C/R Minister urges TESCON not to be complacent

Cape Coast, April 29, GNA-Nana Ato Arthur, Central Regional Minister on Saturday called on the University of Cape Coast (UCC) branch of the Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic party (NPP) not to be complacent but work hard to ensure victory for the party in the 2008 general elections.

He asked them to assist the party to retain the 16 seats it won in the region in the 2004 elections and also capture the remaining three seats it lost to other parties. Nana Arthur made the call at a mega forum and the handing-over ceremony of the out-going TESCON executives of the UCC to the in-coming ones, under the theme; "Six years of positive change-the story so far and the way forward", at Cape Coast.

He stated that it was UCC students who determined who became the MP for the Cape Coast constituency as evidenced in previous elections and urg ed them to intensify their campaigns for the 2008 general elections.

The Regional Minister commended the out-going executives for their dedication to the NPP and also assisting to steer the affairs of the party in the region successfully and expressed the hope that the in-coming executives would emulate the example of their predecessors. Nana Arthur was honoured by the out-going executives with a plaque and a citation for his support for TESCON which had made it possible for it to discharge its duties efficiently to achieve the desired objectives.

Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Sadique, Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, reiterated that President Kufuor, determined to leave a legacy for the youth of this country, introduced the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to provide jobs for all the youth to reduce poverty levels.

According to him, 92,000 youths were presently working under the programme and called on the youth who were jobless currently to also register with the NYEP so as to be employed in one of the 10 modules of the programme.

The Minister advised the students to register with their respective district assemblies when they went home for the holidays in order to be engaged by the assemblies in long-vacation jobs to reduce the burden of their parents in fending for them.

Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and environment said the NPP government has worked hard over the six years that it has been in power to ensure confidence in the economy, which has attracted investors into the country.

According to him, the country under the NPP government could now boast of a true democracy prevailing and rule of law, which the party was bent on entrenching and therefore urged TESCON to work hard to ensure the party's victory in the 2008 general elections.

The Minister said the government, eager to accelerate the socio-economic development of the nation to raise standards of living for the citizenry has provided social amenities to all parts of the country and called on TESCON to intensify their campaigns in their communities to ensure victory for the party to maintain the status quo. Ms. Christine Churcher, MP for Cape Coast, commended the UCC branch of TESCON for their commitment and hard work, which, she said, has made it possible for the NPP to win the Cape Coast seat in all previous elections.

Mr Charles Wiredu, national co-ordinator of TESCON who swore the new executives into office, urged the students to spread the "gospel" of NPP in their various communities to enable the party to win the 2008 general elections massively.

Mr Armstrong Esaah, the out-going president of TESCON, commended all the party's Presidential aspirants for conducting themselves in a decorum manner and urged them to always consider as foremost the broad interest of NPP before their individual ambitions.

Mr Sampson Owusu-Frempong, the in-coming president appealed to the leadership of the party to consider, as a matter of urgency to provide voting rights for TESCON, to enable it to play an active role in the decision-making process of the party. Other speakers at the function were, among others, Nana Ohene Ntow, NPP general-secretary, Mr John Boadu, national youth organizer, Mr Isaac Asiamah, MP of Atwima-Mponua constituency in the Ashanti Region and Mr D. L. Lamptey, a patron of TESCON.