Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, charged with the energies of the Maradonas of the early 90s, on Wednesday morning, took some time off to storm a session for NPP communication apparatchiks, deliberating on the way forward for the New Patriotic Party at a quiet residential suburb in Accra.
Addressing the youthful activists, NPP’s Presidential candidate, reacting to the insulting level of propaganda surging from the fronts of the National Democratic Congress, warned the leadership of the National Democratic Congress that there would be no room this time for their ages-old campaign of lies and vile propaganda. The NPP Presidential candidate had skipped a tight campaign schedule to meet the select group of activists from the regions, who were undergoing training in communication skills for the 2008 campaign. Speaking extempore, he reminded the nation and the NPP’s political opponents that the fact of the NPP having achieved remarkable results as a Government is no secret among leaders of Africa, all nations in the international community as well as diplomatic institutions and reputable funding agencies. Nana, who also is on record as the nation’s Attorney-General that repealed the Criminal Libel Law, which had been used by the previous administration to hound political opponents and the media, also said in spite of the abuse of the freedom of the media, particularly on the part of propagandists of the National Democratic Congress and their agents in the media, he believes that the media environment will soon find its level.
This, he said, is because the majority of Ghanaians are beginning to see through the lies, deceit and vile propaganda of the NDC and their operatives in the media and on the ground.
"It is saddening that some of those people who found nothing wrong with organising thugs to dump human excreta in the premises of specific independent papers are now in the forefront of a campaign that is dirty and vile," he fumed.
Continuing, he lamented that the front of the NDC leadership was still unwillingly to change from their old ways of doing things, in spite of the woeful level of leadership they offered the nation during their tenure and their baggage of inefficiency as the longest-serving ruling administration. Incidentally, he observed, it is those same people group of leaders who failed in a benevolent space of 20 whole years to transform the economy…who are making the loudest noise…Rawlings, who was thrice Head of State of Ghana and Professor Mills, who was head of the former administration’s Economic Management Team…"
Comparing the economic and social achievements of the NPP to that of the NDC, Nana recalled the years of PNDC and particularly the crisis that hit the energy sector in the light of hikes in the prices of crude oil, saying that during their period, that unexpected rise in the price of crude oil led to a destabilization of the cedi, inflation, worsening living conditions and closure of industries, beside a nauseating slowdown in development projects getting off the ground throughout the country.
"We in the NPP have seen the price crude oil rise from $50 to about $103, without the nation and its people suffering any inflation or serious negative effects on our national economy. Wages are still higher in spite of the hike in fuel prices and money in pockets of Ghanaians today is at a much more appreciable level than they were in the days of the NDC or the periods they suffered hikes in the prices of crude oil…In spite of all those conditions, there have not been any serious distortions in the economy, and everything is on course, as if nothing has happened. That is the level of seriousness with which we are tackling the national economy, as a government…" All over the country, he stated, the imprint of the NPP administration is etched in letters of gold in terms of development and the hope that the policies and programmes of the Government is bringing to communities, especially those in the rural areas.
"Those years of repression and fear, stagnated growth, inflation, broken down infrastructure and economic mess that we inherited from the NDC has been replaced by an era of social justice, a frame work of sound economic policies and programmes, and a freeing of capital from State for use of individuals and businesses to expand the economy.
The plain-speaking, ‘old, rough and ready’ Presidential candidate also recalled the tremendous support he personally received from senior Abuakwa State citizens, politicians and statesmen when the NPP was formed in 1992, revealing that one trick and political strategy he learnt from some of those elders, particularly those in the CPP, is what was at the time called ‘whisper campaign.’ According to him, therefore, he as the Presidential candidate of the NPP, has since then braced himself up to take in his stride all levels of propaganda the NDC will churn during the campaign, and urging the various communications wings at the grass roots level to equally wise up to the vile propaganda war started by the NDC. "The earlier you got used to it, the better; because you cannot expect the NDC to change from their old ways of doing things…"
He hoped that the interaction will turn out the best in the nature of the Communications Team of the NPP to help give the party a message and propaganda strategy that would culminate in a sweet victory for the NPP, and put the party’s name on the record as the only party in Ghana, which has won three elections on the trot and handed itself a successor President from the same political party. The programme was chaired by Dr. Arthur Kennedy, an aspirant in the last flagbearer contest and had communications brains like Gabby Otchere-Darko, Executive Director of Danquah Institute, Mustapha Hameed, Spokesperson for Nana Akufo Addo, Deputy Information Minister Frank Agyekum and K. Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John, as facilitators.
Also present to grace the occasion was Ms Oboshie Sai-Cofie, Minister of Information.
