Ho, Oct. 23, GNA - Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Wednesday said sections of the public who thought the Party was prejudiced against them had now disabused their minds of such fears after three years rule.

He said consequently, the NPP expects a swing in the voting patterns in such areas including the Zongos and certain traditional areas to improve the overall performance of the Party in the 2004 elections.

Mr Botwe who was briefing the media in Ho during a Capacity Building workshop for the Party's Volta Regional and Constituency Officers in Ho, said there was no evidence that government was anti alien nor did it deny any area of development projects for not supporting it.

He said the Party had continually revised its strategies based on scientific analysis of the situation on the ground and with the myth around the main opposition party the National Democratic Congress (NDC) broken in the 2000 elections the NPP is expected to sweep the polls next year.

"In the past the NPP had been intimidated, but we stood the storm and with the level playing ground now it would do better," Mr Botwe said. The NPP General Secretary said the winning trend of the Party in the six by-elections were testimonies to the changing inclinations in politics in Ghana, which is an inkling of what would happen in 2004.

He said it was not true that the Party was preoccupied with settling internal squabbles and discriminating against new people joining the Party, saying, more and more people are taking membership cards everyday.

Mr Botwe conceded, however, that there could be pockets of people with the idea that having supported or worked for the Party for some time they should be rewarded.

He said the task the Party had set itself was to educate those people on governance, adding that, the NPP style was that of inclusion of all but not that of exclusion.

On corruption, Mr Botwe said President John Agyekum Kufuor's declaration of zero tolerance for corruption was not a pretence and that the government had not been cited anywhere for wilfully condoning underhand dealings of any kind.

He said government was not enthused about the level of corruption in the country and would not come the way of any institution charged to tackle it and its objectives.

Mr Botwe said the canker was a societal one, which is reflected in people's perception and the value system and must be fought by all. He said the Party intended to be transparent in totality in organising its Primaries and would not impose candidates on any constituency.

Mr Kenwood Nuworsu, Volta Regional Chairman of the NPP said the 2004 elections were going to be a "fight of our lives" in the Volta Region.

He said the NPP strategy was not only looking at ways to battle NDC but was looking at the Convention People's Party's (CPP) as well.