The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, brought business, commercial and vehicular activity to a complete standstill in the Odododiodioo constituency, on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, when he resumed his tour of the Greater Accra Region.
With visits to Old Fadama, Agbogbloshie, Okaishie, Kantamanto and Bukom, Nana Akufo-Addo was met by thousands and thousands of market women, business owners and their patrons who lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the NPP flagbearer.
Amidst chants of “Nana oo Nana”, “y?resesamu”, “afi yi y? wa fi”, market women abandoned their wares, business owners came out of their shops, whilst commercial drivers parked their vehicles, all eager to listen to Nana Akufo-Addo’s message of hope ahead of the conduct of this year’s election.
In the company of the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Nii Lante Bannerman, as well as regional and national party stalwarts, Nana Akufo-Addo, addressing market women at Agbogbloshie, noted that Ghana and Ghanaians have become too miserable, under the leadership of President Mahama.
According to him, it was inexplicable that Ghana, a nation blessed with an abundance of human and natural resources, is drenched in poverty, leading many to lose hope in the ability of the country to offer them a decent standard of living.
In spite of this, he urged the thousands gathered to have hope in the fact a government is on its way coming, God-willing from 2017, which will bring development, progress and prosperity to every corner of the country without discrimination.
“As is stipulated by law, the time has come, this year, for us to vote and decide who leads us. Let us use the power of our thumbs to change Ghana and bring in a government that can change our circumstances, and bring relief, progress and prosperity to all,” he added
At Kantamanto, the capital’s retail hub for used clothing, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that “there are too many taxes in our country”, adding that “it is the reason why businesses are collapsing in our country. We are coming into office to reduce these killer taxes, and scrap the ones we deem unnecessary. This will help bring relief to business owners, who can then, in turn, create jobs for our unemployed youth.”
He assured business owners and traders of the NPP’s commitment, as stipulated in the party’s 2016 manifesto, of the reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) for micro and small enterprises from the current 17.5% to the 3% Flat Rate VAT, introduced by the NPP.
In addition to this, the NPP flagbearer assured traders of the reduction of port clearing charges, reiterating his commitment towards ensuring that the private sector regains its pride of place in Ghana’s economic setup, God-willing, from 2017, when he wins this year’s elections.
En route to Bukom Square, Nana Akufo-Addo made a whistle stop at Okaishie, where he was, again, mobbed by thousands of business owners, traders and residents.
Fishing Harbour at Jamestown
The NPP flagbearer’s last port of call in the Odododiodioo constituency was Bukom Square, where thousands of residents and NPP members and sympathisers had gathered.
Nana Akufo-Addo, who was born in Swalaba, a few hundred metres from Bukom square, reiterated the NPP’s commitment of continuing with the programme of building landing sites and storage facilities, along major coastal communities across Ghana. One of such communities to benefit from these facilities, he assured, will be Jamestown.
In collaboration with the private sector, the NPP flagbearer pledged that his government, from January 2017, will construct a new harbour also at Jamestown – a fishing community which was once famed for being a major harbour city. Having been born in the area, Akufo-Addo told the gathering that he knew about the importance of establishing the harbour in Jamestown
With the NPP aiming at securing a decisive majority in the popular vote, as well as securing the majority of parliamentary seats, Nana Akufo-Addo appealed to NPP members and residents of Odododiodioo to rally behind the party’s parliamentary candidate, Nii Lante Bannerman.
The NPP flagbearer prior to and after touring Odododiodioo made brief campaign visits to Mamprobi in Ablekuma South , and Shiabu in Ablekuma West, eliciting the support of residents for the NPP and its parliamentary candidates, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, and Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, respectively.
At Shiabu, Nana Akufo-Addo urged all NPP supporters in Ablekuma West to rally behind Hon. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, and ignore calls for ‘skirt and blouse’ voting, recounting his own experience in 1998 when he fully supported then candidate John Agyekum Kufuor to enable the NPP win the 2000 elections.
“A true NPP member always accepts the decision of the party’s Electoral College. When it’s your turn, the party will reward you. That is why I am also here today as flagbearer of the NPP. So those trumpeting ‘skirt and blouse’ should stop, and rather, help Ursula Owusu and return her to Parliament. The NPP has only one candidate in Ablekuma West, and she is Ursula Owusu,” he said.