Manifestos not enough to win floating voters - NGOs

The Network of Association of Registered NGOs in Ghana on Friday said political party manifestos were not enough to win floating voters unless they had a four-year strategic implementation action work plan indicating their implementation strategy.

A press statement signed by Mr Kofi Lucas, National President of the Network, said the strategic implementation action work plan should spell out the roles, which the sector Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) would play in implementing the manifesto.

It said any political party, which would come out with a strategic implementation action work plan to indicate how the manifesto would be achieved, was likely to win the massive support of floating voters.

The statement called for the action work plan to include projects and programmes, from national to local levels with time frame, budget lines, source of funding and who the implementers would be to make the electorate believe the parties as championing their interests.

It called for the roles of civil society, NGOs, religious and traditional bodies as implementers and advocates of at least 40 per cent of the policies, programmes and projects, to be clearly spelt out in the manifestos.

The Network said this would prove that the parties would not pay lip service to the issues of government-NGO partnership, government-religious body partnership and government-traditional body partnership among others.

The statement also called on the political parties to consider educating the leadership of NGOs in the country on their manifestos and appreciating the roles NGOs could play in the implementation of the manifestos to ensure good governance.

The Network is made up of 57 registered NGOs working in various fields in the country.