Give meaning to freedom and justice -Rawlings

Kumasi, Dec. 5, GNA - Former President Jerry John Rawlings has appealed to Ghanaians to be courageous to vote the New Patriotic Party (NPP) out of power on December 7.

"I urge the electorate to give real meaning to the nation's motto of Freedom and Justice in this year's election by showing the NPP Government where power lies with their thumbprints".

President Rawlings made the appeal when addressing a mammoth rally of NDC at Cornerstone Park in Kumasi on Thursday.

The rally was the last major campaign by the Party in Ashanti Region to solicit for votes to boost the NDC's chances of winning Election 2008.

Some leading members of the Party addressed the supporters on the achievements of NDC and its vision for the nation when returned to power.

President Rawlings observed that the election bothered on the future and destiny of Ghanaians, stressing that "the polls is about whether or not we should continue with oppressive rule, discrimination, ethnicity, selective justice, lies, favouritism, high rate of drug abuse and peddling in the country".

He accused the NPP Government for failing to deliver on its campaign promises and rather embarking on a blame game to shift the focus of the citizenry about the hardships in the country.

President Rawlings attributed the high rate of unemployment, utility bills, prices on foodstuffs, indiscipline and hopelessness among the people to bad leadership and mismanagement of the economy by the ruling NPP Government.

He said the only way Ghanaians could put a stop to this development was to vote massively for the NDC for it to return to power to uphold true democracy, rule of law and good governance for the benefit of the good people in the country.

"I have been to the Eastern Region, Upper East and West Regions, Northern Region, Volta and the other Regions and that they all have one message to tell the NPP that enough is enough," he said. President Rawlings emphasized that the change being yearned for by Ghanaians was unprecedented in recent times, saying "the time has come for the electorate to put their words into action by voting the NPP out at all cost".

Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Ashanti Regional Chairman of NDC, said it was not true that the Ashanti Region remained the stronghold of the NPP adding that the residents had resolved to prove the NPP wrong by voting massively for the NDC.

He called on leadership of the Party to use the last few days to December 7, to campaign vigorously for the NDC whilst explaining its manifesto to the electorate since it was the panacea to solving Ghana's socio-economic problems.