�Ya Ye Den?� Demo: Why Not Volta Region? � Harry Zakkour Asks NPP

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Constituency Chairman for Korle Klottey, in the Greater Accra Region, has described the opposition New Patriotic Party�s recent demonstration against government in Kumasi as the case of a lizard praising itself after a loud fall. In reaction to the so-called �Ya ye den?� demonstration, which saw thousands of the party�s supporters stampeding the streets of Kumasi, capital of the party�s stronghold region, Mr. Harry Zakkour mocked the NPP with a simple question. �Why is it that of all places in the country, it is in Kumasi, where everybody knows is your stronghold that you hold the demonstration? Why not in the Volta Region?� He asked in a telephoned conversation with the Enquirer yesterday. Volta Region is the ruling party�s stronghold, which even though smaller in size, compare to Kumasi, which is the NPP�s stronghold, continues to be the source of the winsomeness of the NDC, which has won four out of six elections in the fourth republic. Mr. Zakkour, who said he was not surprised by the huge number of the party�s supporters who turned out for the demonstration, said the numbers would have meant something if the party had been courageous enough to stage the demonstration in any part of the country and succeeded in getting people to follow the propaganda. �It would have been a huge scare if we, for instance had a situation where the demonstration had come on in Ho, and such a huge number of people poured out but that would not happen in any other region because Ghanaians know that where the nation is now is not the cause of the government, it is a global situation.� The NDC Chairman, who was very dismissive of the demonstration, said Ghanaians would never be fooled by the empty propaganda of the opposition. He pointed out that the very things that the NPP went to scream about in Kumasi were the very things that they deliberately missed the opportunity to contribute solutions towards when they refused to attend the just past national Economic Forum. �It seems propaganda has made out opponents delusional; how can you be roaming about the streets crying of problems in town and when you are invited to come and share ideas about how to solve the problem, you refuse and then turn round to shout about the same problems? That is open mischief.� Mr. Zakkour said. Even so, he said, most of the problems that the NPP went to scream about in Kumasi were created by them themselves. �High fuel prices in Ghana at the moment are as a result of the deregulation prescription that President Kufour accepted from abroad in 2001,� he contended, adding �if the cedi is rapidly depreciating, it is a telling sign on the artificialness of the hurriedly organized redenomination of the cedi in 2007, which came about the all the structural problems of the economy, including over importation and little exportation, were still around. Mr. Zakkour even pointed out that the demonstration was a goalpost shifting business, because in the beginning, the NPP in Kumasi had told Ghanaians that they were going to demonstrate against hardships, especially unstable electricity I the Ashanti Region, but the party ended up shouting in the name of the whole of Ghana when nobody had asked them to speak. �That�s why I ask why they could not plunk the courage to demonstrate in Volta Region,� Mr. Zakkour reiterated. In any case, he said, every levelheaded Ghanaian was aware that all the problems that the party complained about were being attended to. Every Ghanaian, he said, was aware that government had not gone to sleep on the problem. �One of the efforts that government has made was the organization of National Economic Forum which the NPP refused to attend,� he said.