Upper West NDC MPs condemns youth employment programme

All the seven Upper West NDC members of parliament on Tuesday accused the government of using the Youth in Employment Programme to create jobs for only members of the NPP and other party sympathizers. "It is nothing short of an NPP youth recruitment drive.

If one does not bear an NPP card and is not ready to register as a member of the party, one is automatically disqualified from obtaining employment under the programme". Mr. Edward Salia, Member of Parliament for Jirapa, announced these at Wa during an NDC News conference organized to climax their five-day tour of all the 10 constituencies of the Upper Western Region.




The Members who were at the conference included; Alban Bagbin, Minority leader, Mathias Puozah, Nadowli East, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Wa West, Rashid Pelpuo, Wa Central, Benjamin Kumbour, Lawra/Nandom, Edward Salia, Jirapa and Mrs. Alice Boon, Jirapa. Mr. Salia, who is also the chairman of the Upper West Parliamentary caucus said come 2008, Ghanaians were going to return their votes to the NDC after having gone through myriads of hardships under the NPP regime.




He said their studies on the ground proved that Ghanaians were bent on returning NDC to power because of the leadership qualities they saw in Professor John Atta-Mills and urged all party loyalists to keep campaigning so as to win more members for the 2008 general elections.




"Upper Westerners have only one request: that we salvage them from neglect, discrimination and suffering" He added The caucus chairman also accused the NPP government of not doing enough for a smooth pilgrimage for Muslims in the country and called on the President and the Vice President to apologize to all pilgrims and Ghanaians in general, adding that, it was only the NDC leadership that visited the stranded pilgrims at the Kotoka International Airport.





On the Millenium Challenge Account, the MPs said it was a testimony to the fact that the NPP government had neglected the North by not including the Upper East and West Regions in the programme. The NDC members also criticized the government for not speeding up the rural electrification programme in the Region.



'The NDC is worried about the neglect of the rural electrification programme." The News conference was also attended by regional and constituency executive members, and other loyal members of the party.GNA