Ashanti Region NPP Delegates Root For Osafo-Maafo

Most delegates from the 390 constituencies in the Ashanti Region have pledged their unflinching support to Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo in his bid to become the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“Looking at the track record of Mr Osafo-Maafo, including his tenure of office as the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and later Education and Sports, he is the only candidate capable of clinching victory for the NPP in the 2008 general election and lead the country to continue its economic recovery after President Kufuor,” the delegates submitted.

The delegates made the pledge at a meeting with Mr Osafo-Maafo in Kumasi, at which the aspirant shared his vision for the 2008 general election.

Mr Osafo-Maafo told the delegates that he was in the race to become the NPP's presidential candidate and the next President of Ghana to consolidate his achievements and successes during his tenure as a minister under President Kufuor.

He said the party needed a leader who would be able to win the elections and manage the affairs of the nation as well.

A spokesman for the delegates, Mr Kwabena Acheampong, recalled that during his tenure as the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Osafo-Maafo initiated policies that helped to stabilise the economy and propelled it on the path of growth.

He said Mr Osafo-Maafo also introduced the HIPC initiative and other economic measures that helped the country to receive debt relief and donor assistance into the economy.

“As a Minister of Education and Sports, Mr Osafo-Maafo was able to send the Ghana Black Stars to the World Cup in Germany and won the bid to host the CAN 2008, which has resulted in the rehabilitation of the Baba Yara and Ohene Djan Sports Stadiums, as well as the construction of additional stadia,” he emphasised.

Mr Acheampong said Mr Osafo-Maafo had also been appointed by the UN as an economic advisor to the Liberian Government to help reshape that country's economy.

“A person of such calibre, one with qualities of a natural leader, cannot be thrown away because he could be given the chance to lead Ghana after the exit of President Kufuor,” he contended.

Mr Acheampong said Mr Osafo-Maafo, who was voted as the best Finance Minister in Africa and second best in the world by the World Bank, was a suitable and capable aspirant to solve the economic and unemployment problems facing the country.