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02.06.2004 NDC

December is NDC's Political Armageddon - Dometey

02.06.2004 LISTEN
By Ghanaian Chronicle

The Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Gustav Narh Dometey, has predicted that the December general election would be the National Democratic Congress (NDC)'s "political Armageddon."

He said the NDC would lose or the NPP would wrest most of the parliamentary seats from the NDC, change its strongholds or open its 'world banks' to all political parties.

Mr. Dometey stated this in an exclusive interview with The Chronicle at Koforidua over the weekend. The paper was to ascertain what visions he had for the Upper Manya Constituency as he had been confirmed as NPP's parliamentary candidate for the constituency.

The Chronicle is aware of series of meetings held by NDC activists in the constituency against his name as a way of discouraging the Krobos from following him and the NPP ever since he was confirmed as the NPP parliamentary candidate for that area.

NDC activists there seem to see him as a threat to their victory in the December general elections in the three Krobo areas of the Eastern Region, that is Yilo Krobo, Manya Krobo and Upper Manya Krobo as well as the Asuogyaman and Fanteakwa constituencies, which are predominantly dominated by Krobos.

He has become a thorn in the flesh of NDC activists over there because he has been vibrating a lot by propagating the good policies of the government and raising much awareness about certain things the residents had been ignorant about and been cheated of for more than 20 years, causing under development in Asesewa and its environs.

This awareness creation, The Chronicle learnt, had been causing many defections from the NDC to the NPP, hence the series of meetings to plan how to outwit him.

As to whether the NPP would for the first time win or wrest the Upper Manya MP seat, the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister was very optimistic that he would lead the NPP to unseat the NDC.

According to him, the residents were now much aware of the NPP's good works since it came to power in the area, so the good works of the government were bearing testimonies and serving as campaign machinery for the NPP.

The NDC activists were dumping cement and other building materials on leaders in various communities in the constituency without consulting them nor conferring with the District Assembly to know what to do for them. "They were telling them that the materials were from the MPs' pocket while it was rather from the common fund," he stated, adding that, now, the residents bought NDC's lies no more.

According to him, the Upper Manya constituency is an area endowed with much potential, which should have been developed by the NDC if they claimed the area was their "World Bank." As a predominantly farming area from where a lot of food stuff come, he said the human development aspect of the people did not complement their economic usefulness.

He observed that, it was one of the areas in which the NDC did not initiate many projects as it was later realized that "the contracts had been awarded but were not executed by contractors, making the area more deprived as ever."

Mr. Dometey said his main objectives would be teeming up with the chiefs and opinion leaders of the constituency to upgrade all the feeder roads to link farming communities for easy transportation of food stuffs, upgrade the well recognized Asesewa market to improve commercial activities and improve water and sanitation conditions.

In addition, he disclosed that he would upgrade school blocks, introduce financial assistance programmes to aid brilliant but needy students beside encouraging the residents to accept the National Health Insurance Scheme to take proper care of their health needs.

So happy about the Presidential Special Initiative (PSI) on cassava, he hinted that two years ago, a model farm was started with 40 acres, which had been increased to 80 and which he believed, would increase to 120 acres next year.

The Chronicle can disclose that the residents have now accepted that it was a fake propaganda when the NDC told them not to vote for the NPP because they would sack them from the lands they were occupying. They are now full of praise for the government, which has introduced the PSI to them.

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