Campaign Co-ordinator for Dr. K.K. Apraku in the Brong Ahafo Region, Nana Sekyere-Boateng, has observed that the only legacy the N.P.P delegates could give to Ghanaians is to elect Dr. Apraku to succeed President Kuffour.
He said, President Kuffor being a lawyer has given Ghanaians a perfect rule of law, deepened democracy as well as providing treatment to the once bleeding economy and left with Apraku, an Economics Doctor to perform the surgery on the economy.
Speaking to Newsmen in Techiman, Nana Sekyere-Boateng compared ruling Ghana to practicing medicine where a pregnant woman is involved in a serious lorry accident bleeding at a hospital form the accident injury while delivery is also imminent.
“In such situation, General Doctor must be given the chance to stop the bleeding and treat the wounds for a gynaecologist to take over, so President Kuffour a lawyer with knowledge in Economics has done the general treatment and it is therefore prudent for Apraku a specialist to take over” he said.
Nana Sekyere-Boateng stressed that Dr. Apraku had lectured in Economics for II years in United States, practiced it in South Africa by leading U.N. team to monitor election and draw economic programme after the election as well as being leader of Economic Reconstruction Unit of UN team in Croatia.
He said Dr. Apraku’s contribution to Ghana’s Economy development dates back to N.P.P. opposition days when he gave alternative to NDC at talking point and lectured Kwame Peprah to accept in parliament in the year 2000 that the economic was in crisis.
The Regional Co-ordinator said that while at the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Dr. Apraku got AGOA Visa for Ghana to become first West African and Second African Country to access the U.S. market and also establishment Export Development and Investment Fund.
“Apraku negotiated with Nigeria and other African Countries to buy salt from Ghana so that billions of Cedis they spent on salt importation from Brazil could come to Ghana, so he made salt a white gold for Ghana before he left the ministry.
He indicated that Dr. Apraku established craft villages at Aburi, Ahwaa, Bolga, Kpando and Salaga for the manufacture of artifacts to the AGOA market and negotiated for Mauritius Company to establish a factory at Adjaben to manufacture T. Shirts.
He stated that, the NDC started the Boankra Inland Port but Apraku contribution there is unmatched and Kumasi people were aware of what he did at the defunct shoe factory and UNIDO fund he negotiated for artisans at Suame Magazine to improve their technology.
He said at the ministry of Regional Co-ordination and NEPAD, which many considered as Siberia, Dr. Apraku equally made giant strides by making Ghana the first African Country to go through APRM which made world to accept that Democracy was working in Ghana resulting in Ghana benefiting from the Millennium Challenge Accounts. Nana Sekyere-Boateng mentioned NEPAD School feeding programme as one of the legacies N.P.P government would bequeath to Ghanaians which came from the same small ministry and it was at the same ministry where Dr. Apraku protested against Nigeria’s ban of Ghanaian goods.
“Apraku chairing African session of the Wworld Trade Organization meeting at Doha Qatar and being Chairman for West African Council of ministers comprising finance, Trade, Foreign Affairs and Integration Ministers from member countries speaks volume” he stressed.
He said Dr. Apraku coming from poor but humble home rose to work for U.N. to serve the Africa and World is great achievement and poses challenge to him to appreciate the plight of the poor in the rural and urban areas who constitute majority of the populace.
Nana Sekyere-Boateng revealed that Dr. Apraku quitting his job in both UN and in North Carolina University to join an opposition party in tyrannical state in Africa with the aim of serving his motherland is unprecedented in recent memories.
He pointed out that it was only Dr. Apraku and J.H. Mensah who joined the then candidate Kuffour at victory thanksgiving service organized after the Sunyani congress and it shows his commitment to the cause of the party.
On why Dr. Apraku won with slim margin in his Offinso North Constituency, Nana Sekyere-Boateng said that Dr. Apraku was faced with the situation of roaming from West African country to another to educate members to pay their dues as well as opening courts and attending conferences on NEPAD.
“Dr. Apraku was also campaigning for his Offinso South counterpart that late Kwabena Sarfo who was at the time hospitalized at 37 Military Hospital” he stated.
He explained that the above conditions did not allow Apraku to campaign as expected at his constituency and reminded Apraku accusers to remember what happened to Dr. Ibn Chambas when he left his constituency to campaign for Kofi Annan’s second term in 1996. On the soaring number of contestants, Nana Sekyere Boateng said that Dr. Apraku’s contest is justified as he was the second to file nomination in 1998 by paying ¢25m and $2000 to the party as nomination and contribution to defray the Concordia ventures’ debt respectively.
He said that same pronouncements were attributed to Mr. Ofosu Ampofo in the dailies after he had held a meeting with Takoradi Polytechnic branch of TEIN recently so it shows what the NDC has for Ghanaian Youth.
“If Prof. Mills is moving from house to house with such message that widens the gap between his party and the electorates, the effect is just like flogging a dead horse, so he is not a match for Dr. Apraku” he stressed. Nana Sekyere-Boateng has therefore appealed to the youth to get prepare for a massive protest to demand from the NDC how it will solve the unemployment (P) NDC educational policy created as well as what they did for Ghanaian youth while in power.
He also sent a caution note to Ghanaian Youth not to entertain the NDC since in the event of it recapturing power it will out-law laudable, programmes under N.P.P rein like the National Health Insurance Scheme, Capitation Grant, NEPAD School Feeding and the Youth Employment Programmes.
Explaining his stand, he stated that it was ironic on the part of NDC men to term the beneficiaries of the programme as SSSCE failures and asked the NDC men to tell Ghanaians the qualification of members of the defunct National Mobilization Programme. Nana Sekyere-Boateng indicated that most of the beneficiaries of the National Youth Employment Programme have passed their SSSCE but would want to better their grades or mobilize funds to continue their education.
“Even if the beneficiaries have failed their SSSCE, they could still serve as teaching assistants at primary schools since they passed BECE before gaining admission to Secondary Schools.
The Coordinator stressed that there were Secondary School leavers teaching in private Junior Secondary Schools as well as being engaged by parents to teach their wards after school hours. Nana Sekyere-Boateng explained that there is a component in the programme that covers graduates from tertiary institutions with the aim of exposing them to work experience to enable them meet experience criteria set by employers in recent times.
“Prof. Mills and Mr. Ampofo might not be visionaries because the programme is making agriculture attractive to prevent a situation where after the death of the aged farmers Ghana would not have young farmers let alone graduate farmers” he emphasized. He again stated that in the olden days, form four leavers were employed to teach and do other office works yet they were doing well and wondered why employment of Secondary School leavers amounts to waste of resources. Finally, Nana Sekyere-Boateng challenged them to tell Ghanaians the functions performed by the defunct National Mobilisation programme which the NDC functionaries are accusing N.P.P. of abolishing it through vindictiveness
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