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13.10.2008 NPP

Accusations of plagiarism NDC responds to NPP…And accuses it of robbing cocoa farmers

By Bismark Bebli - Ghanaian Chronicle
Accusations of plagiarism NDC responds to NPPAnd accuses it of robbing cocoa farmers
13.10.2008 LISTEN

THE NATIONAL Democratic Congress (NDC) has swiftly responded to the claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) suggesting that the party has plagiarized their manifesto.

The NDC stated that following the launch of their manifesto which has generated a lot of excitement in the country, and has sent cold shivers down the spine of the NPP, as a result of which they are making all sorts of comments which were untruths.

Denying allegations of plagiarism levelled against them by the NPP through its national chairman, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, the NDC argued that it was untenable that the NPP would make a u-turn, after they had openly told the world that the NDC copied their manifesto.

Speaking at a press conference last Friday, Hon. Lee Ocran, the chairman of the NDC Manifesto Committee, pointed out that “The NDC was the last to out-door its manifesto, nevertheless, the party has generated a lot of excitement within the general populace and anxiety and fear in our opponents. This fear has forced some of them to make all sorts of comments, ranging from plagiarism to branding it 'sick' and 'timid,' yet the day before, some of them had claimed our manifesto was a carbon copy of the NPP's manifesto.”

Addressing a news conference in Accra, last week Friday, Ocran accused NPP of robbing cocoa farmers, saying “As we speak, the NPP government continues to rob cocoa farmers of some of the just reward for their efforts. At worst times, the NDC government paid cocoa farmers about 74 percent of the world market price. At the best of times, even at the currently adjusted price of 16, 200, 000 cedis old value per tonne, the NPP government is paying farmers 47 percent of the world market. Our commitment to paying the farmers 70 percent of the world market price remains evergreen,” he said.

Hon. Lee Ocran, the NDC legislator for Jomoro Constituency, in the Western Region, also accused the NPP of plagiarism.

According to him, most policies of the NPP were stolen from the NDC manifesto since 2000. He said it beats the imagination of the rank and file of the NDC that after the NPP had plagiarised their manifesto and attempted to change few modalities, would be making mountains out of mole hills.

The NDC Manifesto Committee chairman who reiterated the policies and programmes of the party in the 2008 manifesto, stressed that under the next presidency of NDC, all lands belonging to the Ga-Dangbe people would be returned to them, including the amendment of Act 1960, Act 2, which he believes was discriminatory against the people of the Greater Accra Region.

According to him, as far back as 2004, the NDC had proposed in their manifesto to promulgate a national policy on the disabled to enable them fully integrate them into the mainstream of national life.

'With regard to the aged, our 2004 manifesto explicitly stated that we would promulgate a new national policy on the Aged to develop new approaches to meet their demands.

Mr. Lee Ocran, went into his archives and produced documents to suggest how the NPP kicked against the National Health Insurance Scheme when the NDC introduced it, and also how the NPP stolethe slogan of Moving Ghana Forward.

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