General News of Thursday, 24 November 2005

Source: Ghanaian Chronicle

Our government is impotent -Effah Dartey

A special committee set up by the Ahafo Patriotic Caucus (BAPAC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has regretted government?s impotence in dealing with NDC sympathizers in some public institutions who exhibit open bias against the ruling party.

The committee, chaired by Deputy Interior Minister and Member of Parliament for Berekum, Nkrabea Effah Dartey lamented in the report that the NPP government with all the state machinery at its disposal could not deal ruthlessly with officers of the police service as well as officials of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) for showing open bias and spreading false propaganda against the party.

? It is a big shame that we in the NPP are in power, holding the machinery of government and yet seem impotent in dealing with government officials.

Policemen show open bias against NPP boys and we do nothing: NCCE chaps go round the villages spreading false propaganda about NPP and we do nothing: Electoral Commission (EC) is packed with several NDC sympathizers and we cannot even transfer them or handle them. Regrettably it is as if we are a party in opposition,? the report said.

The report also identified issues such as unfulfilled promises by the NPP government including job creation and loans to women during the 2000 elections.

? It is very painful, but the reality is that the people we voted for us to enable us form a government are completely disillusioned, no jobs as we promised and even to our women whom we promised loans, it has not been forth coming,? he said.

BAPAC is a pressure group of NPP members who hail from the Brong Ahafo region and are resident in Accra. They set up the committee to investigate the cause of the NPP?s poor performance in the region in the 2004 elections.

Captain Effah Dartey declined to comment on the report when contacted.