W/R underdevelopment is a scandal – Akufo-Addo

Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has said the underdevelopment of the Western Region, the food basket of the nation, was a scandal on the conscience of the nation.

He gave the assurance that his administration would support and accelerate the development of the region, since it had contributed immensely towards national development.

He said it was proper for companies and institutions managing the petroleum resources such as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and the Petroleum Commission (PC) to site their headquarters in the region.

Nana Addo was speaking to the media in Takoradi as part of his “Rise and Build Tour” across the country.

He lamented that the country had returned to the status of a highly indebted poor country (HIPC) because of the economic mismanagement by the current National Democratic Congress Administration.

“During the President Kufuor Administration, he took us to HIPC and brought us back, but after almost six or seven years of his administration, we were back to that position again," he said.

He assured people in the region that his administration would transform the railway sector, the agro industry and the general infrastructure requirements of the region, to reflect the chunk of the region’s contributions to the national economy.

He reiterated the need to change the voters’ register, saying there was something fundamentally wrong with it since it could not guarantee free and fair elections.

Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that the election petition to the Supreme Court revealed that two separate registers were used to conduct the 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections with different figures, saying ‘the Presidential voters’ register had 14.2 million people while the parliamentary register contained 13.7 million voters”.

In addition, he said, the court ruled that those who registered with the National Health Insurance cards should have their names expunged from the voters register.

Therefore it would be proper to have a new register for next year’s general elections so that whoever won or lost the elections would have no cause to complain.

Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, a leading member of the party, and former Trade and Industry Minister, said politics was intended to improve the livelihood of the people.

He, however, said the NDC government had impoverished the people further with youth unemployment and loss of jobs, as a result of the power crisis in the country.

Some of the personalities who accompanied Nana Akufo-Addo in his nationwide tour included Mr. Peter Mac Manu, former National Chairman of the party, Mr. Joe Ghartey, Member of Parliament for Essikado-Ketan, Mr. Kobina Okyere Darko-Mensah, MP for Takoradi, and some regional executives of the party.

Nana Akufo-Addo and his entourage joined Muslim faithful at the Takoradi Jubilee Park to mark the Eld-Ul-Adha celebration.