The 2016 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his message for this year’s elections is on job creation, hinged on the industrialisation of the economy and the modernisation of agriculture.

According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the claim by President John Mahama that the NPP has no message is laughable, because the party, since 2008, has remained consistent with the message of industrialising Ghana’s economy, whereas President Mahama’s message-less campaign is evident in the refrain “e dey bee keke”.

“Mahama says we in the NPP have no message. His message of ‘e dey bee k?k?’ is one I will never put before the Ghanaian people. Is ‘e dey bee k?k?’ a message? What do you understand by ‘e dey bee k?k?’? If this is the kind of message he wants from the NPP, he will never get it,” the NPP flagbearer stressed.

He continued: “Our message is about bringing jobs to the people of Ghana – reviving our economy, and improving and diversifying our agriculture. That is the business we are coming to do [when the NPP wins this year’s elections].”

Nana Akufo-Addo made this known when he addressed a gathering at the Asesewa market, in the Upper Manya constituency, on Friday, July 1, 2016, at the commencement of day three of his 5-day tour of the Eastern Region.
Reiterating his pledge of setting up one factory in every district, he indicated that the Upper Manya constituency has a good number of raw materials, including maize, cassava, rice and oil palm, which will make the setting up of a factory in the district profitable.

The NPP flagbearer added that in addition to the establishment of a marketing board for maize, his government “is going to diversify our agriculture. We are not going to rely only on cocoa. We are going to follow the steps of Cote d’Ivoire, where their government is fully supporting the production of cotton, coffee, cashew and oil palm, in addition to cocoa.”

This twin-track of rapid industrial expansion and increasing agricultural productivity, he noted, is the means by which his government, God-willing from 2017, is going to create jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed Ghanaians.

Nana Akufo-Addo, thus, urged residents of Asesewa and the people of Upper Manya not to be swayed by the usual talk of sceptics that “it cannot be done” and “it is impossible”, any time he outlines policies and programmes aimed at bringing progress and prosperity to Ghanaians.

“It was the same thing they said when we wanted to introduce the National Health Insurance Scheme, Free SHS and the Northern Development Authority. Today, they have turned around and are trying to implement these policies. We are coming into office to fully implement these policies as we originally planned,” he noted.

He further stated that “it is the skeptics who have no faith in the ability of the Ghanaian to shape a prosperous future who say ‘it cannot be done’. But, we believe strongly in the can-do-spirit of the Ghanaian.”

To the Zongo community in Asesewa, he assured them of the setting up of a Zongo Development Fund, aimed at enhancing infrastructural development in Zongo communities and improving the lives of their residents.

Support me

Nana Akufo-Addo, therefore, appealed to the residents of Asesewa and Upper Manya to support and vote for him, “so we can come and change Ghana”, and give the young men and women of Ghana hope.

“We have to give hope to our young people that Ghana can give them a good life, and be a country where they can be dignified citizens. That is the task I have put on myself to do for the progress of our country,” he said.

He continued: “We are coming to root out the wanton theft of our public resources and the widespread cases of corruption in our governance system. I did not come into politics to steal the monies of poor Ghanaians. That’s not why I am into politics. I did not also come into politics to take bribes. I am into politics because I want to use the little wisdom and knowledge God has given me to help move Ghana forward, and bring relief and wealth to every part of the country.”

With the Upper Manya constituency being one of the six constituencies the NPP has never won in the Eastern Region, in the 4th Republic dispensation, Nana Akufo-Addo appealed to residents to “try me and the NPP, because we are coming to change Ghana. I have come to ask for your support. I want you to try the NPP and myself, and I will not disappoint you. I promise you that.”

He also urged residents to vote for the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Joseph Tetteh, a.k.a, ‘Joe Tee’, stressing that “it is when you vote for Nana and Joe Tee that Asesewa and Upper Manya are going to grow and grow.”

Nana Akufo-Addo rounded off his tour of the constituency with a visit to Sekesua, where he assured the Dademantsemei, Manyemei and the people of Sekesua that his government will fix the deplorable nature of the road leading into the town, as well as extend potable drinking water to the community.