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General News of Friday, 26 February 1999

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Mills urges NDC activists to harmonise

Bunso (Eastern Region), 25 Feb. '99,

Vice-President John Atta Mills on Thursday urged leaders and other activists of the Progressive Alliance to work hard as a team and treat one another with respect to win massively in the next elections. "We must look on the good side of each other rather than the usual human frailties that we all have." Addressing NDC functionaries at Bunso, Professor Mills said victory can only come through hard work and tasked them to intensify their mobilisation efforts. They should also sharpen their propaganda machinery to reach women and the youth who constitute the bulk of the voter population. Prof. Mills said this when he opened a two-day seminar for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) functional executives and other party activists in the Eastern region. The seminar, which was on the theme: "Unity and Renewal for the Year 2000 and Beyond", was organised by the re-constituted regional secretariat of the NDC to brief party operatives on pertinent issues regarding the organisation and management of the party in the region. Participants include some deputy ministers, District Chief Executives, National, Regional and Constituency Executives and other activists of the Progressive Alliance. Prof. Mills said the seminar was crucial and timely and congratulated the organisers for their initiative to re-establish the party's strength, unity and dynamism, saying unlike its political opponents, the Progressive Alliance is realistic. "We are realistic people so we know that it is only a strong, united and dynamic party that can win an election," he stated. Prof. Mills said the Eastern region is particularly important to the NDC because it occupies a strategic position in the political landscape, being ethnically diverse in nature with a high voter population second only to Ashanti. He made reference to the party's showing in the 1992 and 1996 parliamentary elections and cautioned against complacency which, he said, can rob the party of victory. The party won 15 out of 26 seats in 1996 as against 22 seats in 1992. This, he said, is not good enough and charged "the Akatamanso family" to link up strongly with other organisations wishing to join hands with them.

Prof. Mills urged them to acknowledge the existence of past office holders and commend them for their contribution towards the development of the party. "Of course, we must not forget our cadres and foot soldiers in the ACDR's for they are important constituents of the party whose contributions are still very much needed." Many of them have made sacrifices in the past and some of them still continue to make more sacrifices in the supreme interest of the party. "However, their efforts sometimes does not seem to be recognised ... let us all be mindful of such people among us so as to make them feel that they are part and parcel of the NDC family." He cautioned, however, that extreme care needs to be exercised in order not to harbour people with dubious intentions and agenda aimed at destabilising the peace and unity within the party. "The party needs peace, unity and stability to progress into the next millennium," he declared. In her welcoming address, Ms Patience Adow, Eastern regional minister, urged the party leadership to put in more efforts at membership drive. "We should aim at breaking the stronghold of the opposition in the region and, indeed, all parts of the country. We should show to the whole world that we are a formidable and unconquerable party." Ms Adow said it was important for the functionaries to work together as a strong and united force not allowing any agitation to distract their focus. "Let the people understand that the NDC does not make empty and vain promises and that even if it takes us two or more years than promised, we do perform and that we shall always deliver the goods."