieved so much.
And I don’t think that anyone here can disclaim responsibility for attachment
to any government. It is about leadership, and personal qualities. I,
Atta-Mills, want to lead a country which will honour the truth, I want to
lead a country which will focus on the welfare of the ordinary people,
which will share the wealth of the country equitably, which will see to the
general development of the country; a country which will be transparent
where the leader’s yes is yes and his no is no. We want a country which
is united; at the moment we are divided as a country, we are polarised as
a nation. The welfare of the people has been relegated to the background.
Politics is about human beings and politics is about sincerity. I Atta-Mills
will not make a promise to you which I know that we cannot fulfill, God
willing. I will not make a promise just because I want you to vote for me.
I want to make a promise which I know that we can fulfill.
At the end of the day judge me by the achievements, judge me by the extent
to which I have taken your concerns to heart, judge me by the extent
to which I have shown sincerity, honesty and transparency. Judge me by
the extent to which I have brought corruption under control, the rule of
law has been properly interpreted, where I have brought an end to selective
justice where every Ghanaian can walk proudly that indeed this is my
country.
My brothers and sisters, the elections are around the corner. Let’s all pledge
in all sincerity that we are going to organise this elections in truth, we are
going to abide by the laws. All those who are connected, especially we the
leaders, have an onerous responsibility. Ghanaians deserve only one thing
from us – peace and only we can ensure that the peace is given. Thank you.
59

INDEX OF ISSUES
agriculture, 5,6 11, 12, 18, 31,33, 35, renewable, 9
36, 39, 49, 51 foreign relations
climate change, 6 ECOWAS, 33, 34
food security, 33, 35 gender, 3, 10, 19, 20
poultry, 6, 26, 33, 35
global economic crisis,3
water, 11 good governance, 3, 44
conflict resolution, 54 health, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 19, 21, 22, 38,
Constitution, 7, 22, 31, 44, 45, 55 42, 46, 49, 58,
corruption, 3, 9, 13, 17, 42, 47, 48, 58, maternal mortality, 28, 38
59 mental health, 12, 13
crime, 1, 4, 17, 23, 40, 41, 42, 55 training of personnel, 8
drug trafficking, 55 housing, 51, 52, 53
police service, 29 human rights, 22
decentralisation, 29, 45 death penalty, 22
development, 2, 5, 13, 16, 21, 23, 28, industry
45, 51, 52, 58, 59 aluminium, 8
economy, 2, 5, 9, 16, 17, 26, 31, 32, fishing, 33
33, 53 mining, 54
employment, 17, 30, 31, oil, 8, 9, 31, 32, 40, 53, 54,
foreign investment, 32 pharmaceuticals, 21
regional disparity, 50, 51 poultry, 33
savings, 17, 18, 19 private sector development, 13, 33,
wages, 16 38, 41
education, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, infrastructure, 5, 11, 17, 36
31, 36, 37, 38, 46, 49 persons with a disability, 23, 24
access, 7 public financial management, 26
languages, 14, 15 single spine salary structure, 26
school feeding programme, 7, 18, asset declaration, 48
36, 51 social security, 37, 38
science, 8, 53 sport, 56, 57
energy, 8, 9 , 17, 35, 40, 41, tax, 5
nuclear, 35, 41 waste management, 50
60

THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
IEA
GHANA
The Institute of Economic Affairs, A Public Policy Institute
P.O. Box OS1936, Osu, Accra, Ghana. Tel:+233-302244716 / 0307010714
Fax:+233-302- 222313. Email:iea@ieagh.org.
Website: www.ieagh.org