Zita takes NDC campaign International

…addresses John Mahama Fan Club in London

The weekly meeting of the John Mahama Fan club in United Kingdom on Saturday witnessed the attendance of a high profile party personality in the person of Mrs. Zita Okaikoi, former Minister of Information and Tourism.

At the meeting held at the Holy Cross Reform Church, Tottenham in North London, the NDC big weight commended the fan club for their tireless effort in ensuring the NDC won the coming elections. She was particularly elated at the number of people present at the meeting and encouraged them to keep up the spirit of oneness.

The fan club had earlier received the endorsement of high profile NDC members including Her Excellency Mrs. Lordina Mahama, the First Lady who attended the official launch of the club in September and the Deputy High Commissioner of Ghana to the UK, HE. Mrs. Elizabeth Nicol. Mrs. Zita Okaikoi attended the club’s meeting on Saturday to solidarise with them and address them on topical campaign/election issues.

Her attendance was greeted with loud and prolonged applause from the members who had thronged the holy cross reform church hall to strategize on ensuring victory of the NDC in the coming polls.

Mrs. Zita Okaikoi whilst cautioning them to be mindful of unachievable NPP campaign promises reiterated that “the most pressing issue is to provide infrastructure and adequate human resource development in the educational sector.” She said the NDC government will do this by building more Senior High Schools and teacher training colleges.

She added that the NDC government will also invest in teacher training by providing teacher training colleges with cutting edge technology to improve the training process to make the teachers more advanced in ICT and teaching skills.

Mrs. Okaikoi reminded members of the NDC’s track record in providing public universities which have in turn increased the number of students who enrol in universities annually…she retorted “if this is not making education accessible then what is”

Mrs. Okaikoi emphasised the NDC government’s commitment to achieve free compulsory universal basic education before moving to free SHS as a priority which is enshrined in the constitution. She said it is for this reason that government has introduced educational catalyst interventions such as free school uniforms and school text books at the basic level.

She also said the government's drive to eliminate schools under trees was to ensure quality at the basic level and enable students move seamlessly to the next stage of the educational ladder which is the SHS level.

On the Kayayie issue, Mrs. Okaikoi said the solution did not lay in providing hostels, but in efforts to stem the phenomenon all together. She said “the NDC government is providing vocational training, revamping factories such as the cotton and rice mill in the North and generally revamping the Agricultural industry in the north which hitherto served as a form of employment for young boys and girls from the North.

She said a successful revamping of the agric industry in the north will provide an alternative source of income for the boys and girls who travelled to the South to engage in kayayie. She said “it will give them dignity and an improved standard of life”. She said in this direction, LESDEP has been training the girls and proving them with skills and capital to start businesses.

She said the NDC will not depart from this vision of improving on the quality of lives of all Ghanaians and that is why government is committed to the SADA programme which has been put in place to bridge the gap between the North and the South in terms of poverty and also development.

The president of the Fan Club Mr Michael Kudiabor praised Mrs. Okaikoi for her commitment to the party and for availing the club of her rich ideas. He promised that they will let the rich ideas drive their campaign efforts at the diaspora front to retain the NDC in power.