The National Democratic Congress has reacted to a statement issued by the General-Secretary of the New Patriotic Party Mr. Agyenim Boateng which critisised a statement made by the First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings at an exhibition on Kente held in December 1997 at Bonwire in Ashanti.
The First Lady was reported to have said that the government would not develop constituencies where the people did not vote for the NDC.
The NDC statement said it is fair and completely natural for the First Lady to ask or persuade the people of Bonwire to support the government's programmes because it is the only true national party in the country.
The NDC emphasised that the business of politics is all about asking or persuading people who do not traditionally support one's party to change their minds and support the party's programme.
It said no matter the thinking of the NPP leadership, it is obvious that the good people of Ghana are aware that unlike other previous governments which that concentrated development in areas where they were popular, or where their leadership hailed from, the NDC government will go down in history as the government which has undertaken most of it development work in areas where it is less popular.
Indeed, this the NDC said is in stark contrast with the attitude of the up tradition which in 1970 halted work on the Keta-Dabala road, and transferred the equipment and material to construct the Techiman-Wenchi road, ostensibly because their Prime Minister hailed from the area and also in punishment of the people of Keta for voting for Mr. K.A. Gbedemah's National Alliance of Liberals rather than the Progress Party.
Similar diversions of projects from areas where the up tradition lost occurred at Teshie and Ada where machines meant for water were diverted to places that had voted for the Progress Party, The NDC said these facts are known to Ghanaians and no amount of diversions such as the NPP's General-Secretary's criticism will change the NDC's fortunes for the better in the year 2000.
The NDC noted President Rawlings statement following the 1992 elections in which he remarked that the victory of the Progressive Alliance was a victory for Ghana and said the government under his leadership has religiously pursued this objective of placing the national interest first. gri
