Takoradi, March 26, GNA - Mr. Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Spokeperson, on Thursday said the social, economic and political programmes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Government would be based on the party's social democratic idealogy, which was a blend of democratic and socialist principles.

He said it was important for ministers, public officers, NDC members and the public to understand the principles which defined the role of citizens in the fulfilment of the social democratic idealogy. Mr. Ayariga was speaking at a forum organised by the Takoradi Polytechnic Chapter of the Tertiary Education Institutional Network (TEIN) of the NDC, at Takoradi.

He said government business would not be the responsibility of only President John Evans Atta Mills adding that everyone had a stake in shaping policy to determine the direction the country should move. Mr. Ayariga urged the people to work hard to support the government to enable it to achieve its developmental goals, saying it was only through collective efforts that the country's resources could be transformed into wealth for the benefit of all. Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, presidential nominee for Deputy Minister of Information, expressed worry about the way politics was being played in the country, saying the practice was at its lowest ebb ever in the country.

He said President John Evans Atta Mills had embarked on goodwill efforts to elevate politics to its former dignified status and observed that tribal politics was gradually reemerging in the country.

Mr. Ablakwa said politics was useless if it did not improve the living conditions of the people in the country and called on national leaders to concentrate on finding solutions to the country's problems. He said politicians should be managers of state properties instead of looting such properties for their personal use and the social democratic agenda of the NDC was a viable alternative to the property owning philiosophy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Mr. Kwesi Pratt Junior, a member of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), said he was speaking at the function because of his commitment to deepening the country's democractic process through social democracy. He urged the government to take back anything stolen by NPP when it was in power, saying that while some of the new national leaders were learning fast, arrogance of the past was creeping back.

Dr. Frank Abu, NDC Western Regional Chairman, thanked the people in the region for voting to return the party to power. He said NDC would not pay back its political opponents in their own coins and called on the people to be tolerant and support the President to carry through his programmes.

Dr. Abu said the President was not slow and weak as was being alleged by some people instead he was working carefully and diligently. He said that government business was likely to speed up after the appointment of district chief executives.

Other speakers at the forum were Dr. Hannah Bissue, presidential nominee for Deputy Minister for Works and Housing and Dr. Tony Aidoo, a leading member of NDC.