Use ballot box to change governments - Mahama

Nsawam, Oct. 14, GNA - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has asked Ghanaians to uphold the democratic use of the ballot box as the only means of changing governments.

Ghana now stands tall in the comity of nations because of her choice of the democratic system of using the ballot box as the only means of giving their mandate to those they wanted to govern them, he stated.

Alhaji Mahama made the call at a durbar organised by the Adoagyiri Zongo community on Wednesday, in honour of the Vice President at the start of a three-day official tour of the Eastern Region. He urged the people to ignore schemes by some politicians for them to regard the December 2004 elections as a fight.

Tolerate all the political parties to ensure a peaceful election, he said.

Vice President Mahama asked the electorate to return President J A Kufour to continue the development programme began by the government about four years ago.

He said a united, strong and prosperous nation could be attained under President Kufuour's administration, which had laid a solid foundation in the government's first term.

Alhaji Mahama told the people that the construction of the Nsawam-Achimota highway would attract both investors and more residents to promote the socio-economic development of the area.

He asked parents to take the education of their children seriously to enable them to grow to become the future professionals and leaders. Both the Chief of Adoagyiri, Nana Adu Korkor and the Zariki Zongo, Alhaji Bashiru Salifu, commended the government for the development projects in the community and appealed to the Vice President to help solve the growing number of land dispute cases and the perennial flooding of the area, which had rendered some residents homeless.

Vice President Mahama, accompanied by the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, Mr Fred Asante, Member of the Council of State, the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Dr Charles Brempong-Yeboah and the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Gustav Narh Dormetey, had earlier visited the Adoagyiri Orthopedic Training Centre. He commended the staff for their efforts at caring for disabled persons to make them self-reliant.

The Reverend Sister Elizabeth Newman, Co-Director of the Centre, conducted the entourage round.