Filed by Muniru Ibrahim
As the year 2023 draws to an end, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper West Region is putting together its arsenals to execute a formidable campaign ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The party goes into next year’s general election with a resounding message of making Ghana’s economy to run at all times, regardless of whether it is day or night. Christened as the 24-hour Economy Policy, the flagbearer of the NDC believes it will be a game changer for the growth of the country.
The policy has however met stiff opposition from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) with some of its members describing it as an impossibility while others contend that it is not new as it is already happening.
To demystify the confusion being created in the minds of citizens, the NDC in the Upper West Region, on Saturday, 30th December, 2023, embarked on a walked dubbed “24-Hour Economy Walk” to drum home the details of the policy, and why it is the best for the future of the country.
The Walk which took place in the regional capital, Wa, saw massive attendance by members and sympathizers of the Party who walked through the principal streets of the town.
At about 6:00 am, supporters of the NDC, all eight Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Party and the three parliamentary candidates had already assembled at the Ministries Basket Ball Court to show residents of the region that the 24-Hour Economy policy put forth by the former president is feasible.
Starting from the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council, the walk went through the Insurance Road, Ieper Street and the J.J Rawlings High Street. The walk continued through other roads to the Zongo Link and back to the JJ Rawlings High Street at the Glamour junction. The walk was met with heavy traffic at this point, making it extremely difficult for pedestrians using that stretch at the time.
Addressing participants during the walk, Dr. Rashid Hassan Pelpuo, the leader of the Upper West Parliamentary Caucus and MP for the Wa Central Constituency, posited that “the 24-Hour Economy would ensure job creation to absorb the teeming unemployed youth in the country.”
He challenged supporters of the NDC to get the message about the policy to every member of the public so that they are aware of it and the hope it brings to them if the NDC is voted to take the reins of governance.
The MP for Daffiama-Bussie-Issa constituency, Dr. Sebastian Sandaari, emphasized the need for Ghana to adopt such a policy.
Abdul Nasir Saani, popularly known as Bunas, the regional chairman for the Upper West, used the occasion to call Party members to put aside their differences from the most recent internal elections and cast a sizable number of ballots for John Dramani and his parliamentary candidates, particularly in the upper west, to ensure the Party secures the agenda 11/11 they so desperately want.
He indicated that John Dramani Mahama will be able to live up to expectations and roll out the promises for the good of the country when he has numbers in the legislative house, advising Party members against voting “skirt and blouse.”
