Agona East NPP bags 281 million cedis at harvest

Agona Swedru, May 22, GNA - A total of 281 million cedis was realized at a fund raising harvest in aid of a 700-million-cedi office complex for the Agona East constituency branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The complex would include an Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) center, conference Hall, Library, offices for the District Chief Executive (DCE), MP, Constituency Chairman and other executives.

Speaking at the harvest, Nana Ato Arthur, Central Regional Minister said, "The government of the NPP will hand over power itself in the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary elections" because of its economic performance in the eight years of its rule. He said, "Ghanaians have seen the performance, good governance and efficient democratic dispensation under President J A Kufuor's government".

According to Nana Arthur, the country witnessed dictatorship and autocratic rule before the NPP came to power and said Ghanaians were not ready to give power to the minority under Professor John Evans Atta Mills.

He said they also experienced "political deceit, human rights abuse and unlawful detention", which would make them to reject the National Democratic Congress again in the in 2008 elections. Nana Arthur noted that the NPP was still "supreme and kicking" in the Region and urged the NDC to "forget about winning even one seat in the Central Region in the 2008 elections".

"The NPP boycotted Parliamentary election in 1992, won three seats in 1996, eight in 2000 and 16 in 2004 and will win 19 out of the 19 seats in 2008", he stated.

The Regional Minister said, "The evidence to capture all the seats in the Central Region is there to show. The NDC promised to construct the Yamoransa-Accra highway but failed, the NPP honoured it. The NPP will implement the Fosu water project while the Baifikrom water project near Mankessim is near completion and the expansion of the Agona Kwanyako Dam completed".

Nana Arthur stated that the number of people contesting for the flag bearer position of the NPP was not a problem and said the party would become stronger after the election of its Presidential candidate because of the entrenched democratic credentials of the party.

Nana Kojo Frempong, Agona East Constituency Chairman, said the party had put in place strategies to defeat the NDC again in the elections. He said the executives had decided to enter into commercial ventures to enable it to support its polling station executives in the area. The Chairman said the office complex would end the holding of party meetings and other activities in the house of the DCE, MP or the Chairman, which he said did not augur well for party organization. He said the NDC was eying the seat because some of its leading members hailed from the area.

Mr Joe Donkoh, Gomoa West Constituency Chairman who presided advised members of the NPP to work hard to ensure that the NDC suffered another defeat.

Mr Kwamena Duncan, Central Regional Secretary of the Party and Mr John Kwesi Agyabeng, MP for the area were present at the harvest. 22 May 07