TESCON to counteract CJA's March 6 procession

Cape Coast, Feb. 20, GNA - Members of the University of Cape Coast Branch of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday stated that members of TESCON nationwide would embark on a counter procession against the one intended by the Committee of Joint Action (CJA) on March 6.

They said that day was envisaged to be a memorable and momentous day in the country and that it was the expectation of TESCON and all well meaning Ghanaians that "any well intentioned individual or group that has the interest of mother Ghana at heart, will pray for the success of the anniversary and also eschew all forms of negatives tendencies and practices" that could hinder the celebration.

The president of the branch, Mr Armstrong Essah, said this at a press conference at Cape Coast to announce plans to counter the CJA's planned procession, as well as address some issues emanating from the NDC's 'state of the nation's address'.

He said if CJA were not stopped, it would hold the whole country to "ransom and undo the potential benefits that the jubilee anniversary would bring to the country."

Mr Essah described the CJA's intention as an ill-motivated agenda to sabotage the celebrations and designed to create a negative image of the nation at the international level.

He pledged TESCON's full support for the organizers of the anniversary programmes and the security agencies for the realization of the jubilee anniversary goals and called on them to remain focused on the execution of the anniversary activities.

Mr Essah said if CJA genuinely believed that the involvement of the masses in the anniversary celebration has not been encouraging, they should rather offer practical suggestions as to how to strengthen their participation.

"We therefore want to caution all Ghanaians against the temptation of allowing themselves to be exploited by the devious elements in the CJA as instruments in advancing their evil, parochial and diabolical interest".

On the NDC's state of the nation address, Mr Essah said it smacked of intellectual deceitfulness in view of the many positive developments taking place in the country.

He said during the rule of the NDC, workers were paid a minimum wage less of than one dollar but now workers are receiving more than two dollars as minimum wage, while the nation's GDP has also increased from 4.2 in 2001 to 6.2 percent, " the highest in the history of the country".

Mr Essah said the nation's political and economic forward march was on good course and that the NPP government needed a more "nationalistic and credible opposition to keep it on its toes and not the kind of opposition being provided by the NDC at the crucial state of the nation's development". 20 Feb. 07