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Vice President John Dramani Mahama, in an attempt to shore up the dwindling confidence of the people of the Volta Region in the ruling NDC government, has appealed to the people to be calm and continue to believe in the NDC. Mr Mahama made the appeal at the RTC Park in Ho on Monday when he launched the Ghana Urban Management Pilot Project (GUMPP) programme. The GUMPP programme is an urban management and development initiative to be implemented in three metropolises and one municipality. The Tamale, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis and Ho municipality are benefitting from the programme. It will be recalled that since the beginning of last year, the ruling party had been riddled with a lot of agitations, criticisms and condemnations from all parts of the country, with most of them interestingly coming from its stronghold or �World Bank�, the Volta Region. The people of the region had consistently accused the government of abandoning them after winning the elections. They also complained about the delay in establishing the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) and the Eastern Corridor Road. The chiefs of the region, at a different forum, had also expressed similar sentiments. Several Members of Parliament and Municipal and District Chief Executives also received their fair share of the criticisms, with some of the MPs losing in their bids to be re-elected. In Ho for instance, the MCE, Isaac Kodobisah, received bashing from residents due to the bad nature of the road network, while the market men and women complained bitterly about the bad state of the Ho Central Market. The traders, earlier this year, planned to demonstrate on the streets and also boycott the December elections. In the North Tongu, Kpando, Ketu South and South Dayi districts, residents have expressed misgivings about the creation of new districts, elevation of others to municipalities and exclusion of some areas from the exercise. In Nkwanta North, the residents had staged a demonstration to oust the DCE, Paul Gyato, for what they called incompetence. Several attempts and interventions of the ruling party did not yield the desired results. President John Evans Atta Mills was in the region, precisely Aflao, Battor and Juapong, about a month ago but his assurances are yet to be reconciled by the people. At the GUMPP launch, the Vice President also asked the people of the region to remain committed to the NDC government. He also appealed to the peeved market women to be calm. He noted that the government understood their frustration and that was why it had instituted the GUMPP to refurbish the Ho Central Market and transform the central district of the Ho Municipality. He said although the GUMPP project was meant for metropolitan assemblies, the NDC government had found it prudent to include Ho, a municipality. He however said the delay in the implementation of the programme was because the project was a participatory one. There was the need for the stakeholders, including the market men and women to be consulted to make it successful when implemented. He added that the launch in Ho was part of a process to make it a metropolitan assembly. He said by the time the University of Health and Allied Sciences was completed, Ho would be flooded with more people, services, businesses and organizations, qualifying it as a metropolis. He said the Eastern Corridor Road, which starts from Tema through the Volta Region to Kulungugu in the Upper East, and the Eastern Corridor Multi Modal Transport Project, should not be confused with each other. The latter seeks to improve transportation on the Volta Lake, involving the upgrade and construction of ferries, pontoons and landing sites for Kpandu/Amankwakrom, Kete Krachi-Kwadokrom, Yeji-Makongo, Tapa Aboatoase, Dzemini and the upgrade of Akosombo and Buipe Ports among others. The Volta Lake Company will also be upgraded. Vice President Mahama also appealed to Ghanaians to give the NDC government another term since previous administrations of the Fourth Republic had eight years each in order to make proper comparisons of the achievements of the governments. �If for nothing at all, let us give him eight years, so that then we have the basis for doing proper comparison with other governments. �President Rawlings got eight years, President Kufuor had eight and so President Mills also deserves eight years,� he stated. �President Mills has been in office for four years and with the work he has done he certainly deserves a second term,� he added. He added, �Recently, I was in Liberia for the inauguration of President Johnson Sirleaf and the slogan of her party was interesting and I�m sure you all know of the slogan, �Monkey dey work baboon dey chop� but President Sirleaf�s own was that �Monkey still dey work, so make baboon wait small�. NDC is the monkey and we are still working and let the chops accumulate and after that we shall invite the baboon to come and have their fair share.�