The campaign office of the 2008 NPP Presidential Candidate was overran by party activists from the Volta Region, who came to pick up posters and campaign t-shirts in preparation for Nana Akufo-Addo’s second phase tour of the region which begins on Saturday, June 21 at Dambai, Krachi East.

At yesterday’s national campaign committee meeting attended by the flag-bearer and others, the buzz was obvious as various research findings show that Ghanaians’ unhappiness with rising food and fuel prices has not translated into increased support for the opposition National Democratic Congress.

“This is because the people simply do not trust the alternative. They know they would have been worse off under the NDC. They know we have done much better and they believe we can do much more, and that under Akufo-Addo we can bring the change that will bring about the new Ghana that our people desire,” said Mustapha Hamid, the Spokesperson for Nana Akufo-Addo.

The second phase of the Volta tour is aimed at “conquering the myth” that the region is “untouchable”, said Hamid.

The Volta Region, going by the 2006 voter register, has 882,524 voters. “There is no reason why the NPP cannot attract 300,000 of these votes,” said a source at the Asylum Down campaign office of the NPP.

In the Volta Region alone, 830,432 people are on the National Health Insurance Scheme. That represents 50.7% of the total population of 1,636,462.

Nana Akufo-Addo, the only Presidential Candidate known to be an NHIS cardholder, on his earlier trip to the region promised that the NPP was looking at extending the health insurance scheme freely to children under 18. This has since been approved by the government. During his previous visit, he also spoke of extending free education to the secondary school level. President Kufuor has since announced that the capitation grant is to be extended from the basic to the secondary level.

Between 2005 and 2007, over 300 million Ghana Cedis was spent on health infrastructure in the area. Nurses’ flats were rehabilitated; Keta District health Administration building was completed. A Regional Health Directorate Complex is already under construction.

By December 2005, the Volta Region had 3,093km of feeder roads, out of which 2,245km, representing 73% had been engineered, with another 547km having been partially engineered.

Among the major projects undertaken in the last seven and a half years, the NPP has also constructed three major bridges in the Akatsi, Kadjebi and Nkwanta Districts.

On Saturday, Nana Akufo-Addo and his team will attend a durbar of chiefs and people at Dambai. On Sunday, there will be another durbar at Krachi, and mini rallies at Osramani and Tutupkni.

On Monday the Akufo-Addo team moves to Nkwanta North, for a durbar at Damanko, a mini rally at Kpassa and ends the day with a durbar at Nkwanta.

On Tuesday, June 24, the team moves on to Kadjebi, stopping off at Brewaniase and Panpaw/Papase. This will be followed by a grand durbar at Kadjebi before the team departs for Accra to continue with the third and final phase of this particular regional tour from Monday July 7 – Tuesday July 8.

This third phase will take the NPP Presidential Candidate to Central Tongu, South Tongu, Anlo and Keta on the first day.

The Tuesday will see the team travelling to Aflao, Denu, Penyi, Dzodze and Akatsi. The team then returns to Accra in preparation for the mammoth rally.

See tomorrow’s edition of The Statesman for more details of this rally.