NPP launches manifesto in Ho with roaring prayers

THE NPP last Saturday rocked Ho with powerful message of hope at the Party’s Special Delegates Conference, combining it with a dramatic launching of the party’s manifesto with roaring Muslim and Christian prayers and invocation of God’s blessings carefully emphasising that “we will not launch it in blood”.

This was a cruel but effective jab at the opposition NDC’s event, which was mired in controversy when the Party’s leader, President J. J. Rawlings sealed a copy with his freshly drawn blood and sold it for ?160 million, triggering a chorus of condemnation across the nation.

With Alhaji ‘Ayatollah’ Aliu Mahama, a respected Northerner/Muslim who also describes himself as a Zongo boy formally introduced as his running mate, Bible-punching Ranger from the Volta Region (Major Courage Quarshigah) as National Organiser, ‘Fisherman’ Ga ‘Mantse’ Samuel Odoi Sykes as Party Chairman, the NPP’s packaging and performance banished perceptions of the party as Akanistic.

The choice of Ho for the event and the reception from powerful local Chiefs and commoners encouraged optimistism that the impregnable fortress recognised as the NDC’s World Bank may spring some surprise. Homeboy Quashigah’s high profile role and an emotional address for support in Ewe from Mrs. Theresa Aba Kufuor, Mr. J.A. Kufuor’s wife raised the atmosphere to a crescendo (She is an alumnus of a convent in Keta). The Chief of the Volta regional capital, Ho, whose son is reported to be a Parliamentary candidatefor the NPP in Ho was even reported to have insisted on hosting the Kufuors overnight.

Hon. S.K Boafo, MP for Subin set the day’s event in a tone of religious fervour when he led the packed overflowing Conference in rapturous prayer and followed up with an explosion of songs of praise: Da no’ase, Da Nyame ase” followed by a Muslim prayer and another extended Arabic prayer by the genteel running mate, Alhaji Aliuy Mahama stressing the Greatness of God:

“Allahu Akbar’’, ‘Allahu Akbar’’ he chanted, to a mixture of accompanying exhortation of the Greatness of Allah.

Alhaji Aliu, Kufour’s favourite from day one also demolished another achilles heel for the NPP by ackowledging that ‘even I, a Zongo boy, a forest man, I am standing here today as your next Vice President, Insha Allah.”

“Who can say this party has no national outlook. Today we put to rest once and for all, the vile propaganda that NPP is an Akan party”, declared the accomplished farmer and contractor who was making his maiden appearance on a political campaign platform at such a level

Though Aliu confirmed fears of a less than exciting ticket, his influence across the three Northern regions is fantastic. He also connects with the cries and desires of the North because, in him the powerful Cozongo and Savannah clubs have what they really want - a Northerner and a Muslim.

The highlights of the Congress included the presentation of the Manifesto done by a cast of celebrated pros.

Ms. Christian Churcher, the shadow Minister of Education showed the stuff she is made of when she lifted the Assembly with a moving Christian song and made an emotional pitch about the destruction of the educational system in the country and spoke of ‘erasing the hopelessness on the faces of Ghanaian children across the nook and cranny of the country.’

Ms. Churcher, orator-extraodinaire, speaking at the top of her voice touched on incentives for teachers whom she described as key to the success of the educational revolution and added the NPP’s plan for computer literacy from basic level and what he described as a free compulsory but qualitative education. Quality education, which today is limited only to the rich, would not prevail in an NPP Government, she said.

Courage Quashigah like Churcher justified demands for his consideration as a running mate with brilliant presentation of the Party’s programme on agriculture.

His address was crammed with apt references from the Bible and the Quran, plus exhortations to God.

He submitted that it is a crime against God for a Government to refuse or fail to provide for food for its people and criticised the NDC for abandoning agriculture. He demonstrated how an NPP Government would make food plentiful and eliminate the importation of rice and grain inside three years without resorting to excuse about rainfall patterns.

Courage noted that Ghana’s next door neighbour, Burkina Faso, which is in the dry Sahel region is self sufficient in sugar production and by the end of this yearwill completely stop importing rice. Referring also to Israel, he revealed that that country recycles even sewage water and manages to keep 4 million cubic metres of water for irrigation through that system.

‘Reverend’ Major (Rtd) Quashigah liberally quoting from the Bible noted that the only material thing mentioned in the Lord’s Prayer is Food.

Continuing, he said an NPP government will banish this ‘Acquired Immune Self-Inflicted Hunger’ by its first term in office by creating special tax incentives, importing paddy rice which is a third of the price of perfumed rice for local milling to reduce the import bill while at the same time pursue full scale rice farming. He stressed the importance of aggro-based economy and spoke of looking at the land tenure system, irrigation, food preservation and storage

Ranger Quashigah, a lynchpin in the NPP’s anti-rigging and strategic planning game also gave an overview of the Party’s organisation and their plans to counter the NDC’s tricks and schemes.

He called for sacrifices from everybody and preached against violence but gave an oblique warning, again referring to the Saviour Jesus’s parable which he noted, stopped short of telling his disciples turning the other cheek when slapped twice. He implied that after taking two slaps, it may be time to return the aggressor’s assault.

The Greater Accra Regional Chairman and National Campaign Manager, the towering Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey speaking on the same theme, emphasised on the single factor that will win the elections for the opposition - VIGILANCE at the polling stations.

Our strategy would be like that of a footbal manager - pack the defence. Announcing that the NPP will target 120 parliamentary seats, Jake declared that “the elections will be won or lost at the polling stations”.

The Father of the Party and Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr. J. H. Mensah lamented the state of the opposition in Parliament including the CPP and PNC cooperation. He recounted that they were winning all the arguments but losing the votes, and urged cooperation and more votes which can only lead to the execution of the beautiful plans of the NPP.

Shadow Minister for Trade and Industries, Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo walked the delegates through a five point strategy of rolling back government deficit, which includes cost cutting through reduction in the number of ministers from 88 to 22.

Osafo Maafo, known as an economist and banker of high repute hinted that the cedi may also be put through a currency zone to stabilise it and lamented the high interest rates of 51 percent which is killing business and industry.

Osafo Maafo calculated that the Government had borrowed ?1.5 trillion domestically within five weeks through the flogging of treasury bills and had increased the debt stock by lending money without taking steps to recover them.

An NPP government would not countenance this, he noted.