NPP would not be detracted - Botwe

Cape Coast, Dec. 21, GNA - Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the government would not be detracted by "unsubstantiated rumours" peddled by its political opponents.

He said the party was aware that its opponents had consistently waged machinations to divert the government's attention of resuscitating the economy.

"This will not in the least discourage the NPP government to deviate from its good intentions," he said.

Mr Botwe said this when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) interviewed some of the delegates attending the three-day annual national delegates conference of the party at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), on Saturday.

The conference would review the party's activities and evolve strategies to consolidate the democratic system in the country, including amendments to certain portions of the party's constitution. President John Agyekum Kufuor and Vice-President Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, the party hierarchy and representatives of executives from all the constituencies are attending the conference, which would be climaxed with a rally on Sunday.

Mr Botwe dismissed rumours that the party was imposing parliamentary candidates and said primaries had already been held in areas with no sitting MPs of the NPP, adding that, in June next year, similar primaries would be held in areas with sitting MPs. On accusations that the government had been unable to fulfil its campaign promises, the General-Secretary described them as false and enumerated several programmes that had been put in place to create more employment.

He mentioned the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on cassava, the mass cocoa spraying exercise and low interest rates, which had enabled the private sector to gain access to more financial assistance to expand their businesses.

The NPP General-Secretary also denied that the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) was being disbursed on partisan basis and challenged those who were peddling such falsehoods to come out with evidence.

On the party's chances of winning next year's general elections, Mr Botwe, stressed that it had no intention of exploiting its incumbency and said that the NPP won when it was in opposition.

He repeated that the party was "adequately resourceful" to meet its exigencies during the elections.

Mr Johnson Avuletey, Volta Regional Organiser of the party, predicted that the NPP would be victorious in at least seven constituencies in the region.

He was emphatic that there was " clear evidence" of winning in those constituencies because of the hard work of the regional executives.

Mr Avuletey, declined to mention some of the constituencies, but assured the party that his prediction would come true.