Why Ga-Damgbes must vote for NPP
By Allotey Henry Nii Kpakpo
Core Ga-Damgbes since 1992 have consistently voted for the N. D.C. While the N.P.P has had mixed fortunes in typical Ga Greater Accra, they have had a disastrous performance in Damgbe areas comprising Ada, Shai and Krobo enclaves in the Eastern Region.
This shouldn’t have been so judging from the disastrous performance of the N.D.C in Greater Accra and part of the Eastern Region were the Krobos inhabit. This article will clearly establish why Ga-Damgbes must unreservedly vote for the N.P.P and no other party.
The N.P.P has largely kept faith with the Ga-Dangbe community. The N.P.P is the only party with the capacity to enact economic policies that will develop the Ga-Dangbe communities and uplift us from the economic quagmire we find ourselves in. We have seen the 8 years rule of the N.P.P and saw the kind of economic transformation that took place in the whole of Ghana.
The N.P.P was the first government to create Ministries for Fisheries and appointed a Ga man in the person of Hon Ishmael Ashittey as its first Minister. Fishing is the core occupation of most Ga-Damgbes in Greater Accra. The fishing industry has been bedeviled with some many teething problems especially from the shortage of pre-mix fuel to the menace of pair trolling till the N.P.P created the Ministries of Fisheries to tackle the problem.
All Ga-Damgbes can testify that the creation of that Ministry greatly minimized these problems and most Ga-Damgbe fishermen were lifted from poverty. Unfortunately, the N.D.C quashed the Ministry of Fisheries and introduced a spurious Ministry of Aquaculture in which John Mahama appointed his fellow Gonja Man as the Minister thereby insulting all Ga-Damgbes!
The N.P.P has shown much love and respect to Ga-Dangbes who identify with their political party. The N.P.P is the first political party to make it a policy to reserve all coastal seats to indigenous Ga-Dangbes. Even though this policy has not been implemented 100% due to other interest groups, the thought of the N.P.P coming out with such an idea is laudable and shows their love and respect to Ga-Dangbes.
The N.D.C on the other hand has fiercely promoted non-indigenes especially Ewes to battle Ga-Damgbes in typical Ga-Damgbe constituencies. In Teshie, the N.D.C promoted an Ewe woman in the person of Sena Golomeke to wrestle the seat from a Ga man Hon Nii Nortey Duah despite the overwhelming fact that Teshie is a typical Ga enclave.
In Bortiano-Engleshie-Amanfrom, the N.D.C disqualified all the Ga aspirants and reserved the seat for the Ewe man. This clearly shows that it is only the N.P.P that will promote the interest of Ga-Damgbes when voted to power.
It is also gratifying to note that out of five National Party Chairmen elected since 92, the N.P.P has given Ga-Dangbes two in the persons of Samuel Odoi Sykes and Jake Obetsebi Lamptey all of blessed memory. No political party has brought such honor to Ga-Dangbes in the history of political activism in Ghana.
The love the N.P.P has for Ga-Dangbes ensured that these high ranking personalities who got elected to the Chairmanship position of the N.P.P were neither discriminated against nor sidelined. They serve their term in full and the party rewarded them with much gratitude.
We also witnessed the unprecedented elevation of Ga-Dangbes during the reign of President Kuffour. President Kuffour first honored Ga-Dangbes by appointing Jake Obetsebi Lamptey as his campaign manager during the 2000 election. After the victory of the N.P.P, President Kuffour further elevated Jake by appointing him as his Minister for Presidential Affairs; a position synonymous with Chief of Staff in his administration and further reshuffling him to other Ministries of importance.
Apart from Jake, several Ga-Dangbes were given positions of responsibilities in the N.P.P government. Notable among them were Hon Nii Ayikoi Otoo who served as Attorney General, Hon Ishmael Ashittey who served as Minister for Fisheries, Hon Dr. Norley Ashittey who served as Deputy Health Minister, Hon Cecilia Bannerman who served as Minister for Mines, Prof Mike Ocquaye who served as Minister for environment, science and technology, Hon Charles Omar Nyannor who was appointed as Minister for Private Sector development, Madam Oboshie Sai Coffie as Minister for information and national orientation, Gloria Akuffo as Minister for Aviation and lots of others that for time constraint cannot be listed here.
Another honor President Kuffour did for the Ga-Dangbe community was by appointing two females of Ga-Dangbe extraction to positions of trust before he stepped down. These were Her Ladyship Theodora Georgina Wood as Chief Justice and Mrs Patience Mills Robertson as Inspector General of Police. These appointments brought much joy to Ga-Dangbes and further cemented our opinion that the N.P.P has Ga-Dangbes at heart.
The greatest honour that was done to all Ga-Dangbes was the nomination and subsequent approval of Right Honourable Peter Ala Adjetey as Speaker of Parliament; the third most powerful person in our governance. On several occasions the Right Honourable Peter Ala Adjetey served as President when President Kuffour and his vice were away on official duties.
Ga-Damgbes must not forget that the wife of the Presidential candidate of the N.P.P Nana Addo is a typical Ga-Damgbe from Osu and Ningo. What this means is that if Nana Addo gets elected as President, we are going to have a Ga-Damgbe woman in the Flagstaff house as First Lady!!
Can we imagine the benefits that will accrue to our interests when we have a listening Ga-Damgbe First lady in the Flagstaff house?? This honor is unprecedented and we must not let it pass. If John Mahama can ask the people of Brong Ahafo Region to vote for him because Lordina Mahama comes from the Region, why shouldn’t Ga-Damgbes also vote for Nana Addo since his wife is also from Greater Accra? We must vote for one of our own!
These and many others are the reasons why all Ga-Damgbes must unreservedly vote for Nana Addo and break the N.D.Cs hold in our community.
My next article will focus on why Ga-Damgbes must strongly reject the N.D.C!
kpakpogh@yahoo.com, 0243-370764
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