NDC Offices Shut Down In Ashanti

Daily Guide -- The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is fast losing ground in the Ashanti Region, its political waterloo in the country as it continues to close down its offices. The party is on political death-row as its presence is hardly noticed in the Ashanti Region dominated by New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Beyond the cacophonous comments of the NDC on radio stations, nothing of it is seen in the region as its regional office was relocated to the chairman’s residence, after the party was ejected from its old offices for non-payment of rent. New offices acquired at the Neoplan area have not fully been put to use, because the building needs renovation. A source said only skeletal duties are carried out there. Painstaking investigations conducted by Daily Guide into the operations of the party at the constituency and polling station levels revealed similar trends with 28 out of the 39 constituencies in the region having no offices.

The constituencies with NDC offices could be found in Obuasi, Bantama, New Tafo, Kumawu, Fomena Ejisu, Juaso and Bosomtwi Atwima Kwanwoma. The rest are Asawase, New Edubiase and Ejura Sekyeredumase, the only three constituencies where the party won parliamentary seats in the 2004 elections. The only constituency said to be very vibrant in the region is Asawase, a Muslim dominated area where Hon. Muntaka Mubarak is the MP. With this pressing challenge, the regional administration of the party under the chairmanship of Daniel Ohene Agyekum, former Ashanti Regional Minister has the responsibility to build the remaining 27 constituency offices to place the party in a good position to engage its arch rival, the NPP, in a political showdown in 2008.

The paper found also that of the total of 3,667 polling stations in the region, not more than 800 are effectively functioning. A reliable source at the Ashanti Regional Secretariat of the party disclosed to DAILY GUIDE that executive members at the various polling stations which, according to the NDC constitution, ought to be nine in number, do not exist let alone work for the development of the party. The source expressed disappointment that the polling station executive members made up of the chairman, secretary, treasurer and organizer who are elected, and five appointed members are absent on the political field. According to the source, the positions of these executives are nothing but mere titles printed on a sheet of paper.

The paper gathered further that the woes of the NDC could develop to an unmanageable level if the 27 executive members constitutionally required to be vibrant at the constituency level in championing the cause of the party were not reinvigorated and empowered to give of their best. Our source, who is a leading member of the party in the region, observed that this ugly situation coupled with the fact that majority of the regional executives of the party are unemployed, undermines NDC's chances of winning the 2008 elections. The source passionately appealed to the national executives of the party and its flagbearer, Professor John Evans Atta Mills to move all necessary arsenals and requisite electoral resources to revitalize the operations of the party in the region.

Meanwhile, results of an opinion poll conducted in the 10 regions of the country and released to the media by Research International (RI), a reputable research firm has declared that the NPP would win massive votes in the Ashanti Region if elections were conducted today. According to the results, 92 percent of voters in the Ashanti Region said they would vote for the elephant party while 6 percent said they would vote for the NDC if a presidential election was held. On the parliamentary, the opinion poll results said whereas the NPP got 91 percent in the Ashanti Region, the NDC went home with 7 per cent.