Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has appealed to Ghanaians to vote massively for the party in this year’s polls since the government has lost focus.

This, he said, would enable the NPP to continue with its pro-poor and social intervention programmes to alleviate the plight of Ghanaians, describing the current socio-economic situation in the country as “not encouraging”

Addressing a mammoth rally of the party in Kumasi, the Presidential Candidate bemoaned the increasing rate of unemployment amongst the youth, taxes, poverty, high utility bills, near collapse of vibrant social intervention programmes initiated by the previous government and exorbitant school fees.

He accused the Atta Mills’ Administration of failing to address the needs of the masses, saying it had failed to deliver on its campaign promises to make life worth living for the people.

“The National Democratic Congress (NDC) had shown in its almost four-year rule that it had nothing good to offer the citizenry and has lost focus as most of its policies and programmes had aggravated the hardships confronting the people”, he said.

Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that most of the people had lost faith, trust and confidence in the government as they could not come to terms with the growing anti-poor policies by the government.

He accused the government of resorting to politics of insults, defamation of character and lies, so as to cover up its incompetence and mismanagement of the economy.

“We in the NPP are aware of the diabolical moves by the government to shift focus from its failures in order to take advantage of the impending elections, and I call on the electorates to resolve to reject the NDC for their own benefit.”

Nana Akufo-Addo said the NPP with its good track record had the capacity to transform the economy so as to make life more comfortable for the people.

He cited how the party brought hope to the people in its eight-year rule, saying the introduction of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant, National Health Insurance Scheme, amongst other interventions, helped to enhance the socio-economic lives of the people.

He said the party would uphold rule of law, good governance and also ensure effective democratic dispensation when given the mandate.

Dr Mahammudu Bawumia, the NPP Presidential Running Mate, cautioned the youth to be wary of NDC deceit as it had no good plans for them.

“I entreat the youth to vote massively for the NPP since we have what it takes to transform the economy to bolster their living conditions.”**