"They Are In A State Of Panic"

The National Democratic Congress last Friday restated the superiority of the policies embodied in its manifesto and treated with scorn any claims that it had copied policies of the NPP.

These submissions were brought to the fore at a press conference of the party addressed by Hon Lee Ocran, the Chairman of the NDC Manifesto Committee.

NDC's Superior Health Plan

The NDC underscored the fact that way back in the year the party had already made adequate provision in its manifesto to address the problems confronting the health sector by the use of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

'In our 2000 manifesto, we stated that "health insurance will be a major strategy for mobilizing additional resources and for ensuring financial access in time of need. The pilot work already carried out will form the basis for insurance schemes, both public and private, national and local, to cater for salaried employees, the self-employed as well as both urban and rural communities"

The NDC wondered how it could be copying this idea in 2008 when as far back as year 2000 the party had already indicated the importance of the scheme after successfully piloting it.

In the view of the NDC, it is ironic that the NPP, which vehemently opposed the NHIS at the time, is rather accusing the NDC of plagiarism. Quoting the NPP minority in the year 2000, the NDC explained how the then opposition opposed the NHIS proposed by the NDC, pointing out that billions of cedis were being wasted on a scheme that was not practicable in view of the large proportion of the people living below the poverty line, the seasonal nature of the incomes of many rural farmers and the fact that only 10-15% of the population are salaried workers.

Highlighting the uniqueness of the NDC health policy, the party explained that its current position is that to the extent that every Ghanaian pays 2.5 National Health Insurance Levy, healthcare should be free for all the listed diseases on the schedule including mental health care. "

"We have proposed to cancel the payment of premiums on annual basis. Our programme calls for a once-in-life-time premium. That premium will be solely used to capture and store data electronically and link all health care centres nationwide via the internet to make access to healthcare truly national in character and in scope."

NDC's Matchless Educational Policy

The NDC also explained that NPP's 30,000 cedis capitation grant was a woeful attempt to address the constitution requirement that there should be by 2005 a programme for the provision of "Free, Compulsory and Universal Basic Education following NDC's submission of a bill in parliament in 1994, under the title, 'Basic Education – A Right'.

The NDC explained that although the constitution did not define the "free" element of FCUBE, the party in its 2004 manifesto, at the time that NPP had no clue what to do about FCUBE, had indicated that "free education" will include free tuition, free textbooks and exercise books, free infrastructure such as school building, writing desks, chairs, free uniforms for specified categories of students and no fees for sports and culture.

According to the NDC, the NPP in 2005, without any acknowledgment, tried to adopt NDC's programme but ended up bungling the whole thing by introducing a so-called "Capitation Grant" under which the government pays only ¢30,000 per pupil.

The NDC is emphatic that the capitation grant does not meet the requirements for free, compulsory and universal basic education as defined by the 1992 constitution. The party derided NPP's plagiarism claims and claims how that could have been possible since the 2008 manifesto is built on the 2004 manifesto and clarifies what the NDC means by FCUBE.

The NDC in 2004 had indicated the following measures as part of its proposal for "Free education"- Tuition at the second cycle level, progressive introduction of a free textbooks scheme at the second cycle education, the examination of the high boarding fees at the SSS level and the need for government to take over responsibility for the payment of water and electricity costs at secondary second cycle boarding institutes.

In this current manifesto the party says there has been a slight departure from the 2004 position because of the abysmal performance of the NPP in the provision of educational infrastructure over the last eight years.

"Due to fact that the NPP after 8 years in government has built only 19 new secondary schools, as against the 264 we built in eight years, we have realized that with only 40 per cent of JSS students progressing to the SSS level, the imperative now is to widen access and allow as many Ghanaians as possible to benefit from secondary school to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty."

The following is NDC's new emphasis as captured in the 2008 manifesto- the building at least one secondary school in each of the constituencies. This clearly means that in underserved constituencies, more that one new secondary school will be built.

"In what context could this have been lifted from the NPP Manifesto which seeks to create a class society by providing a so-called free education for all second cycle students, when the majority of JSS students cannot access secondary education?" the NDC queries.

NDC's Tertiary Education Blueprint

This is what the NDC plans to do- "Discontinue NPP's policy of full cost recovery- and continue the policy of free tuition at the tertiary level". The party also proposes to provide scholarships and bursaries for brilliant but needy students and special incentives for students pursuing science and technology at the tertiary level. Specifically, the party proposes to set aside 2 percent of the GETFund to provide bursaries and scholarships for students who study pure and applied mathematics, science and technology.

"Has the NPP ever adopted this position?" the NDC asked sarcastically.

NDC's Unsurpassed Commitment To The North

In response to NPP's farcical claim that the NDC had copied its Northern Development Fund, this is what the NDC had to say: "The National Democratic Congress has been more committed to the social and economic development of the North than any political party after the Nkrumah regime. To us, addressing the historical and current imbalances between the North- including the northern parts of the Brong-Ahafo and Volta Regions- and the South is an article of faith."

The NDC re-emphasised that its proposed Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) will be overseen at the Office of the President and goes to underscore the party's continued belief in the balanced and even development of every region in the country, the same commitment that inspired the NDC to send energy and massive road infrastructure to the north in addition to the establishment of the University of Development Studies.