NPP chairman dismisses NDC claims as child's joke

Kumasi, Sept 16, GNA - Mr Fredrick Fredua Antoh, Ashanti Regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Sunday dismissed claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that it has made in-roads into Ashanti as "empty propaganda" and "a child's joke".

He said: "Let them continue to deceive themselves and live on false hopes, if they think ferrying their supporters from all the 33 constituencies in the region and beyond to demonstrate on the streets of Kumasi gives a fair assessment of their popularity".

Mr Antoh was addressing supporters of the NPP during the inauguration of a new office for the party at Asokore-Mampong in the Asokwa East constituency.

He predicted that the NDC would suffer a humiliating defeat in Ashanti come the 2004 general polls.

The NPP, he said, was poised to win not less than 96 percent of the popular votes in the region.

Mr Antoh said: "We won 64 percent of the votes cast in the 1996 elections, 80 percent in the 2000 polls and there is no reason why we would not garner 96 percent of the votes in 2004".

He stated that the performance of the Kufuor administration within its two and a half years in office has been admirable and said Ghanaians were "too smart for the desperate campaign of lies being peddled by its detractors".

Mr Antoh said the economy that was in shambles as a result of years of mismanagement was now showing positive signs of recovery, "thanks to the pragmatic and productive policies of our government".

Dr Baffoe Bonnie, Member of Parliament (MP) for Asokwa East, called on the people to embrace the National Health Insurance Scheme, saying it would bring tremendous relief to them.

The scheme, he said, would enable the people to have access to quality health care.

The MP announced that the asphalting of the Aboabo-Junction-Sepe Timpom-Asokore-Mampong road would start before the end of the year. Mr Peter Otchere, the Constituency Chairman, advised members of the NPP to encourage all qualified persons to register during the compilation of the new voters register. 16 Sept. 03