NPP manifesto, litany of unattainable promises - Haruna Iddrisu

Tamale, Nov. 11, GNA - Mr Haruna Iddrisu, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, has described the manifesto of the New Patriotic Party as "a litany of unattainable promises".

Mr Iddrisu, who was launching his political campaign to canvass for votes for his re-election in Tamale on Sunday, said the NPP in its manifesto claimed certain development projects it had not undertaken as initiatives of the NPP.

He said it claimed to have built the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the two Polytechnics in Bolgatanga and Wa in the Upper East and Upper West Regions respectively. Mr Iddrisu said those claims could not be true as the UDS was the brainchild of the NDC under the leadership of former President Jerry John Rawlings, while the two polytechnics were also constructed by the same regime.

He said the NPP was also confused since the vision of President John Agyekum Kufuor for the country and that of Nana Akufo-Addo, the party's flag bearer, were contradictory. Mr Iddrisu said while President Kufuor was talking of Ghana becoming a middle income country by 2020, Nana Akufo-Addo had a vision of making the country a first class nation.

He called for a thorough search on all party agents for possible arms on polling day, explaining that this was necessary because Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister, and Diplomats of the European Union had conceded that there were a lot of illegal arms in the system.

Mr Iddrisu called for the release of the names or identity numbers of all the security agents who would be on duty during the elections to ensure that they were held accountable for any violence at the polling stations.

Mrs Hannah Tetteh Kpoda, Communications Director of NDC said the party was poised to win this year's elections and assured the people of the Northern Region that the party would reward them for their steadfast loyalty to it over the years.

She promised that the NDC would develop the Tamale Airport into an international one to facilitate the airlifting of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca when the party came to power. Mrs Tetteh said the Tamale Hospital would also be upgraded to the status of a teaching hospital.