NDC Manifesto: Focus on Greater Accra and Ashanti Region was strategic but not for votes - NDC

Former Deputy Information Minister in the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has debunked assertions that the focus of the National Democratic Congress' (NDCs) 2020 manifesto on Greater Accra Region and Ashanti Region is meant to garner more votes due to their population size.

Rather, he explained, the party’s manifesto promises, focused primarily on the regional capitals of Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions because of their economic and administrative prowess.

Hours after the launch of the policy document dubbed "The People's Manifesto", a review of it has revealed that Accra and Kumasi had occurred 20 and 19 times respectively.

But Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu reacting to it on JoyNews’ PM Express pointed out that the concentration on Kumasi and Accra was rather in response to the need to unearth the full potential of the two cities in order to fast-track the progress of the country.

He maintained the policies carved in the manifesto are people-centred and progress-driven, adding that the only ulterior motive is to seek the collective progress of Ghanaians and the nation as a whole.

“Elections are about people, so when parties form government and they are taking decisions or they are formulating policy proposals, they’re thinking of lives first and foremost”.

“So if there is a certain number of people living in the Greater Accra Region and you must formulate policy to touch their lives, a lot will come into play. So Accra administratively is the leading region, economically it is the leading region, and other regions in that order”.

To him, it was only natural that “Accra will get significant mention” when formulating policies. However, it was not “because we are making a pitch for votes in Greater Accra”.



“When you go to Kumasi, and you observe the economic might of that region, nobody will tell you as a government to do what is necessary to ensure that the potential of that region is tapped”, he stated.

“In doing so it will get significant mention and I’m sure that if you had followed it in that order you’d find that in order of economic or administrative importance, or political importance, some regions get mentioned”, he stressed.

The former Deputy Minister further stated that “the fact that some regions did not receive as much attention as Greater Accra and Ashanti didn’t make them insignificant or unimportant politically. So we don’t set out to give one particular region excessive prominence over the other”.