The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says his policy of helping to set up a factory in each of the districts in the country when, God-willing, he wins the December 7 elections will halt the migration of youth from the North to the South in search of non-existent jobs.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the 1-District-1-Factory will ensure that each district in the North will be its own growth pole and area of wealth creation, “so that in every area there is an activity ongoing which will engage them and improve their living circumstances.”
The NPP flagbearer made this known on Tuesday, November 22, 2016, when he addressed a mammoth rally of tens and tens of thousands of people at the NPP’s Northern Regional Rally, at the Tamale Jubilee Park.
Nana Akufo-Addo indicated that the NPP’s policy for the Northern Region will be hinged on “improving agriculture in the Northern Region, with agro-industrial business being the predominant business in the region, which will create thousands of jobs for the young people of the region.”
This, he added, will mean that “it is no longer going to be necessary for young men and women of the North to go down the South to look for non-existent jobs. We are going to help create jobs right here for the people so that they can stay right here in the North and make their life here. That is why we are going to implement the 1-District-1-Factory policy.”
Outlining some of the other policies for the development of the region, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment towards the establishment of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP), which will see every constituency receiving the equivalent of $1 million every year to deal with problems of sanitation, roads, electricity and other infrastructural needs of the constituency.
The NHIS, which he said has collapsed under the leadership of President Mahama, “will receive new life and strength under an Akufo-Addo government, so we can provide healthcare that is affordable and accessible for all Ghanaians”. In this regard, Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to restore the nursing training allowances in full when he wins the December 7 elections.
The Free SHS policy, he added, will be effectively implemented because “we are determined to secure the future of our country”. This policy, in addition, will reduce the financial burden of parents who want to provide their children with a good education.
“Apart from education of the children, we are going to revive, in full, adult education so that adults who did not have the opportunity to go to school will also benefit from knowledge and education. We want to have a nation where everybody can improve on their lives and circumstances. That is what we are fighting for, and that is why we are going to restore the allowances for teacher trainees,” he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo assured the tens of thousands gathered that the NPP has the men and women with the “capacity, imagination and competence” to bring into fruition all the plans he has espoused for the region.
“If you put your trust in me, and I say so in all solemnity before you at this Jubilee Park in Tamale, I will never disappoint you. I will never let you down, and I will never turn my back on you. I am going to do all in my power to bring into fruition this vision of progress and prosperity that will bind us all”, he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo noted that the one region for which the NPP’s votes have appreciated in every election is the Northern Region, evident in the party increasing its parliamentary seats it hold in the region from 3 in 2008 to 10 in 2012.
This, he stressed, is indicative of the fact that the party’s target of receiving at least 50% of the popular vote and the majority of parliamentary seats in the region is well within reach.
“I have come here to the people of the Northern Region to ask for your support. The Northern Region is the one region in this country, in every election, that the NPP’s position improves. We began with 25% in 2000 and we have gotten to 40% in 2012. I am praying that, by the grace of the Almighty, we are going to get at least 50% of the popular vote and the majority of the parliamentary seats,” he said.
He, thus, urged all eligible voters in the region to vote massively for the NPP, appealing that “let nobody say we have already won this election. Everybody, on 7th December, when you get up, take your card and go and cast your vote. If you want change, you have to vote for change.”
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