"I Will Take Ghana Back to Limann's Era"

PNC leader Dr. Edward Mahama has vowed to take the country back to the days of late Dr. Hilla Limann when the minimum wage was 12 cedis, the equivalent of $4. He said the NDC government has worsened the poverty situation with suffering at its peak and this has compelled Vice President Mills to confess that the country is engulfed in endemic poverty which Mahama said the NDC cannot find solutions to.

Dr. Mahama said this at a mammoth rally organised by the Asokwa East constituency of the party in Kumasi.

Mahama observed that in 1981 when his mentor the late Dr. Limann was in power 25 out of 100 people were poor but with Rawlings coming into the scene, 70 out of 100 are poor.

He promised to increase the minimum wage which is currently pegged at 2900 cedis, less than half a dollar with prices of basic necessities constantly going up. The Valued Added Tax (VAT) which has turned out to be a headache to Ghanaians will be cut down under a PNC administration.

"I am going to bring it back to Limann's time before he was illegally removed," said Dr. Mahama.

When in power, Dr. Mahama also promised to establish training programmes in each region to train 30,000 people a year to eliminate mass poverty among the people. "That is how we are going to solve the poverty problem" he added.

A formidable Workers Brigade will be formed under a PNC government which will also establish an increase in the minimum wage to four dollars. He kicked against the ruling NDC policy of giving out loans to people with the aim of alleviating poverty.

Some of the loans he said are not paid back by the beneficiaries who are mostly linked to the NDC. Dr.

Mahama noted that the act of giving out loans forms part of the NDC's sugar- coated programmes which are formulated to keep them in power and not to improve the socio-economic well being of the suffering masses. Introducing Ibrahim Isaka as the party's Parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Mahama called on the supporters to vote massively for him since his government with a small number of parliamentarians could be disturbed by NDC elements.