NASARA Club explains gov’t policies to communities up north

THE NATIONAL Organizer of the Nasara Club, Alhaji Bamba Moctar, says it is their objective to explain the programmes, policies, and good governance of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to Muslims in Zongo communities, and Northerners in all the ten regional capitals.

Speaking exclusively to The Chronicle in Bolgatanga, during his tour of Upper East Region, the organizer added that the club was also explaining the differences between the NPP and NDC to Zongo communities and Northerners, who were perceived to be mainly members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Alhaji Bamba said the Nasara Club was formed in 1998, by Muslims and Northerners in all the 10 regions of the country, with the main objective of creating the awareness that the NPP was not only a party for the Akans, but Muslims and Northerners alike.

He and his team have since visited the Upper East, Northern, Brong Ahafo, Ashanti, and Western regions, galvanizing support for the party, as the nation prepares towards the forthcoming elections in December.

Alhaji Bamba named some of the programmes initiated by the NPP government as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which replaced the Cash and Carry System, Capitation Grant, School Feeding Programme, and the introduction of the Metro Mass Transit transport.

He said these programmes have put money into the pockets of Ghanaians indirectly, as they no longer pay cash when they visit hospital and parents who have wards at the basic levels, no longer pay school fees, neither do they feed their wards when they are in school.

The former Member of Parliament (MP) for Wenchi, in the Brong Ahafo Region, claimed that it was during the regime of the NDC, that the Pwalugu Tomato Factory, now Northern Star Tomato Factory, collapsed. But when the NPP came into power, it revamped the factory.

He, however, admitted that though the factory was not working effectively as expected, its present state was a positive sign of the NPP government's commitment to developing the Upper East Region, and creating employment.

Other packages, he mentioned as enormous benefits to the people of the region, included the rehabilitation of the Tono Irrigation Project and Vea Dam, for dry season farming and livestock rearing.

Alhaji Bamba explained that after seeing their brothers and sisters preaching the good policies of the NPP in their own dialects, Muslims and Northerners have now agreed to be part and parcel of the party.

Describing the Nasara Club as the mouthpiece for Muslims and all the Zongo communities in the country, as far as the NPP was concerned, the Organizer said any problems facing Muslims would pass through the Club.

According to him, executives of the club were poised for action against the 2008 elections, and could woo more supporters of the NDC to the NPP.

Alhaji Bamba said no government has ignored the Haj because was a political tool for every government, thus the Nasara Club would now serve as a watchdog in the subsequent Haj, to ensure smooth organization.

He claimed that during his earlier meeting with the club members, and party supporters in Bolgatanga, as part of his visit, some popular members of the NDC, including Alhaji Okay, joined them, with some confessing that they were tired of being in the party without seeing any progress, and have since declared their stand to join the ruling party.

He also alleged that some members of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), in the Brong Ahafo Region, have also defected to the NPP.

The Chronicle in Bolgatanga is investigating these claims of defection, and will soon get to its roots.

The former Ghana Ambassador to Guinea, Alhaji S.M. Shariff, and deputy National Chairman of the Nasara Club, in the company of the National Organizer, said the responses from both Northern and Southern sectors of the country, regarding the club, were very promising.

He stated that victory in the December elections was coming to the NPP saying, “We are optimistic that victory is coming, but we are not complacent”.

The Upper East Regional Secretary of the Club, Mr. Mubarak Muntari, expressed his gratitude to the executives, for revamping the club, and pledged to work hard to make a positive change in the outcome of the election results in the region.