- Nduom Tells GIMPA Students.

Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, Presidential aspirant of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) says the party’s message of incorruptible administration for quality education, health care and job creation, is the most believable and attainable agenda any political party can offer to the people of Ghana in the 2012 general elections.

In a speech read on his behalf by William Dowokpor, PPP Parliamentary aspirant for the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency, on Thursday night at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Students’ Representative Council (SRC) encounter with Presidential Aspirants and Candidates of leading political parties in Ghana, Dr. Nduom, said Ghanaians had a crucial choice to make between change they can feel in their lives and pockets, or stagnation and frustration for the next four years.

The encounter, which forms part of activities marking the ongoing GIMPA SRC Week Celebrations, offered political parties the platform “to share with students their development plans for Ghana, which will form largely their political campaign messages in the upcoming elections”. Although all the leading political parties were invited, only three parties namely; PPP, NPP and CPP participated in the encounter.

The PPP Presidential aspirant said, while the party did not intend to produce “any huge book of promises and call it a manifesto”, it is pleased to present the PPP Political Platform for elections 2012, which contains its ten point agenda for believable change guided by the Directive Principles of State Policy in the 1992 constitution of Ghana.

“The PPP wants the opportunity to implement an Agenda for Change that is built on Stewardship, Education, Healthcare and Jobs. We will implement the Agenda using the spirit of inclusiveness that will enable us to use the best Ghanaians; full participation of women and the youth; and above all a leadership that is incorruptible. By dealing with corruption, we can double government revenue which we will use to pay for our transformational initiatives in education, healthcare and job creation” he declared.

Dr. Nduom said Ghana needed some fundamental institutional reforms to make it a capable state. To that end, he revealed that the PPP administration will reform state institutions, make government efficient and raise revenue to be able to pay public servants well to motivate them to facilitate the work of the private sector and Ghanaian society in general.

Justifying the need for constitutional amendments, the PPP Presidential aspirant said “we will work to change portions of the Constitution to enable the election of all District Assembly Members and District/Municipal/Metropolitan Chief Executives to ensure local accountability and rapid development in our first term of office”.

“Again, we will work to change portions of the Constitution to abolish the provision that allows Ministers of State to also serve as Members of Parliament. We believe that this move will make available for governance a large pool of qualified, experienced Ghanaian talent whose expertise is currently unused and therefore lost to Ghana. This we will aim to complete in one term of office. Concurrent with this objective will be a solid determination to give Parliament the facilities and resources needed to pass good laws and scrutinize the proposals submitted by the Executive effectively” he stressed.

On education, Dr. Nduom, said the PPP will provide Quality Education for Every Ghanaian Child. “We will standardize school facilities from kindergarten to Senior High School with libraries, toilets, classrooms, kitchen, housing for teachers, playground, etc: and Ensure free and compulsory education in public schools from kindergarten to Senior High School (including computer training). We will deploy an “Education Police” or “School Tankassi” to enforce the compulsory aspect of our policy. An integral part of this objective will be an objective to significantly increase vocational training so that all school leavers gain employable skills.

This will include a comprehensive sports programme to instil discipline and promote better health” he explained.

Hinting on how the PPP will manage the energy sector, the party said it will provide Energy for Industrialisation and Rapid Development. “We will implement solutions with a sense of urgency to meet domestic needs for industry and domestic use and make Ghana a net exporter of power again in four years. To enable us achieve this objective, we will provide tax incentives to enable development of alternative sources of fuel and power – bio fuels and solar. We aim to ensure that the contribution from alternative sources of energy reaches a minimum of 10% of what we need in a decade. Harness our natural resources (particularly oil and gas) to ensure maximum benefit and prosperity for all Ghanaians” it assured.

On the environment, the GIMPA students were assured that the PPP will ensure a cleaner environment free from preventable diseases like malaria, cholera and guinea worm. “We believe that just like countries in Europe and elsewhere became malaria free, so can Ghana with the right leadership from PPP. We will ensure emergency care throughout the country to save lives. Our focus will be in the area of prevention where education is the key” the students were told.

As regards crime, the PPP said it will attack crime, the drug trade and corruption aggressively using leadership by example, being modest in government, passing and implementing the Right to Information Bill and ensuring an independent prosecutor’s office exists separate from the Ministry of Justice. “We will strengthen the Narcotics Control Board to make it the agency responsible for fighting the drug trade with all the human, financial and other resources needed for success; as well as strengthen the Police Force by providing resources and training to fight crime” the party insisted.

In response to the needs of Ghanaians living abroad, the PPP said it will establish a Secretariat to cater for the needs of Ghanaians abroad and the African Diaspora by June 30th 2013, adding that it will provide a support system to encourage re-entry, investment, safe and healthy vacations and transfer of knowledge and technology. Ensure full citizenship rights to Ghanaians abroad so that they can vote and serve in public sector positions.

Shedding light on how the PPP intends to grow the economy of Ghana, the party said it will use government’s purchasing power to ensure that we eat what we grow and use what we produce in Ghana. “We will improve Ghana’s business climate to enable investment in job creation so that our people will stay at home to help develop the country and its economy. We will be relentless in providing support to Ghanaian industry and our farmers and fishermen using low interest loans, technical assistance, tax incentives and priority access to the Ghanaian market. To accelerate job creation nationally, an inter-region highway will be built with the same high quality throughout the country to open up the country for investment and development” it said.

The party urged all who think and believe that Ghana deserves better leadership and the best government possible to register to become members. “If you have supported the NDC, NPP and the other political parties and you now feel the need for an alternative, join us now” went, the appealed.

Speaking on behalf of the NPP Presidential Candidate, Anthony Abeyefa Kabu, National Youth Organiser of the NPP excited the gathering with a new rendition of the his party’s campaign slogan, amidst repeated shouts of “all die be die”. He assured the students that the NPP was determined to win the 2012 elections at all costs.

Dr. Kojo Arthur, Vice Chairman of the CPP’s Research and Strategy Committee said the CPP was the party for the youth. Dr. Arthur recounted how the first President of the republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah appointed youth, some at the tender age of 25 years to head Ministries.

The PPP parliamentary aspirant for Okai Koi North, Mike Eghan Jnr., said the demographics of the PPP is like that of Ghana, pointing out that anyone who was at the Party’s first National Convention last Saturday or watched it live on television will attest to that. “Most of our members and executives are young men and women looking to make their mark in the world. We have a special blend of young and old, men and women in all areas of the Party. As demonstrated on Saturday, we do not pay lip service to the youth and women. We have consciously ensured that the youth and women have been given opportunity to play leading roles in the PPP. It is indeed the party for the youth” he stressed.