General News of Thursday, 29 November 2012

Source: Joy Online

Mahama capable of implementing Nkrumah’s 7 year Dev. Plan – Youth group

A youth group calling itself Kwame Nkrumah Inspired Citizens Movement, has lent support President to John Mahama and the NDC, who it said appear more likely to implement Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s Seven Year Development Plan.

The group has therefore called on Ghanaians especially the youth irrespective of party affiliation, to vote for President Mahama in order to achieve "what Dr. Nkrumah saw in his mind’s eye...“A state with strong and virile economy, its agriculture and industry buoyant and prosperous industrialized nation serving the needs of its people”.

The development plan, put together by Ghana’s first President in 1963, passed by Parliament and was being used until his administration was kicked out in a coup d’état on 24th February, 1966 and subsequently abandoned by the Danquah/Busia regime after it succeeded the CPP administration.

A statement issued by the group on Thursday and signed by Charles Amoah, National Coordinator and Stephen Kwabena Attuh, National Secretary noted that, already, the NDC was implementing some social intervention programs which could be found in the Seven Year Development Plan.

“LESDEP, SADA can be cited. The NPP will not because it was their predecessors, the Danquah/Busia tradition that overthrew Nkrumah’s government and abandoned the plan”.

According to the group, Ghana would have by now been “a strong nation respected by all other nations".

“The plan was not partisan and did not reflect the views of any political groupings at the time. It was simply a national development plan prepared by Ghanaian experts including J.H Mensah, Mr. E.N. Omaboe and Prof. F.T Sai and reviewed later by a team of economists all over the world,” the statement noted.

It described as “very dangerous position”, a statement purportedly made by the NPP’s flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo to the effect that, he would use the NPP manifesto as the national development plan if elected president in the December elections.

It called on the youth to condemn that position since “he would be dividing this country further if he should embark on such agenda”.