�Ghanaians Poor Under NDC�

THE New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate of the Ave-Avenor constituency in the Akatsi district, Leo-Nelson Adzidogah has critised the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for inundating Ghanaians into extreme poverty since they took control of the affairs of the country. He noted that due to the incompetence and inability of the NDC government to formulate strategic policies to address the socio-economic problems of the country, �Ghana is now reeling under poverty and deprivation.� Mr. Adzidogah stated in an interview with the DAILY GUIDE that the NDC could not efficiently manage and implement, let alone improve upon the good policies they inherited from the erstwhile NPP government. He observed that programs such as the National Health Insurance (NHIS), Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), National Youth Employment Program (NYEP), Metro Mass Transport (MMT), Capitation Grant, Free Maternal/Natal Care, School Feeding, among others were now in shambles. He said �one will expect that these social interventions would be maintained and improved upon to give relief to Ghanaians and improve their living conditions, as well as reduce the poverty rate, yet the direct opposite is what we are experiencing.� Mr. Adzidogah noted that he was not surprised at how the NDC was mismanaging the affairs of the country because since took over from the NPP, they have not had any clear cut direction or focus. �The NDC has no vision; it is just taking stop gap and try and error decisions,� he said. He recounted some of the promises made by NDC during the 2008 elections, saying �NDC made many promises during the 2008 general election to improve the well-being of Ghanaians by reducing cost of items, goods and services. The NDC also promised one-time premium payment for the NHIS and many others, however none of them has materialized.� The NPP parliamentary candidate, who is bent on unseating the incumbent NDC MP, Doe Adzaho, explained that electricity and water tariffs had been increased astronomically likewise school fees. He added that the NHIS premium has also been increased. According to him, the educational sector was in shambles, citing the 2011 Basic Education Examination as an example, he said more than 50% of the candidates who sat for the examination failed He said �people are growing poorer everyday because of lack of proper economic policy directions to create wealth for Ghanaians.� Mr. Adzidogah said the NDC had failed the country and proven beyond all reasonable doubt that they could not efficiently manage the affairs of the country. �The NDC is visionless, and apart from making empty promises, they cannot maintain a stable economy, let alone alleviate the living standards of Ghanaians,� he noted. He therefore noted that the NPP, led by Nana Akufo Addo, was the only credible and viable alternative for Ghanaians. The aspiring MP said the NPP had an enviable record of being creative, adding that the party was more effective in developing and implementing policies and programs to alleviate the living standards of Ghanaians. He said the NPP and Nana Akufo Addo had the vision to create a �new society of aspirations and opportunities� for Ghanaians. He noted that the NPP would introduce free senior high school education, which would serve as the cut-off point for basic education; the teacher first policy, which would develop and motivate the teacher to improve educations in Ghana. Security and the fight against corruption will be improved, while the transportation system and industries and agriculture will also be improved to create enough jobs for the many unemployed youth. He added that under the NPP, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) would be established to harmonize all development activities to ensure rapid development of the country. Mr. Adzidogah stressed that Nana Akufo Addo would manage the affairs of the country on the basis of programmes and plans and not on promises and propaganda. �Nana Akufo Addo has good programmes and policies under his sleeves to move Ghana to a high plateau of growth and development. NPP government under Nana Akufo Addo will bring transformation of Ghana and enrich the quality of life for Ghanaians,� he concluded.