We'll crush NDC in 2004 -NPP Women's Organiser

The Western Regional Women's Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ms. Abena Kwalla, has vowed to crush the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)in the Western Region, come the 2004 general elections, to prove to the whole world that NPP has come to stay permanently in the region, which hitherto was the stronghold of the NDC.

She said her statement is not a political joke as some people may be thinking, but rather she and her executives, with the support of the regional secretariat of the party, are determined to crush the presence of the NDC in the region by taking all the parliamentary seats they currently hold.

"Through hard work and dedication, we shall surely win 17 out of the 19 constituencies in the region, come December 2004," she said, and added that the regional party executives are already doing a good job and that with the support of the women's wing, their objectives would surely be achieved.

Speaking in an interview with reporters after a regional meeting of constituency women organizers at Tarkwa Wednesday, this week, Abena said it is the determination of her outfit to ensure a resounding victory for the party and its presidential candidate in the Western Region and the country as a whole.

She noted that President Kufuor has shown to the whole world that he has a special affection for the Ghanaian woman, judging from his government's policies towards women in the country. This, she continued, is a challenge that has been thrown to them as women and that they would also make sure the government is not disappointed during the 2004 elections.

Abena further told the reporters that she had already tasked her executive members to start reading all the newspapers and also listen to the radio stations to enable them to know the policies and programmes of the government which must be their campaign messages when they approach the electorate, especially those in the rural areas.

She further said while studying the policies and programmes of the government, they would also be looking at the shortcomings of the opposition to enable them have adequate campaign messages to tackle the battle ahead."

"Our target is to convince women who constitute the majority of the population to vote massively for our MPs and the presidential candidate," she added.

The regional women's organizer however said though they are determined to achieve the target they have set for themselves, they are being constrained by scarce resources, especially cash and vehicles.

She therefore appealed to the national executives of the party to come to their aid to enable them to pursue their agenda without any hindrance.

Abena Kwalla said her outfit has already planned to visit all the constituencies to organize workshops on batik, tie and dye for women and also start the grssroot mobilization exercise. This, she said, demands logistics she has already mentioned.

Until the 2000 general elections, NPP was occupying only three out of the 19 parliamentary seats in the region. They are Takoradi, Sekondi and Ahanta West. But after the elections, which saw the defeat of the NDC, they managed to get additional five, thus bringing their seats in the region to eight.

The new ones are Tarkwa-Nsueam, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Shama, Amenfi East and Prestea- Huni-Valley. Apart from Ellembele, which was won by the CPP after a hard fought game, the leading opposition party, NDC, occupies the remaining 10 constituencies. These remaining 10 seats are what the NPP has targeted to snatch nine and give the only one to the NDC. Stay tuned to what the NDC is also saying in this political game.