NDC Against Privitization of utilities

Despite selling more than 200 State Owned Enterprise and initiating the privatisation of the Ghana Water Company and the Electricity Company of Ghana, the National Democratic Congress says less than two years after being booted out of power that it opposes the privitiasation of those utility services .The party insists that this about turn position is as a result of its new political ideology of social democracy.

That new position which calls for a fair distribution of state resources as adopted at the party?s 5th National Delegate Congress at the Trade Fair Site in Accra is meant to repackage the NDC.

The General Secretary of the Party Dr. Josiah Nii Aryee told the Network Herald the new philosophy of the NDC is part of strategies to win the needed mass appeal to match the ruling NPP in the 2004 elections.

?We don?t believe in out and out capitalism ?if there is anything like that- and strong state controlled economy. We think there must be interventionist role for the state so that there can be safety nets for those who can?t cope?.

The smooth talking party scribe rejected suggestions that this is contradictory of a party that is best remembered by extremely harsh inhuman policies of an Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) that endorsed mass privatisation with the backing of the almighty Bretton Woods.

He insists ?We were concerned about good economic performances that is why we implemented those polices. At the same time we had poverty alleviation measures, which is being repeated by the NPP government.

Political analysts the Network Herald talked wondered how the NDC could swiftly change its political ideology after implementing what is considered in political circles some of the most capitalist economic polices Ghana ever had.

Dr. Aryee said the NDC?s opposition to the privitiasation of utilities is based on the firm principle that as a party which extended water and electricity to most parts of the county, it has a duty to ensure that citizens are not deprived of basics. ?We took the national grid to every Conner of the country because we knew water and electricity were necessary. We don?t want to sit down for a successor government to erode all those gains to deprive Ghanaians of the benefits of these basic services?.

That even though the NDC started the process of privatisation ?a different mechanism of safeguarding the interest of the poor would have been adopted?. The privatisation of utility services has been met with stiff resistance from civil society and the general public who believe that the taking over of these vital services by private commercial entities would deny the majority poor access to life.