AKUFFO-ADDO PROMISES 'NEW GHANA' (PAGE 16)

Story: Kwame Asiedu Marfo & Juliet Aguair, Takoradi

The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that when he is elected to form the next government, there will be a new Ghana which will move from raw material production to fully become an industrialised country.
He has, therefore, urged Ghanaians to prepare themselves for this new Ghana, since "we are going to need new expertise in developing the country".
Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing the Takoradi Polytechnic Chapter of the Tertiary Students Confederacy of the NPP in Takoradi.
He said President J.A. Kufuor had laid a strong foundation for the future of the country, saying, "We are at the crossroad and ready to take off and make sure that our bright future before us is sustained."
"Election 2008 is about the future of the country, which is yours," he told the students, asking, "What Ghana are we going to inherit?"
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was trying to put old wine in a new bottle, stressing that "we are not going back to authoritarian government in Ghana".
"We are not going back to the old Ghana. It is finished," he emphasised.
Mr John Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, whose introduction almost brought down the filled-to-capacity auditorium, emphasised that the party stood by its positive change and development in freedom slogans.
He, therefore, urged the people to vote massively for the party to win this year’s election to continue its development agenda.
Mr Dan Kwaku Botwe said the students were seen as very important part of the NPP’s political campaign, since they could reach most of the electorate with the party’s message.
"Nana will only win when all of us take part in the campaign," he said.
The Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, said, "We are looking into the future and Nana will lead us into the future and build on the foundation laid by President Kufuor,” adding that Nana Akufo-Addo was going to make the impossible possible.
He said this year’s elections were very important in the political history of the country, adding, "We are moving forward and you represent the hope of this country."
The National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Mac Manu, said the government was business focused and business oriented and that it was not going to give back the administration of the country to any other political party.
The Campaign Director of the NPP, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, urged the NDC to understand that there was no need for the country to go back, since the NDC gave Ghanaians a raw deal.
He said Ghanaians experienced over 40 per cent inflation and 50 per cent interest rate during the NDC regime.
"We have managed our economy in such a way that we have been able to contain all the shocks and still going forward," he said.
Dr Apraku emphasised that no matter what, the NDC could not be a credible alternative government to the NPP.
"There is a new dawn and the prospects are better for you," he told the students.
He said the elections were the future of Ghanaians and urged the students to go out there and influence the voters that the NPP had proved beyond that its was capable of developing the country.
Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo noted that elections were special, since the NDC won in 1992 and 1996, while the NPP had won the 2000 and 2004 elections and, therefore, there had been two major wins each.
He said the NPP was going to win on the balance sheet of the NDC.
"Tell the people what the NDC did in their days and what the NPP has done," he urged the students.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the NPP government had invested in education more than the previous regime, adding that the NPP had chosen a leader who understood politics, the transformation of the country and democracy.