The National Youth Committee of the Progressive People’s Party is to embark on a two-week nationwide tour to fashion out strategies that would “elicit the best in Ghanaians to come to the realization that we cannot continue to vote for mediocrity over competence”.

The tour which would be led by PPP’s National Youth Coordinator Divine Nkrumah is slated to begin in the first week of February 2014. The team is also expected to meet with members of the Progressive Youth Movements in Tertiary institutions, the party youth in the various constituencies and the general public to conscientize them on the way forward for the party.

According to statement issued by Alistair Tairo Nelson, National Youth Committee Member, the tour would discuss the economy, observe living conditions of Ghanaians in the various regions and tell Ghanaians the true story of the state.

 “The tour is informed by the growing popularity countrywide and the request of the youth of the party to make ourselves visible and position ourselves as the alternative to the politics of ‘Tumtum Efu na fu’ that has engulfed this country all these 22 years; we are ready to serve the people far far better than what the NPP/NDC have demonstrated so far,”

The statement noted that there is a general lack of consensus on the way forward in the country which it said has greatly affected Ghana’s economic fortunes after 56 years of political independence.

“This country touted as the same size as Britain, and endowed with natural resources, leading producer in Gold, Diamond, Cocoa, Oil Palm and recently found oil, has the highest unemployment rate amongst African countries. Our politics is now conducted purely on tribal lines; we vote for leaders based on ethnicity despite how incompetent and unpopular they might be,” statement lamented.

The youth tour is also expected to discuss the general weaknesses in the practice of democracy: the lack of consensus, winner takes all syndrome, voting of DCEs/MCEs in an era of decentralization, separation of the office of Attorney General Department from the Ministry of Justice and the proper stewardship of the state.

“We the youth in PPP believe that this is the opportunity to collectively get on board to help change the cause of history for better and ensure we have a more responsible leadership to take charge of the state. If this country is to be transformed from a 3rd world to a 1st world, we in the PPP youth wing want to use the opportunity to tell others that this country’s problems can be solved and must be solved because we know the problems and we have the solutions that would make Ghana a better place for all.”