YEF asked to educate the electorate on the achievements of NPP govt

Koforidua, Nov. 10, GNA - The Minister of Trade, Industries and Presidential Special Initiatives (PSI), Mr. Allan Kyeremanten, has called on members of the Young Executive Forum (YEF), an affiliate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to mount an intensive public education campaign to market the achievements of the Kufuor administration to the electorate to enable it retain their mandate. He said, with a few weeks to the December 7 elections, they should be in the forefront in making the people appreciate the "positive change" that had taken place under the NPP government within the almost four years rule.

Mr. Kyeremanten, who was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the Koforidua chapter of the Forum on Tuesday, told them to market the attainment of the government on the five priority areas it had identified and concentrated in the development of the country during the term.

The areas included modernized agriculture, rural development, good governance, and social infrastructure and private sector development. Mar Kyeremanten, who was the immediate past national chairman of the Forum, cited the construction of the three main highways linking Accra at the same time, the development of the energy and telecommunication sectors, and the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme and the development of district model second-cycle schools.

On the PSI, he announced that besides the cassava processing factories, 1,000 hectares of oil palm plantations were being cultivated while the policy in groundnut and other crops would be extended to the north and other parts of the country next year. Under the Rural Enterprises Development Programme, he said, each of the 138 districts is to choose three locally based industries for development, to provide massive employment and wealth creation for the people.

On good governance, Mr Kyeremanten pointed out that the concept of "zero tolerance for corruption" was not a one-stop shop issue but an ongoing process, saying since it demanded institutional structures to curb the incidence, the government passed the Public Procurement Act among others to make the crusade sustainable.

He said having been in the political wilderness for 30 years, members of the YEF must work hard to ensure that not only does the NPP wins this year's election with a large margin, but it must retain power for the next 20 years, or risked facing a "grim future" under the rule of the NDC.

"Let's work to win the biggest battle this year, as it will be a terrible mistake to underrate the opposition," he said, adding, "we must not take chances to ensure that the NDC doesn't survive after this year's elections", the Minister stressed.

The Minister of Employment and Manpower Development, Mr Yaw Barimah, said as a party which believed in property owning democracy, the members should work with commitment to ensure victory in the election, adding, "should NDC win the election, it will be bad not only for the party but the nation's future as well."

The Eastern Regional chairman of the NPP, Nana Adi Ankamah, described the NDC as "desperate" party, because it lacked a structure to nurture the youth, as the Forum was out to do for the NPP.

He urged the leadership of the Forum to spread its wings to all parts of the region to enable it contribute towards the party's determination to win all the 28 seats in the region this year, "no matter the odds."

The national chairman of the Forum, Mr Harry Owusu, who inaugurated the chapter, traced the history of the club, which started as a welfare club until it identified itself with the NPP because of the similar ideology during the transition to constitutional rule in 1992.

He said the Koforidua chapter was the fifth in the country after Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tema and charged the members to mobilize resources to help the NPP win victory on December 7.

Mr Owusu presented 20 NPP posters costing 20 million cedis and five millions cedis cash to the chapter.

The chairman of the Koforidua chapter, Mr H. Okyere-Boakye, gave the assurance that the members were prepared to mobilize their resources to help the party grow in strength to win the election in the region convincingly.

The branch also presented 20 bicycles, 1,000 t-shirts and 40 million cedis as its contribution towards the NPP's campaign efforts in the region.