The Convention People’s Party’s Presidential Candidate, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom continues with his novelty campaign strategies, with the latest one being “A Night with the Homeless” at the Abglogbloshie market in Accra. A “Night with the Homeless” is another innovative Nduom campaign strategy where the CPP Flag-bearer interacts with the many Ghanaians who do not have homes of their own and are compelled under the circumstance to sleep either on the streets or in hurriedly prepared wooden structures for a fee. The idea is to get first hand information on the conditions of such homeless people and how to help them out of their predicament. Before the new campaign strategy, Dr. Nduom had been engaging in other novelties like meeting with fishmongers, chiefs, opinion leaders, fishermen, the GPRTU, drivers and passengers. He was the first Presidential Candidate to meet with identifiable bodies like the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Beauticians and Hairdressers Association and the Association of Garages, otherwise known as the Magazines. The ‘Night with the Homeless” started on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 and is expected to be replicated in other parts of the country. At the Agblogbloshie market, Dr. Nduom and his team interacted with over 500 young men and women who do not have homes of their own and have adopted the Agblogbloshie market as their sleeping ground. Some of them however disclosed that they live in some shackled wooden structures prepared by self-styled leaders of the market for a fee ranging from GH¢2 to GH¢5 per night. “There are neither toilets nor bathroom facilities in the structures. So we wake up early in the morning to have shower in the open, while the bushes nearby serve as toilet grounds for us”, Abu Minnow, one of the homeless disclosed. They told Dr. Nduom and his team that most of them were from Northern Ghana and had been pushed down south because of the deplorable conditions in their home regions. They were happy that Dr. Nduom had been the only Presidential Candidate to have shown open concern towards their plight by visiting them at a time (night) that their sleeping and other worsening conditions would best be known and appreciated. Dr. Nduom realized during his interaction the way and manner most of them struggle at night to find places to lay their heads and also how some of them are thrown out of the wooden structures because they could not pay for their rent. Dr. Nduom held two meetings with the group. The first was with the leadership and other opinion leaders of the market. Interestingly most of them were once potters at the Agbogbloshie market. Dr. Nduom informed them of his intention to embark on a fact finding mission in the market. They were extremely happy about Dr. Nduom’s concern towards their plight and promised to help him realize his dream of becoming the next President of Ghana. The second gathering was devoted to question and answers. Most of the potters inquired from the CPP Flag-bearer what he would do differently from the two previous governments that would help solve their problems. Others wanted to know what Dr. Nduom’s plans were for Northern Ghana so as to ensure that the huge disparity between the North and South is eliminated. In their opinion the only way to ensure that the rapid migration from Northern Ghana to the South is curtailed would be to develop the North. The CPP Flag-bearer assured the group that a CPP government would resuscitate some of the industries that were built by the CPP government in Northern Ghana during the First Republic, adding that new industries would also be built by his administration. He disclosed that a CPP government would sponsor the return of the potters back to their area of origin and make sure that they had free and compulsory education in order to make them self-sufficient and to shore up their market value in the labour market. Dr. Nduom said as President of Ghana, one of his priorities would be to open up Northern Ghana with first class roads that would enhance easy accessibility to that part of Ghana in order to promote business and other related economic activities in the area. Source: Nduom for President campaign team