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JAK Seeks $200m For Accra Water |
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President John Agyekum Kufuor yesterday assured residents of Accra that government was sourcing an amount of $200 million to provide additional 40 million gallons of water for their needs. |
Besides, various water projects nationwide were also being stepped up to solve the frequent water crisis the nation was currently facing.
The President, who described the country’s water situation as regrettable, said this at one of his quarterly encounters with members of the Council of State at the Castle.
He expressed unhappiness that some people deliberately tried to take advantage of the slightest opportunity to politicize every issue by lambasting government.
“Let’s criticize, but let’s criticize constructively.”
He cited the global food and fuel crises as examples of issues some people had mischievously politicized just to paint a picture as if government was not doing anything.
On the fuel problem, he said some comparisons made between Ghana and other countries were incongruous as the former was not producing oil yet.
The President as well expressed displeasure about a recent “simplistic analogy” someone made between Venezuela and Ghana in terms of the price of fuel.
That comparison, he said, was unfair as Venezuela had “limitless volumes” of oil as compared to what Ghana had just discovered.
“The knock-on effect of the fuel crisis is turbulent because everything runs on oil, so all of us should understand the situation.”
Notwithstanding the challenges, “government is still making sure that we have the reserves to manage”.
He called on Ghanaians to thank Providence that the nation had struck oil around this time.
“I shudder to think about what would have happened to this economy in two or three years time if we had not struck oil at this time.
“Our case is probably the classic example of ‘the darkest hour is before dawn’ and so we should not allow people do propaganda with it.”
He gave the assurance that government was putting in place the right policies to ensure that the nation did not suffer the much touted “oil curse” that had befallen several oil-producing countries.
“Government is already fashioning out a policy on oil and gas so that we avert a possible curse and obtain the best out of it.”
He invited opposition members who had any constructive ideas about oil and gas exploration to come to government so that the nation could collectively fashion out a policy in the interest of Ghana.
President Kufuor said government, in partnership with the private sector, was considering the possibility of providing energy through other sources apart from the traditional hydro-based energy and said “our doors are still open” for more private investors in that direction.
Earlier, the Council, led by its Chairman, Professor Daniel Adzei-Bekoe, had raised several topics of national interest which had engaged the attention of the Council in the past four months.
He commended President Kufuor and his administration for successfully hosting the just-ended 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XII) to the admiration of the international community.
He was equally happy that the government heeded the calls of various institutions and rescinded its decision of abolishing Religious and Moral Education from the educational curriculum.
The rest of the discussion between the President and the Council of State was later held behind closed doors.
Earlier in the day, Neville Isdell, Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola, paid a courtesy call on the President.
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