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General News of Tuesday, 13 November 2012 Source: Daily Graphic Four presidential candidates contesting the December 7 election yesterday outlined their vision for the nation’s development as they engaged in a debate organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Henry Lartey of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), Akwasi Addai of the United Front Party (UFP) and Jacob Osei Yeboah, the only independent presidential candidate, addressed critical issues relating to the economy, agriculture, education and energy in the two-hour presidential debate.The four presidential candidates were left out in the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Presidential Debates on the grounds that their political parties did not have representation in Parliament.But GBC, in accordance with its constitutional mandate to give equal platform to political parties to present their programmes to the people, decided to organise the debate for the presidential candidates at the GTV studios and broadcast live on national television and all the radio networks of the GBC.The economy took centre stage in the programme moderated by Kate Addo and Abraham Asare, both journalists.Dr Lartey said there was the need to empower Ghanaians to take charge of the economy.He said a GCPP government would work to put money in the pockets of the people.Dr Nduom said a PPP administration would focus on job creation and work with a sense of discipline and urgency to transform the economy.He said the PPP?was not interested in statistics but the kind of economy that put food on the table, adding, “The Ghanaian man on the street does not have statistics in his pocket”.For his part, Mr Addai said a UFP government would embark on a green revolution and develop the natural resources of the country in order to improve the economy.He said more value would be added to cocoa to enable the country earn more foreign exchange from the cash crop.Mr Yeboah said his administration would transform the traditional and informal sectors of the economy in order to grow the economy.He said the problems of Ghanaians were not about the people but a question of leadership, pointing out that he would provide the kind of leaderrship Ghanaians needed.On agriculture, the four presidential candidates were unanimous on the need to provide ready market for agricultural produce in order to support farmers.They also stressed the need to reconstruct silos across the country and establish processing plants to deal with the waste in the agricultural sector.Dr Nduom said a PPP?government would use the state purchasing power to guarantee market for farmers, pointing out that the School Feeding Programme could be an avenue to guarantee market for local farmers.He said his administration would also pursue an integrated development initiative that would ensure the development of rural communities in order to make farmers happier, healtheir and more educated.Dr Nduom said Ghana needed a bold leadership to stem the unbridled importation of goods into the country.For his part, Dr Lartey made a strong case for small scale farmers and stressed the need to give them the requisite support to enhance their occupation.He said it was important to give subsidies to Ghanaian farmers to move the country’s economy forward.Mr Yeboah stressed the need for Ghanaians to grow what they eat and vice versa.He stressed the need for a re-orientation of the people and to create wealth for themselves.Mr Addai said a UFP government would build reliable irrigation systems to boost agricultural productivity.He said his administration would also create a ready market for farmers in order to guarantee their incomes, adding that he would inculcate entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector.The Director-General of the GBC, Berifi Appenteng, said presidential candidates and political parties, whether they were represented in Parliament or not played a very key role in country’s democracy.He said the GTV debate was to fill in the gap as a result of exclusion of the four presidential candidates in the IEA Presidential Debates.