... Says They End Up in Disgrace

Mr. John Mahama, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bole Bamboi, has said politicians who considered their stomach first, instead of the development of their nation, finally ended up disgracing themselves.

According to Mr. Mahama, political parties were not formed to enrich individuals, but to create an enabling environment for the entire citizenry to develop.

He, therefore, commended the NDC advocates, who, despite the loss of the party, still stood firm to defend it.

He, however, lambasted those members of the party, who, because of their selfish interest, "somersaulted" to other parties, thinking those parties would make them rich overnight.

Addressing delegates' congress at Bole to endorse his candidature as the prospective parliamentary candidate for the 2004 general election, Mr. Mahama, also the incumbent MP for the area, said "stomach politicians always end up by disgracing themselves, as parties they cross-carpet to would normally consider the welfare of their supporters first or would not even mind them at all."

He said those NDC members who joined the NPP for the hope of ganing appointments, were only fooling themselves, because the NPP was a party engulfed with discrimination and nepotism.

Mr. Mahama was, on July 25, endorsed by popular acclamation, and the 144 delegates who attended the congress pledged their support for him.

According to him, political parties were like football clubs, which people joined, not to be enriched by the club, but because they loved the team.

He said "one does not also run away from his football club, because the team had lost, but still stay to render his or her support till it one day become victorious."

"It is the same in the political arena," he said, "where some supporters of a party only love the party because they thought the party could only change their destiny, not just fill their pockets with physical cash."

He noted that those supporters still with the NDC were there because they believed in the ideologies of the party.

The MP explained the difference between the NDC and the NPP, saying, "The NDC is a social democrat that believes in the development of the poor on the street and the NPP is a liberal democrat, which believes in the investment of the rich people, because they think the rich, in turn, create jobs to absorb the poor on the street."

He said, " God is an NDC man and therefore called his children in 2000 to rest for the children of the devil, the NPP, to come and rule the nation for Ghanaians to establish the difference between the two most glamorous parties in the country."

According to him, Ghanaians now might establish the difference and come December 7, 2004 would return the NDC to power to continue its good works.

On the massive unemployment problem that faces the nation, the MP, also the Communications Director of the NDC, regretted that, despite the registration of unemployed youth in the country, almost all the youth were walking still on the street without any job.

He said upon the numerous jobs that were promised by the NPP during the 2000 electioneering campaign, what they could do was "the Kufour Cassava Initiative" (KCI), which he said had rendered most farmers poor, because there was no market for their produce.

Mr. Mahama added that President Kufour, on his first day in office, pledged to eradicate corruption in the country, but, it was surprising that the NPP administration rather encouraged corruption by saying that, "corruption began during the era of Adam."

He said President Kufour now failed to investigate allegations of corruption published in the media on the grounds that they were mere newspaper allegations and, therefore, could not be taken seriously.

The National Youth Organizer of the NDC, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, commended the delegates for returning Mr. Mahama to contest on the ticket of the party.

According to him, Mr. Mahama was a good material and the people of the area should be proud of him.

He told the delegates that the MP was respected in all cycle both internaly and internationally and called on them to work harder and be vigilant on the polls day to ensure the NPP did not get the chance to rig the elections, as they were planning.