VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAR #0617 1301329
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD902BDD MSI8191-695)
P 091329Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6493
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
SIPDIS

UNCLAS ACCRA 000617 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
PGOV, ECON, SNAR, PREL, PINR GH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON GH
SUBJECT: NDC OPENS 2008 CAMPAIGN: JOBS AND A DAY OF JOHNS 
 
 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: Ghana's main opposition party, the National 
Democratic Congress (NDC), on May 7 opened its 2008 campaign 
with a populist message of jobs, economic improvement, and an 
end to government corruption. Presidential candidate John 
Atta Mills officially introduced his running mate, Northern 
Region MP John Dramani Mahama. Mills pledged to end 
profligate public sector spending, and to confront Ghana's 
growing role as a transphipment point for illegal drugs. The 
NDC is running under the slogan "A Better Ghana: Investing in 
People, Jobs and the Economy." END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) Speaking to a standing room audience of party faithful 
at the National Theatre on May 7, NDC Presidential Candidate 
John Atta Mills unveiled his party's 2008 election platform 
under the theme of "A Better Ghana: Investing in People, Jobs 
and the Economy." Mills outlined four thematic points that 
will be the party's message: 1) investing in people, 2) a 
strong economy, with more jobs, 3) investment in 
infrastructure, and 4) transparent, honest government. 
Speaking through an Akan proverb, Mills said "you provide 
basic needs first," and referenced the new presidential 
palace and jet as examples of profligate spending by the New 
Patriotic Party (NPP) government. He said that a NDC 
government would improve the economy, rekindle national 
spirit, champion the middle classes, and reunite the nation. 
Mills reminisced about his humble origins as the son of a 
school teacher and a petty trader, saying he "wasn't born 
with a silver spoon in his mouth." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Mills said that Ghana needed to "redeem its image as 
a drug trading center," and pledged that he would not allow 
Ghana to be "a wholly owned subsidary of drug violence" -- 
lines that brought an ovation from the party faithful 
(COMMENT: Ghana's rise as a center for narcotics shipments 
has a political dimension, with one NPP parliamentarian 
serving time in a U.S. prison for smuggling, and at least two 
other MPs believed to be involved in drug trafficking. While 
this is a message the USG certainly wants to hear, Mills' 
remark is also a reminder to the public of a NPP weakness. 
END COMMENT). 
 
¶4. (U) Mills, in the Ghanaian political vernacular, 
"outdoored" his running mate, officially introducing John 
Dramani Mahama. Mahama, a former Minister of Communications 
and a current MP from the Northern Region, is popular with 
the party, and should be an effective campaigner. Mahama 
called on NDC supporters to focus on the issues and run a 
clean campaign, so that the results of voting show "an exact 
mandate." He pledged that the NDC would bring about lasting 
solutions to conflicts in the north, most of which resolve 
around chieftancy disputes. He appealed to the people of 
Bawku, scene of street violence earlier in the week, "to lay 
down their arms and give peace a chance." 
 
¶5. (U) Warming up the crowd for the candidates, Party General 
Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia called on President Kufour to 
fully fund the Electoral Commission. Noting that a 
supplemental budget had not been passed by Parliament to 
cover a projected $20 million funding shortfall. Nketia said 
that the Government had either not provided the funds, or not 
provided them in a constituional manner. Ensuring a fair 
election was theme of all the main speakers. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: Mills' message of economic populism should 
play well with voters hit hard by rising prices and inadquate 
infrastructure. Accra continues to experience water and 
electricity shortages that disrupt the daily lives of 
citizens. Food and fuel prices also continue to climb weekly. 
There is also a level of public frustration with increasing 
levels of corruption and crime, and the issue of the drug 
trade hit a strong cord with party members. The NDC's concern 
about funding for the Electoral Commission is shared by many 
observers, although President Kufour announced earlier this 
week that the EC would be fully funded. END COMMENT. 
BRIDGEWATER