IEA Platform A “Serious Joke” – Ayariga’s APC

The All People’s Congress (APC), has described the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) platform, as a serious joke, and irrelevant to the Ghanaian electorate.

A statement signed by APC’s General Secretary, Razak Kojo Opoku, said: “The platform of the IEA for the Presidential Candidates and Vice-Presidential Candidates has totally become irrelevant to the Ghanaian electorate”.

“The Board and Management of IEA are very confused. IEA now has “IEA EVENING ENCOUNTER” for Parties with Representation in Parliament and “IEA CONVERSATION” for Parties without Parliament Representation.”

According to the APC, there are disparities in rooms allocated to parties with and without representation in Parliament, stating that: “Presidential Candidates for NPP, CPP & PNC are being hosted in a much respected conference room with Air Condition whereas Presidential Candidates for Parties without Representation in Parliament are hosted in a much disrespectful venue precisely IEA Garden full of mosquitoes”.

This partiality, the APC argued was demonstrated on Wednesday night, when the IEA, hosted Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (NDP 2016 Presidential Candidate).

“All People’s Congress (APC) is a very serious Registered Political Party with structure bigger than the IEA, and we SHALL NEVER authorize our Noble Leader and 2016 Presidential Candidate to participate in the bogus 2016 Presidential Debate organized by the worthless IEA,” the statement added.

“The IEA Platform is too tiny to Dr. Hassan Ayariga to market himself as well as project the policies and programmes of APC to the Ghanaian Voters”.

Taking her turn at the IEA’s Conversation with presidential nominees whose parties have no representation in parliament, Mrs. Rawlings said, salt was “a major active ingredient for the oil sector”, whose production the country could concentrate efforts on to create prosperity.

For this reason, the NDP, will devote greater attention to the production and export of salt to bring “enormous wealth and revenue” to the country, Mrs. Rawlings has said.

To realise this, the former First Lady, said in the event of her victory at the polls, her government would set up industries in each of Ghana’s coastal regions to industrially produce the mineral, which could then be exported.

“We in the NDP are looking at setting up four factories along the coast – one in the Volta Region, one in the Greater Accra Region, another in the Central Region, and one in the Western Region – to produce massive amounts of salt,” she disclosed.

According to her, the industries that will be set up will be “first class” and offer attractive packaging to give an “excellent exportable product and at the same time create jobs for Ghanaians”.

Beyond salt from sea water, the wife of former President Jerry Rawlings and founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement said her administration would target rock salt, which would be exported to oil-producing states which heavily rely on salt for their oilfields

“The National Democratic Party sees the opportunity for Ghana to increase its revenue base through the export of rock salt to oil-producing countries if nowhere else, at least for Africa. A developed salt industry can earn Ghana more than gold is earning us today,” Mrs Rawlings stated.