Bekwai NPP constituency chairman, Mr. Patrick Adu-Gyamfi’s admonition comes on realization that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) should not be underrated in spite of lapses in governance.
According to the chairman, the ruling NDC is one solid party and firmly on the ground even if it has its own internal bickering to contend with.
Mr. Adu-Gyamfi noted that once the primaries are over, the most important thing is for the various Parliamentary candidates to do a lot more than before, if the party (NPP) has to win power at the 2012 elections.
He said it was incumbent on parliamentarians to start working with chiefs (traditional rulers) by educating them on the policies and programmes of the NPP, and why the electorate should consider returning the party to power.
The party chairman urged all sitting parliamentarians and parliamentarians-elect to work hard towards a massive win by telling the story of NPP social interventions.
Chairman Adu-Gyamfi challenged each parliamentary candidate to take it upon himself to proclaim some of the social interventions of the NPP under the Kufuor administration, and sell the party to the electorate in their campaign trails, which he said must be locally based as a way of reminding them of their obligation towards the NPP.
These, he mentioned, as the Health Insurance scheme, Metro Mass Transit with free bus riding for school children, Housing scheme for farmers and workers and the establishment of a Housing Bank, Youth in Agriculture and Aforestation /Re-aforestation/Tonga system of inter crop trees with food crops.
The Constituency chairman also pointed to the Revamping of Distressed industries/ Merger of Ghana International Airline and payment of debt over-hang of $160 million, Mass spraying of Cocoa, payment of bonus and increase in producer price to 71% of FOB price from 41%.
He also mentioned the Capitation Grant and Pilot School Feeding Programme that has increased basic schools enrolment above 16%, and the absorption of ancillary secondary school fees of ¢179,000 per term per student since 2001.
Other social interventions by the NPP government, which the electorate should be reminded of, according to Chairman Adu-Gyamfi, is the Enhanced salary of Teacher-Graduates from Superintendent (L 12) to Principal Superintendent (L 14) and Post-Secondary from Level 8 to 10, making a Senior Superintendent teacher whose salary as at 31st December 2000 was ¢410,000 and could buy only 11 bags of cement earned about ¢2,400,000 and could buy at least 38 bags of cement as at March, 2006.
Among the good policies of the NPP government as Chairman Adu-Gyamfi enumerated, include the implementation of Venture Capital Fund and abolition of the Banks Secondary Reserves, Progressive reduction of the Corporate tax from 35% in 2000 to 25% in 2006, replacement of the CAP 30 Pension Scheme with a comprehensive ‘three tier’ compulsory and voluntary savings non taxable schemes, creation of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and the establishment of Women Development Fund with its attendant benefits, Mechanization of Agriculture, Co-operative Hire Purchase of Tractor and Equipment Scheme including expansion of irrigation schemes and the creation of Ministry of Fisheries and development of Aquaculture in all parts of the country.
Chairman Adu-Gyamfi also said the NPP government upgraded one Senior High School as a Model school in every district and built over 4,000 schools, with teachers bungalows/ furniture throughout Ghana, and went to the extend of supplying text books and supplementary readers to all basic schools.
Chairman Adu-Gyamfi also lauded the extension of information Communication Technology to all districts, the Subsidy on utility prices since 2003, especially water and electricity, Development of Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-$547 million) programmes in 23 selected districts in 6 regions in Ghana, and the Introduction in 2008 of Livelihood Against Poverty (LEAP) in over 67 districts to cater for those below poverty line, and have no means of economic sustenance.
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