Alfred Ofori Annye
OFFICIALS OF the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have said they have identified two key things to do in their bid to win the 2012 presidential and parliamentary elections.
According to the NPP, they were working hard to prevent voter apathy at their strongholds as they are in constant talks with the potential electorate to register during the biometric registration, which is yet to be opened by the Electoral Commission (EC), and most importantly to protect the ballot during the voting day.
Alfred Ofori Annye, Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary of the NPP, disclosed this when he addressed members of the Sunyani Nurses Training College branch of the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy of the NPP (TESCON) at a handing-over and fund raising ceremony held over the weekend.
He noted that the NPP could not win the first round of the 2008 elections because a lot of NPP sympathizers and party faithful refused to vote, especially in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.
He was optimistic that the situation would change this time round as party officials would talk to the electorate to vote for the NPP.
Mr. Annye however charged TESCON members to be vigilant during the election day by ensuring that the ballot was secured and remained the true reflection of the will of the masses who were fed up with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government. He therefore charged them to take key roles in the 2012 campaign to aid the NPP recapture power from the NDC.
The regional scribe stated that the coming back of the NPP to government would be in the best interest of students and Ghanaian youth in general because the party had the best policies to tackle the ailing economy.
The NPP secretary urged TESCON members not to be enticed with the cash being shared among members of the Tertiary Education Institution Network of NDC (TEIN) by government officials.
According to him, some students had earlier told him that some of the TESCON members were becoming attracted to TEIN because whenever TEIN held programmes each student was given GH¢5.
This, Mr. Annye said, was highly unacceptable since they could never eat their cake and have it. “They are buying your conscience, but when they [NDC] bring you the money, take it and vote against them because that is what they will seek to do in 2012,” he said.
He further noted that pages 65-69 of the 2008 NDC Manifesto made some promises for the health sector but those promises have not been fulfilled. Among the NDC manifesto promises, he said, include establishing colleges for the training of auxiliary nurses in all the ten regions, focusing on healthcare assistants, one-time NHIS premium, affordable health education, more infrastructure development, District Health Management Team (DHMT) working in collaboration with NGOs and District Assemblies to promote sex education, safe water and sanitation, nutrition and personal hygiene, as well as immunization.
“They said they will build modern regional hospitals at Wa, Bolgatanga and Koforidua, and also upgrade the Sekondi, Tamale and Ridge hospitals to teaching hospitals and many others. Do you see these?” he asked.
The student leadership had earlier on pledged to do more house-to-house and medical outreach programmes in the region, and promised to win majority of the votes in the region for the NPP.
The new officers were sworn into office by the Brong Ahafo NPP Regional Youth Organizer of the NPP, Nana Sekyere Boateng.
From Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako, Sunyani