Kwaku Baah elected NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Mpraeso Constituency

Mpraeso (E/R), Oct. 11, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has elected Mr Kwaku Baah, a National Vice Chairman of the Party as its Parliamentary Candidate for the Mpraeso Constituency.

The 69 year-old Legal Practitioner, Veteran Politician and a Former Minority Leader in Parliament in the Third Republic was elected by popular acclamation by all the 105 delegates and 12 Constituency Executives after three other contestants stepped down at the Constituency Primaries held at Mpraeso on Saturday.

Officials of the District Electoral Commission supervised the election.

Addressing the delegates, the Eastern Regional Organiser of the Party, Mr Bismark Tawiah Boateng said the NDC government drew up a comprehensive development plan for the country, which led to the construction of 2,000 head teachers' bungalows in 1997.

He said they also instituted the Teachers' and Farmers' Days to reward teachers and farmers in the country as well as the promulgation of the PNDC Law 111 for the spouses of deceased persons to benefit from the estate of their relatives under its social democratic programme.

He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government's policies, which were part of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank conditionalities had led to increases in utility bills, school fees and unemployment that had brought untold hardship to the people and urged Ghanaians to vote against the NPP in the forthcoming elections.

Mr Boateng said the Finance Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo was adjudged the best Finance Minister in Africa by the World Bank for implementing its conditionalities, which had worsen the living standard of the people.

He appealed for forgiveness from those, who were offended by Party officials for the past years and urged them to unite and intensify their house-to-house campaigns for the Party to win the three parliamentary seats in the Kwawu South and Kwawu West Districts.

Mr Baah thanked the delegates and other three contestants for the confidence reposed in him and urged them to cooperate with the supporters of the Party to win the seat from the NPP.

He said he extended electricity to towns on the Kwawu range, constructed and tarred Mpraeso town roads, provided pipe-borne water to Nkawkaw township and also constructed a health centre at Obo when he represented the people in Parliament in 1969 and 1979 during the Second and the Third Republics.

Mr Baah told the people in the constituency that he would initiate programmes and projects to move Kwahu forward if he won the parliamentary seat.

The Chairman for the function, Mr Mike Akyeampong, a Former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, urged supporters of the party to be tolerant during their campaigns and avoid provocative language to ensure peace in the country before, during and after the elections.

Among those present at the function were the two candidate for Nkawkaw and Abetifi Constituencies, Mr Bamfo Boateng and Rexford Kwasi Dankyi, respectively and Mr Opoku Preko, Former Kwawu South District Chief Executive and Mr Attah Obeng the Constituency Chairman of NDC.