NPP gives accounts of two-term governance

Accra, March 13, GNA - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Flag bearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Thursday charged his campaign team to educate the electorate on the impressive record of the party's two-term in office as a means of winning more votes in the forthcoming elections.

The record achievements, he said, should be compared to the 11-year record of the PNDC and eight-year of National Democratic Congress (NDC) achievements.

The NPP Flag bearer stated at a maiden press conference in Accra attended by large contingent of journalist, 15 out of the 16 losing NPP Presidential Candidates, Members of Parliament, Ministers of State and cross section of NPP supporters.

Nana Akufo-Addo used the press conference to announce NPP Elections 2008 Campaign Team, Campaign Advisory Board, mandate of the Campaign team, analysis of the record of the NPP as against the NDC, priorities of the NPP's Continuity campaign, and pledged to be committed to the NPP tradition.

He said the inescapable conclusion from the comparison would prove that the NPP's eight-year term had been productive for the development of Ghana than the close to 20-year rule of the PNDC/NDC.

He said when the party took over the governance of the country in January 2001 Ghana was bankrupt with a demoralized population and a body politic scared by an authoritarian culture.

"Since then we have compiled a record of solid achievements which have laid a strong foundation for modernization of society and the transformation of the national economy."

"Never in the history of Ghana, has freedom so flourished as under the NPP administration."

The NPP Flag bearer said the government undertook intensive initiatives to develop the social and physical infrastructure - rapid expansion and rehabilitation of school buildings, the implementation of the school feeding programme, the capitation grant, introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Other achievements include the improvement in the provision of health care facilities, construction of urban and rural road networks to link various towns and villages, the disbursement of the poverty alleviation fund to the district assemblies for development projects at the local level.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the eight year administration of the NPP was credited with stabilisation of the economy with minimal inflation, lowered interest rates, quadrupling the size of the Ghanaian economy from a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.9 billion dollars to about 15 billion dollars.

He said average lending rates have fallen from 47 percent in 2000 to 24 percent in 2007, which have influenced credit to the private sector upwards from less than 400 million dollars in 2000 to nearly four billion in 2007 - 1000 percent increment.

Ghana's exports have risen from 1.9 billion dollars in 200 to 4.2 billion dollars in 2007; NDC invested 320 million dollars within seven years in the manufacturing sector whiles the NPP used six years to invest 2.3 billion dollars and the increment in the mobile telephone clientele base from a total of 90,000 in 2000 to 7.6 million in 2007.

On the minimum wage, Nana Akufo-Addo said in 1993, Ghana's daily minimum wage was equivalent to 96 United States cents, by 2000, the last year of the NDC regime, the real value of the minimum wage of the Ghanaian had reduced to 60 US cents.

"Today, the minimum daily minimum wage is at 2.34 US dollars, this is one of the many indications that under the PNDC/NDC the money in the pocket of the Ghanaian consistently lost its real value and the reverse has been the case under the NPP."

He said enrolment at the six public universities has more than doubled from 40,673 in 2001 to 88,445 at the close of the 2006/2007 academic year, a situation made possible by the long overdue expansion of infrastructure of public universities.

The private universities had only 1,667 students' population by 2000, which have now increased to 18,278 by the end of 2006/2007 academic year.

Enrolment at the ten polytechnics increased from total of 18,459 in 2000/2001 to 28,695 in 2006/2007.

The NPP flag bearer therefore charged the foot soldiers and the campaign team to arm themselves with the positive records of the party to market both the Presidential Candidate and Parliamentary Candidates.