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Ghanaâs President to Take Questions from the Press Friday

   Peter Clottey 06 January 2011

   A  top  official  said  Ghanaâs  President, John Atta-Mills, will meet
   members  of  the  media  Friday  as  part of a campaign pledge he made
   before he was elected two years ago.

   Korku   Anyidoho,   communications  director  of  the  Office  of  the
   President,  told VOA President Atta-Mills will address questions about
   the  state of the nation, his governance style, as well as the ongoing
   crisis in neighboring Ivory Coast.

   President John Atta Mills of Ghana

AFP

   Ghana's President Professor John Evans Atta-Mills

   âThe  president has made it a part of his governance style and part of
   the  change agenda that he promised that, on the 7^th of January every
   year, for as long as he remains president of the Republic of Ghana, he
   will  make  himself  available to a certain category of the mediaâ¦for
   the  critical minds of the Ghanaian media to fire him questions,â said
   Anyidoho.

   Mr. Atta-Mills has come under increasing criticism from members of the
   opposition  who  accuse  him  of failing to take a more active role in
   helping resolve the ongoing crisis in Ivory Coast.

   The  opposition  contends  that  instability  in Ivory Coast will have
   negative  consequences  on Ghanaâs economic stability, as well as that
   of the entire West African sub-region.

   This  will be the second time President Atta-Mills will take questions
   from a section of the media dubbed the âeditorâs forum.â

   The  forum,  which is expected to last for about three hours, would be
   held  at  the  seat of the president at the Osu Castle in the capital,
   Accra.

   The  section of the media expected to be present include media owners,
   senior  editors,  newsroom  editors,  anchors  of  morning  shows  and
   selected program producers.

   Anyidoho  said Mr. Atta-Mills will continue with effort to achieve his
   pledge  for  a  better  Ghana,  in  his words, for all Ghanaians. But,
   opponents  say, despite his enormous political capital, Mr. Atta-Mills
   has  been  too  slow  to  implement  policies  of his pledge, a charge
   Anyidoho denies.

   âHe  addressed  it  appropriately  last  year  during his state of the
   nation  address when he said that he is slow, but he is sure, and that
   the  race is not an alligator race and that the race for governance is
   not for the swiftest, but rather for the sturdiest.â

   Local  media  reported  that President Atta-Mills would be expected to
   answer  questions  surrounding  the recent oil production and the fuel
   price  hikes,  as  well  as  a  loan agreement signed with the Chinese
   government.

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