NDC TO STRENGHEN HOUSE-TO-HOUSE CAMPAIGN (Page 15)

George Ernest Asare, Kumasi

THE opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has expressed its determination to strengthen and sustain its house-to-house political campaign initiated by its flag bearer, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, as part of its marketing strategy to win more sympathetic votes during the 2008 general election.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mr Daniel Ohene-Agyekum, who made this known, said Professor Mills would visit the Kumasi metropolis and its environs in the course of the month to interact with the leadership of the party and carry his campaign strategy a bit further.
He said since the youth constituted the bulk of the electorate, they were the main target group of the party, saying that with the house-to-house campaign, “we will be able to reach out to them and explain our philosophy to them in a more appropriate way for them to appreciate the need to give us their mandate to manage the affairs of the state through the 2008 general election”.
He told the Daily Graphic why the party had intensified the house-to-house campaign, instead of organising rallies in the run up to the 2008 general election.
Mr Ohene-Agyekum said the latest initiative by Professor Mills was yielding fruitful results “because unlike rallies, where the leadership does not spend much time to explain the party’s vision and philosophy to its sympathisers, we are able to do so during the house-to-house campaigns and we are now winning more youth to our side”.
He said since no election was won on a silver platter, the NDC was encouraging its youth wing to work very hard to turn things around for it to win next year’s elections convincingly.
“The youth have the strength and muscle to move from town to town and village to village to make the house-to- house campaign more forceful and fruitful,” Mr Ohene-Agyekum said.
He said the youth should be able to mobilise the people to support the cause of the NDC and explain to them why it was a better choice than any other party to govern the country.
He said with the positive interaction the party members had had with the electorate, “they will better understand the need to give their mandate to us”.
“We are not going to wait until the last minute for us to organise rallies because some of them do not get the message right and appreciate our concerns and philosophies. But with this, we are getting right to the people to make victory certain,” Mr Ohene-Agyekum said.
He said the NDC was certain of victory because of the prevailing conditions in the country.
“The prevailing circumstances under which majority of Ghanaians find themselves today, especially the massive corruption, extreme hardship and the high poverty levels, are such that if we work hard and all the other wings of the party, like the Youth and Women’s wings, play their roles well, it is likely that we will emerge victorious,” he said.
He said Professor Mills had set the ball rolling with the house-to-house campaign so the onus lay on all party faithful to begin to reach out to the people and explain the party’s philosophies to them.
“We are a party that cares for the generality of the people, not a party that lays emphasis on the acquisition of wealth, so we deserve to be re-elected to power next year,” the regional chairman intimated.