A quetion for President Mills.Who doesn't owe?

I heard our dear President Atta Mills on peacefm addressing the chiefs and people of Tain telling them how the debt his predecessor incurred is preventing him from delivering on his campaign promises. I was surprised because I have heard the same complain from the President when he addressed the Chiefs and people of Goaso.

I still do not know why the President and his vice are spending a lot of effort telling Ghanaians about the debt we owe when farmers need irrigation facilities. Is Ghana the only country that owes money?

Even Banks and powerful multinational corporations whose entire asset may be bigger than Ghana's economy do owe. Even big super power nations like US, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, China, South Korea, Canada, Italy and France owe hundreds of billions of dollars but we do not hear them complain or blame their predecessors everyday. Rather we have heard the numerous efforts they are making to solve the many problems confronting their citizens. Healthcare, education, investment in roads, energy, fast electric trains, harbours, telecommunication, irrigation, silos, housing and many others. This is the direct opposite of what my President and his ministers have been doing for the past six months. They have spent ours and days telling Ghanaians about how much we owe without doing anything concrete to alleviate the sufferings of Ghanaians.

I would like the President or his Minister of Finance to ask the US authorities how much they owe China. According to Ron Paul, a member of the US House Banking Committee, US owes China about 2 & 1/2 trillion American dollars but do we hear Obama using every opportunity to complain to Americans how Bush built over one trillion dollar debt for them to pay? No. He is bussy selling his policies and programs to the American people.

Since taking office Obama has implemented a stimulus package aimed at helping struggling businesses to stay in competition and to stabilise the US economy. He has directed that Guantanamo Bay detention Camp be closed. He has reached agreement with Russia to cut down the number of nuclear arsenals that each country has. He is working hard to withdraw US combat forces from Iraq by 2011. He is working with Congress to send more American troops to Afghanistan to contain the Taliban and bring stability in that war torn nation. He has made US a key player in the fight against global warming and Climate change, an unthinkable thing under the Bush administration. He is working hard to get US Congress to pass his Healthcare Bill that would overhaul US Healthcare system and makes it more affordable to all Americans at a cheaper cost. He has sent his envoys to the Middle East to get the Palestinians and Israelis talking again in the hope of finding solution to the ME problem. His Ministers are everywhere in the world to repair broken bridges in the international system. In what has been called US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue he has acknowledged that the future of our planet and what happens in this 21st Century would be shaped by what goes on between his country and China, as a result he has declared a new era of cooperation, not confrontation with China.

All these he has done within six months of taking office, the same period that your Excellency President Mills has occupied our Castle. What makes Obama's efforts so enviable is that these are the issues he campaigned to address when elected and he seems pretty anxious to deliver.

On the other hand since President Mills tool office, inflation has been soaring hitting 20% in May. Fuel prices are up 30% today than they used to be 6 months ago.

Unemployment is rising steadily with companies like Vodaphone promising to slash over 950 jobs.

Our currency the cedi has lost more than 30% of its value. Simply put Ghanaians cannot associate President Mills' administration with a new project, programme or a maintainance of what was existing before he took office.

All that we have been hearing from the President are complaints of debts, pleading for more time and confiscation of cars which are relatively less important compared to the many daunting problems confronting Ghanaians and our nation. Readers should not get me wrong. I am not saying confiscating stolen state assets or asking former ministers to account for their stewardship are not important, what I am saying is that it should not take 80 to 90% of government time, energy and resources.