President John Mahama says critics of his government are refusing to recognize the successes and progress Ghana is making.
He insisted that development is still taking place in the face of some economic challenges saying, “our nation is making progress, our nation is not going back but unfortunately we are letting pessimism hold us down. Every day we open our media and it’s like our country is the worst country in the world. We need to learn to count our successes.”
Ghana’s economy is facing some challenges such as the continuous depreciation of the cedi, erratic power supply which is affecting industries and businesses, as well as increment in tariffs and petroleum prices.
Opponents, economic analysts and sections of general public say the current Mahama government is mismanaging the economy and is failing to run the affairs of the nation effectively.
Addressing some chiefs at the Manhyia Palace over the weekend in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, President Mahama urged Ghanaians to look into the future with optimism.
Meanwhile, President Mahama has announced government’s plans to increase the price of cocoa for farmers.
The producer price of cocoa for the 2013/2014 crop season has been maintained at the old price of 3, 392 Ghana cedis per ton.
The Producer Price Review Committee last year maintained the price based on continuous reduction of the commodity on the world market.
But President Mahama speaking at Tepa in the Ashanti Region as part of his three-day working visit to the region promised the farmers there will be an increase soon.
“For about two years, the price of cocoa on the international market was low therefore we could not increase the producer price index. Things are picking up now and so we will also increase the price,” he assured.
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana