NDC Goons Burn Gov�t Vehicles

Information reaching Daily Guide indicates that hundreds of youth of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Kpassa in the Nkwanta North District of the Volta Region took to the streets in a demonstration against the retention of the District Chief Executive, (DCE) for the area, Paul Levin Gyato. Unconfirmed report said the rampaging NDC youth also destroyed six government vehicles. According to Daily Guide sources in the area, the youth who numbered over 500 took to the streets yesterday afternoon around 1:30 pm and proceeded to the office of the Nkwanta District Assembly and vandalized the vehicles. In all, four pick-ups were set ablaze, while two others believed to belong to the BNI in the area were also vandalized. Workers at the Assembly including a BNI officer were seen running helter-skelter as the rampaging youth stormed there. The action of the fuming NDC youth was precipitated by information they allegedly received from their sources in the government that DCE Paul Levin Gyato had been detained. This was also confirmed by a news item the youth claimed to have heard on an Accra-based television station. According to the youth, the DCE had for the past four years been excellent in nothing except for his alarming trait of incompetence. As a result, his retention would only spell doom for the people of the area, by deepening their level of underdevelopment and further depleting the already sunken fortunes of the NDC. The youth led by some executives of the NDC in the area had intended to destroy the office of the DCE but rescinded their decision on second thought. According to one of them who spoke on anonymity, they did not want to give room for the DCE to continue to reign because they claimed he was responsible for some missing documents or valuable items. They therefore destroyed the louver blades and other minor fittings. No arrest was made when security agents were deployed. Two constituency executives who confirmed the incident noted that, �it is not our intention to destroy the cars and the assembly�s property, but we only wanted government to hear our message.� They added that �the fact on the ground is that the people do not want him and the party members whose government is in power do not want him.� The irate NDC youth have already sent many letters and petitions to the Regional Secretariat of the party, the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, the Regional Minister, the National Secretariat of the NDC and Presidency. Yet their plea of dismissing the DCE had not been adhered to. Instead, they have been asked to remain calm and patient until the tenure of the Paul Gyato ended so that he would be made to hand over. However, the promise was not fulfilled as he has rather been retained. They stressed that �we are not happy�.our government is not listening to us.� Meanwhile, sources on the ground said six soldiers are guarding the District Assembly.