Panic waves have been sweeping through the rank and file of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) following the gathering of over five hundred NDC Social Media Commentators, at Cape Coast last Saturday. The objective of the grand gathering made up of representatives from across the country was to enable participants know each other, fraternize, and strategize on ways to diffuse and counter the vile false propaganda of the NPP while telling the unsung success story of the Mahama administration and the NDC.
Such was the NPP?s panic that even as the meeting was on-going, NPP communicators on social media such as facebook, whatsapp, vibre, etc were actively churning out various falsehoods obviously aimed at both denting the credibility of the participants at the forum as well as to sow seeds of discord, suspicion, and mistrust among members.
The falsehood churned out by the NPP makes it abundantly clear that the meeting of the social media commentators has not only taken the NPP by surprise but has in fact sent shockwaves through the rank and file of the party.
Among the more outrageous falsehood put out by NPP communicators about the meeting were claims that each attendant at the forum was given at least GH?500, and each person at the conference was awarded two-year contract!!!
There were also false claims that each participant has been promised GH?400 per month as well as GH?200 worth of data for a month!!!
Refuting the NPP?s false claims, one of the participants, Comrade Stephen Kwabena Attuh, points out that, ?all I can say is that, our gathering at Cape Coast has sent shivers down the spines of our opponents!?
?This should tell you we are in the lead! They are panicking but we cannot help it! We can only make sure we intensify our efforts as we have set the agenda 2016 in full force!? Comrade Stephen Kwabena Attuh, popularly known on social media as ASK, pointed out jubilantly.
Addressing participants, Deputy Information Minister, Hon. Felix Kwakye-Ofosu, who was at the meeting as an invited guest, responded to concerns about perceived failure and lack of cohesion in government communications; acknowledging that managers of government communications are aware of the existence of such a perception, he expressed confidence that interactions such as the one on Saturday would help to correct the misimpression about government communications.
The honorable Deputy Information Minister pointed out to the gathering that managing government communications is totally different from being in opposition and throwing verbal salvoes, often, without a second thought as to how those verbal salvoes affect the image of the country on the international scene.
Government communications, Hon. Kwakye noted, requires a great deal of balance as various factors such as security of the state, international image of the country, and even international relations of Ghana in relation to other countries have to be considered, among other considerations.
He urged participants to endeavor to seek for clarification on matters relating to government and party before going on social media to castigate government and party functionaries, often based on deliberately skewed misinformation put out by the NPP.
?I can tell you that, 99.9% of the times, the allegations put out by the NPP against functionaries of the NDC are total falsehoods or deliberately skewed half-truths aimed to create a bad image for the NDC both as a party and as a government with a view to creating despondency among party faithful,? he pointed out.
Hon. Kwakye commended participants for their show of dedication to the cause of the party and the government, noting that it is a reflection of the NDC?s social democratic credentials that supporters of the party are by themselves organizing themselves into formidable units to fight the cause of the party.
?This can only be because you believe in the party and that the party in government is indeed living up to its social democratic credentials,? Hon. Kwakye observed.
?Of course,? he further pointed out, ?there have been some though and unpleasant decisions that government has had to take for the health of the national economy. Some of these decisions, we know, are unpopular, but you must bear in mind that President Mahama and his team are not unaware of the sentiments on the ground, but they know that these though decisions must be taken now in order that the national economy would continue to be healthy and grow.?
He urged participants not to fall for the despondency-inducing falsehood being propagated by the NPP, pointing out that, ?Since independence, apart from the Nkrumah and Rawlings eras, the next government to have worked on improving the nation?s infrastructural needs has been the administration of President Mills and his successor, John Dramani Mahama?.
?You are all witnesses to the developmental projects in the various sectors in your localities; you can see the school blocks being erected, the health facilities, the roads and other infrastructure being worked on on a daily basis in your various communities, so you should not buy into the false and negative propaganda that seeks to create the impression to the people living outside this country that the government is doing nothing.?
He urged participants to frequent online news portals to contribute their views on various stories ?in order that our brothers and sisters living in the diaspora do not get hooked on the total falsehoods and half-truths that some of the contributors who comments on these portals specialize in.?
The function was chaired by the NDC Deputy General Secretary, Mr. Kofi Adams, with Messrs Lawyer Adu Yeboah, H. E Sam Pee Yalley, Hon. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, Hon. Felix Ofosu Kwakye, Hon. Ama Benyiwa Doe, Kakra Yalley, Patrick Amigye, and Hon. Emmanuel Kofi Buah, as invited guests.
The convener of the meeting was Ohenenana Obonti Krow.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama?s optimism about outcome of Saturday?s meeting was reflected in these words that he posted on his facebook wall on Saturday: ? ?Let the meeting be beneficial to the Party. Through your efforts, victory 2016 is assured. You did it 2012 and I trust u for 2016.?
Stay tuned for subsequent reports on presentations by the other invited guests.
