The rapturous welcome accorded to the wife of the NPP's Vice-Presidential candidate, Mrs. Samira Bawumia, and her campaign team when she visited Agona Swedru and Cape Coast at the weekend has confirmed the popularity of the party and of the youthful Second Lady-In-Waiting.

Addressing a mammoth rally of the youth at the Chapel Square Park in Cape Coast Municipality, Mrs. Bawumia told the enthusiastic crowd that Ghana has reached a critical stage in her socio-economic paradigm and that the youth have an vital role in ensuring the right choice in the December polls, stating:

"Either you put your destiny in the hands of the NDC, who have proved to be incompetent and visionless, or you vote for Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the best team ever to move Ghana forward."

The wife of Dr. Bawumia lamented the fact that former leaders of this nation failed to undertake projects to accelerate Ghana's socio-economic development. She praised the Kufuor-led administration for delivering the growth of Ghana's GDP from $4bn to $16bn in the 7 years of the NPP rule, and urged Ghanaians to vote en masse for Nana Addo and all NPP parliamentary candidates to sustain the nation's development.

The Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Mr. Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, stated that Ghana had undergone positive changes in the first two terms of the NPP as a result of developmental policies and programmes underpinned by prudent, sound and productive management of the national economy.

The task ahead, he explained, is to transform the nation's economy, modernise our society, create more employment avenues for the teeming youth and offer prosperity for all Ghanaians, for which Nana Akufo-Addo has an effective and achievable blueprint.

Examined within a historical perspective, Mr. Otchere Darko observed that, comparatively, the NPP's performance in social, political, infrastructural and economic terms outweighs that of all previous political parties that have had the chance to rule Ghana.

Highlighting the NDC's dismal record of under-development, intimidation, corruption and mediocre performance over 20 years in power, Gabby entreated Ghanaians not to give the NDC another chance to mismanage the economy and take Ghana backwards instead of forwards.

"This year's election is a straight fight between the NDC and the NPP. A fight between mediocrity and proven-performers, between visionary and competent leadership and mediocrity", Mr. Otchere-Darko declared.

To illustrate this, he referred to the NDC's record of increasing access to potable water by just 12% over two decades in power, whilst the NPP in less than half the time has boosted it by more than the NDC could achieve (14%), so that today a majority of Ghanaians (54%) have access to safe, drinkable water.

Before the NPP assumed office in 2001 Mr. Otchere-Darko stressed that Ghana's economy was at a stand still and banks and their branches in the country totaled less that 2000. But under the NPP's management Ghana now has over 600 bank branches with banks now chasing Ghanaians to give out loans for business expansion and other investments.

Gabby explained that this successful economic management is what enables the government to pursue social policies like the NHIS and free education. According to him, Nana Akufo-Addo has the future of Ghana at heart and has placed education as one of his topmost priorities in order to develop our human resource base and engender accelerated development.

With the rate at which Ghana's economy is growing he predicted that Ghana could attain Middle Income Status by 2012 ahead of the 2015 target – and 8 years ahead of the plans outlined in the NDC's 'Vision 2020'.

Addressing the crowds, Hon. Kennedy Agyapong tasked the NDC to look at the facts on the ground, because the evidence shows the inaccuracy of what they have been saying about the NPP's record. As a result, he expressed his belief that the NDC will suffer one of the most humiliating defeats any political party has ever experienced in Ghana's history in the December polls.

Hon. Agyapong prayed that Ghanaians take time to compare the records of all the competing parties in December and vote for the proven-performer. He was joined at the rally were Mrs. Mary Adu-Boahene, Abu Jinapor and many leading executives of NPP in the Central region.