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it can do what it's supposed to do. If we are going to help increase
local production and protect them we have to pass some laws.
There is no reason why you should buy imported drugs and supply
to these health clinics and health centres all over the country when
there are local manufacturers. I will certainly go for local
manufacturing to supply government institutions. Also, as a
doctor I like to encourage other doctors to learn to use what they
call generic prescriptions. Most Ghanaian drugs are generic; they
are not brand names because the one who invented the drugs has
already got his money by branding it. If you put a regulation in
your health policy for generic products to be used you actually
limit people to made in Ghana drugs because we don't research
and bring out any new products that we can brand. People use
generics and that is how I will go about it.
Mr Joseph Adu Boampong, Ghana Federation of the Disabled:
Dr, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana in Chapter 5 guarantees
human rights and freedoms.Article 29 of this Constitution
mentions the rights of persons with disability. As a Presidential
hopeful how can you help in the realisation of these rights and
freedoms for persons with disabilities
Dr. Mahama:
First of all I think that handicapped people are not retarded people.
If you have lameness in your leg it doesn't stop you from doing the
things that anybody can do. Ghanaians always set the example.
There is one blind man who is a lawyer and I know a pharmacist
who had polio. Basically, what we need to do as a Government is
to make sure that we remove the bottlenecks, and give these
people the opportunity to be trained. The School for the Deaf and
that for the Blind, for example; we must make sure that the schools
are equipped so that those people with these disabilities will not be
left out. But if you go to the Wa School for the Deaf you will be
shocked. The thing to do is to consider them and give them equal
opportunities by making sure that the school for the blind have the
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equipment - Braille so that they are able to teach so that they also
can become useful citizens of our nation.
Mr Abdul Karim Hakeem, NUGS:
Day in day out, we keep hearing about access to quality education
and we get promises from different political parties that we will
make sure there is access to education. But what most of them fail
to tackle is how affordable it can be. What will your Presidency do
to make quality tertiary education affordable to students of this
country
Dr. Mahama:
Thank you very much. As I have already indicated I think what we
need to do is to create a scholarship scheme or a trust that has other
portfolios in it - scholarships, loans, grants. They may afford some
aspects of the total cost of education but not some others. If you
have a trust that is looking at helping people in their areas of need
then you will have education available to everybody. At the
moment we are lumped all in the same group and I think that is the
difficulty. For example, the rent for the hostels that are being built
at Legon is high. If you come from the north and your father is a
farmer how are you going to get in there There should be a way to
make sure that even if they have to go there, there is some rent
subsidy for students from needy families. That needs government
working in partnership with private individuals. It is a good thing
that they have put up the hostel there. I know one hostel near
where I live, it's a private one and it is not getting patronage; they
are almost winding up or folding up their business. Not because
the students are not there but they can't afford it. I think
government-private partnership is the way to go to solve some of
the problems that you are talking about.
WILDAF representative:
Dr Mahama, I was very happy when you said your administration
will work with about 50% of women. I would like to know how you
will go about it. Are you going to enact a law or you will make a
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