NPP launched Zongo Gaskiya Forum to promote Bawumia's achievements

The Bawumia for President 2024 Zongo Campaign Team has launched the "Zongo Gaskiya Forum," a platform aimed at accounting to Ghanaians, particularly those in the Zongo communities, on the stewardship of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) regarding Zongo development.

The platform will also address the path forward under a future government led by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, starting from January 2025.

The Gaskiya Forum will provide a respectful platform for the party to engage with stakeholders from the Zongo community and reflect on the tangible achievements of the NPP in Zongo communities during the Fourth Republic, under the governments of former President John Agyekum Kufuor (2001-2009) and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (2017-present).

It will also explore the history and extension of sustainable development to Zongo communities, drawing comparisons with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which has enjoyed significant support from the Zongo community throughout the Fourth Republic.

Speaking at the launch, the Chairman of the National Zongo Campaign Team, Hon. Ben Abdullah Banda, outlined the achievements of the Vice President and NPP flagbearer, emphasizing that the party has demonstrated a sincere commitment to strengthening the country's diversity by building an inclusive party and society.

He highlighted the NPP's history of promoting unity by presenting a ticket that represents both northern and southern Ghana as well as Christian and Muslim communities. This, he noted, is intended to promote interfaith harmony and consolidate national cohesion.

Banda recalled that the NPP, then the PFP in 1979 under Victor Owusu, nominated Talon Naa Alhaji Yakubu Al Hassan Tale, and in 1992, the party nominated Lawyer Roland Yusif from the North, who was also a Muslim. He noted that the NPP went on to nominate Alhaji Aliu Mahama and now Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, maintaining this unifying pattern in seven out of the eight presidential elections held in the Fourth Republic.

This, he said, has resulted in the historic election of Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the first Muslim to be nominated by a leading political party in Ghana’s history to contest a presidential election in a party predominantly made up of Christians.

Banda pointed out that Zongo communities and inner cities were often classified as deprived, receiving little attention from successive governments since independence, especially in terms of sustainable development.

He noted that in the Fourth Republic (since 1992), only two political parties, the NDC and the NPP, have governed Ghana under five different Presidents. The people of Zongo have overwhelmingly supported the NDC, leading to the election of three NDC regimes—those of Rawlings, Mills, and Mahama.

Despite their unwavering loyalty and overwhelming support, Banda criticized the NDC, stating that they have little to show in terms of tangible development for the Zongo communities. He concluded that the Zongos cannot boast of any deliberate attention by the NDC that has positively transformed their lives.