The ten regional chairmen of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have accused Ministers, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) of being behind the confusion in the party. According to them, the rampant seizure of toilets, locking of National Health Insurance Scheme offices, among many others, can be traced to the actions and inactions of some Ministers and MDCEs, who have decided to live on their own. The NDC chairmen expressed their disgust at the behaviour of the party foot-soldiers, which they believe would go a long way to dent the image of the party, ahead of the 2012 general elections. They contended that "if the Regional Ministers, for instance, had been engaging party members, these problems would not have happened in the first place." Mr. Ade Coker, the Greater Accra regional chairman of the NDC, who spoke to The Chronicle after a meeting attended by all 10 NDC regional chairmen in Accra over the weekend, also accused the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of setting inappropriate standards that the NDC party members also want to adopt and maintain. "During the NPP regime, they did all kinds of things to their party members, and our people think that the same thing should happen to them. For instance, under the NPP, no NDC member could get access to auction cars. Some serial callers of the NPP were given cars and our people think that they must also enjoy same, but unfortunately the NDC is a party for the whole nation," he said. Mr. Ade Coker, however, admonished Regional Ministers and MDCEs not to distance themselves from the party members, and also implored cadres as well as foot-soldiers to use the internal party structures to address their problems. Touching on the meeting, he said they have resolved that drastic measures should be taken to solve the party's problems. The regional chairmen also resolved to work hard and deepen the relationship with the regional ministers and government institutions at all regional levels, and also to focus on strengthening the party structures towards election 2012. Mr. Ade Coker further told The Chronicle that though they have observed that the actions of the cadres and party foot soldiers was creating a bad image for the party, it could somehow be justified, due to the attitude of some of the Ministers. "We need to use internal mechanisms to address our internal differences, and the leadership should also set in place a system for coordinating all interest groups," he said. In a communiqué, the NDC chairmen resolved that there was the need to involve all recognised groups and interested parties at the constituencies and regional levels in highlighting government's achievements. "As a ruling party, we will continue to create the avenue and environment for working with minority political parties to strengthen the tenets of good governance and democratic frontiers," the chairmen said. Source: Ghanaian Chronicle/Ghana