APC launches manifesto

The founder and presidential candidate of the All People’s Congress (APC), Mr Hassan Ayariga, has launched the party’s 2016 manifesto with the promise to work with the best brains in all political parties to implement the party’s all-inclusive governance policies.

Dubbed “All-inclusive governance; the only way to Ghana’s Economic Prosperity”, the 93-page document contains the vision, policies and programmes the party intends to implement should Ghanaians give it the mandate to govern Ghana in the December 7 polls.

Some of the key highlights in the manifesto include the implementation of a free Senior High School (SHS) for all Ghanaians youth by 2019, compulsory teaching of arabic in all basic schools, establishment of a special scholarship package for people who are challenged from the basic to tertiary level and offer unemployment benefits to Ghanaians who are not legally employed.

Others include offering tax credit incentives to businesses that employ fresh graduates.

The manifesto also touched on how the APC intended to address the unemployment rate in the country, reduce borrowing and modernise agriculture.

Launching the manifesto, Mr Ayariga, who spoke in the presence of about 500 party supporters and executive members,assured that the APC government, when given the chance, would resurrect Ghana’s ailing economy created by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and worsened by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“When elected, the APC will be committed to a different kind of government, one that governs in the national interest, not for private gains,” he said.

APC’s policy objective

Mr Ayariga said the overall objective of  the APC’s manifesto was to build a strong, business and people-friendly economy that would create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

“The overall vision of the APC is the creation of an optimistic, self-confident and a prosperous nation through the creative exploitation of our core competencies and operating within a democratic and transparent society in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist for all,” he said.

Outlining how the party would address the unemployment rate, Mr Ayariga said the APC led administration would use agriculture as one of the major ways to address the problem.

On fisheries, he said “ we will subsidise premix fuel, eliminate import duties for fishing equipment such as nets and outboard motors, enforce the fisheries management policies embodied in the Fisheries Act 625 of 20102”.

Mr Ayariga said between 2017 and 2020, the APC would aggressively pursue policies that would be targeted at particular segments of our population who continued to be socially excluded and missed the myriad opportunities that abound.

“The NPP left a mess economy with so many problems and the NDC came to double it for Ghanaians,” Mr Ayariga added.