Market Women Mob Nana

MARKET WOMEN, trotro and taxi drivers, yam and plantain sellers, street vendors and shop owners abandoned their wares and commercial activities at Dome/Kwabenya to interact with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the party’s parliamentary candidate for the area, Adwoa Safo.

Traffic at the Dome market area virtually came to a standstill as people from all walks of life lined up along the street amid jubilation Saturday morning, shaking hands with Nana Addo who had taken his nationwide ‘listening tour’ to the Dome/Kwabenya constituency.

Many of the people were full of joy to see the NPP flag-bearer face-to-face for the first time. They interacted with him and narrated their problems to him, crying out, “Nana you are our hope. You are the only one who can save us from the current economic hardship in the country.”

They promised to vote massively for Nana Addo in next year’s general elections for him to rescue them from what they described as unbearable suffering inflicted on them by the Mills administration.

Killer taxes, shortage of liquefied petroleum gas, increase in fuel prices and road tolls and high cost of living were some the of lamentations of the people who believed President Mills must be voted out of power because he had failed to deliver on his campaign promises.

According to them, the president had reneged on his political campaign pledges of reducing taxes and fuel prices, and putting money in the pockets of Ghanaians as living conditions were moving from bad to worse by the day.

“Life has become unbearable under Atta Mills. He has failed to deliver on most of his promises. He has failed to reduce taxes, fuel prices and make life easy for us. We will vote President Mills out because we are fed up with failed promises and lies,” a woman who sells rice was heard lamenting loudly to Nana Addo in Twi.

According to her, “President Kufuor made life better by reducing taxes on rice when conditions were hard”, adding, “We know things will change for the better again when Nana Addo is elected President.”

Nana Addo listened to residents at Dome, Kwabenya, Hatso and Taifa among others.

At Taifa, some taxi drivers told the NPP flag-bearer to forgive them for not listening to him during the 2008 elections.

“We did not listen to you because we thought Atta Mills was going to be our saviour and some of us voted for him. But now we cannot even get gas to fuel our cars.”

A group of traders at the Hatso yam market appealed to Nana Addo to provide them with loans to improve their businesses when elected.

They also urged him to provide affordable education to their children as they could not cope with the exorbitant school fees currently being charged.

Addressing the traders, Nana Addo reiterated his 2008 campaign pledge to provide free Senior High School (SHS) education in the country.

“I am emphasizing that education from the basic level to senior high school will be free for our people under my presidency to reduce the burden of parents ,” the NPP flag-bearer reaffirmed, pointing out that that would ensure that the nation got highly educated and informed people for the social-economic development of the country.

NPP political strategists including the party’s campaign manager, Boakye Agyarko; director of operations Lord Commey and deputy communications directors, Samuel Awuku and Mike Oquaye Jnr., were optimistic that the red carpet treatment given to their presidential aspirant throughout the country during his unannounced visits, was an ample testimony that Ghanaians were really suffering under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.

They were hopeful that the electorate would overwhelmingly endorse Nana Addo in 2012.

Nana Addo ended his tour with a thanksgiving service at the Kristo Asafo Church, Taifa, where the NPP parliamentary candidate for the Dome/Kwabenya, Adwoa Safo fellowships.

Both Adwoa Safo and Nana Addo gave thanks to God for giving them election victory in NPP, calling on the Almighty to bring them another resounding victory in the general elections.

The Dome/Kwabenya parliamentary candidate who, like Nana Addo, is a lawyer by profession, urged the congregation to vote massively for her and the NPP flag-bearer in 2012 election.

In a brief interaction with highly ecstatic worshippers waving white handkerchiefs, Nana Addo said it was only proper for him to visit the House of God, where his parliamentary candidate worships and to introduce himself to the people for their prayers and support during his visit to the area.

“I know my visit here is full of blessings,” Nana Addo noted amid loud reception of ‘Hallelujah’ from the congregation.

He entreated them to register to enable them to cast their vote for the NPP when the voter registration exercise commenced.

Source: Awudu Mahama