Bismarck Tawiah Boateng, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has confessed that it is difficult to be in opposition, especially as a party executive.

“We have now seen how opposition is hard; being in it is not easy at all; it’s causing us a lot of stress,” Mr Tawiah Boateng cried.

This is in sharp contrast with what a former NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Akwatia, Ahmed Mohammed Baba Jamal, said some few weeks ago in a radio interview.

Baba Jamal said that being in opposition relieves one of all the stress associated with governance in the country. “Being in opposition is very sweet [because] there is less stress; you sleep and wake up anytime you want and people don’t speak anyhow to you,” he posited.

But the regional chairman, who has asked President Akufo-Addo to arrest and prosecute the NDC corrupt officials, is completely averse to Baba Jamal’s claim.

Mr. Boateng, who was delivering a goodwill message at the Eastern Regional 2017 New Patriotic Party (NPP) annual delegates’ conference in Koforidua on Wednesday, confessed, “When you are in opposition, you are always inundated by a series of calls to handle a number of issues and the pressure on you is so intense that it can even affect the planning of your life.”

He indicated that his assertion was in line with former President Kufuor’s entreaty to the New Patriotic Party that “It is better to be a messenger in a ruling government than a general secretary in an opposition party.”

Mr. Tawiah, who is facing a stiff contest with the NDC regional secretary, pleaded with the many appointees from the region to help develop the region.

He admonished them not to let the president down, stressing, “The president has confidence in you, that is why he has given several appointments to people coming from the Eastern Region. Do not let him down. We wish you well and pray that you help the president to succeed and to develop the region because we shall all be the beneficiaries.”

Conference

The regional delegates’ conference was attended by several bigwigs of the NPP all of who called on the government appointees not to feel disturbed by calls on them by party people but give them listening ears.

The National Youth Organizer, Mr. Sammy Awuku, told the appointees not to hide behind certificates to deny party people opportunities since the party didn’t ask for their certificates when they were needed to work during the campaign period. “Not every work needs certificate, get our people there,” he charged.

The NPP Regional Secretary, Prince Aboagye, who gave account of the performance of the party in the region, said during the 2016 elections the party increased its percentage votes from 56.91% to 63.38%.

He expressed his gratitude to the NDC for gingering the NPP activists on to work extra hard. “We worked extra hard for this because of the NDC’s ‘50/50 kyem p? agenda’ they launched in the region.”

He then led the party to come out with the region’s proposals to the party’s constitutional review currently ongoing, which is expected to be promulgated at the National Delegates’ Conference to be held in Cape Coast, Central Region, in August this year.

John Boadu

The Acting General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, said he had been receiving all the proposals from the various regions and would soon compile them and send them back to the constituencies for their perusal before promulgating the constitution.

Mr John Boadu tasked the various constituency and regional executives to send timely reports on appointees to the national office so that the party would know the contributions that the appointees are making at the constituency and regional levels.

He added that the party was going through a lot of reforms and that very soon party faithful would see the results.

“The party is only six months in government. Every single party person will be sorted. Do not join the NDC in talking down the government as if it is already collapsing,” the Acting General Secretary admonished.