Rawlings Mobbed in Kumasi

Former President Jerry John Rawlings last Wednesday received a rousing welcome from the residents of Kumasi when he addressed a rally in the Bantama constituency to canvas votes for the flag bearer of the party, Prof. John Evans Attah Mills.

President Rawlings paid a courtesy call on Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Bantamahene.

He also took the opportunity to interact and shake hands with enthusiastic crowds who mobbed him and his entourage on his way to the rally ground at Bantama a suburb of Kumasi.

The rally witnessed a sizable crowd who thronged the streets and finally converged at the Bantama Presbyterian School Park to listen to the former president who had just rounded up his six-day campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo region to convince people to vote NDC back into power. A total of 35 constituencies were covered during the trip taking him through Yeji, Sampa, Kintampo, Nkoranza, Sankori and a host of other constituencies culminating in a mammoth rally at Techiman.

Former President Rawlings told the packed crowd that wrongs of the NPP – abuse of power, bad economic policies and corruption - had worsened the plight of Ghanaians and when NDC is voted into power the fortunes of Ghanaians will turn round.

He said no Ghanaian is born to be a slave to the other but the NPP Government is just doing that and that is why Ghanaians should bring NDC back to power to restore their dignity.

The Founder of the NDC urged the supporters of the party to give the party 99 per cent of votes to ensure an overwhelming victory for the party and advised them to be highly vigilant to suppress any attempt by the NPP to steal the December 7 elections.

He noted that since there is no legislative instrument that compels voters to go home after casting their ballot they should not leave but keep a safe distance away from voting centers to witness the counting process at the end of the day.

He said before 2000 when the NPP took over the government, Ghanaians were living happily as cost of living was not high but due to greed, corruption and bad policies, untold hardship had been placed on Ghanaians. He noted that in 1979 when he assumed power the development level of national electricity grid just covered 20 per cent of the country but that jumped to 90 per cent at time he was leaving office.

President Rawlings said the rural electrification project which was initiated by the NDC administration with the aim of connecting rural communities to the national grid in order to improve lives of rural dwellers through cottage industry projects has now been abandoned as a result of high electricity tariffs imposed by the NPP Government which has compelled rural dwellers to go back to lanterns instead of available electricity.