The flagbearer of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom has described as shocking the collapse of the Melcom shopping mall in Accra which has claimed nine lives with several others injured. Embarking on his campaign tour of the Upper West Region, the PPP flagbearer expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased. Asked if he was going to break his campaign, as the other flagbearers have done Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom told Joy News his presence at the accident will mean very little. ‘‘It his [president] job to ensure that we enforce our standards and our roles and our regulations in this country; that is his job, that is how it should be and he is doing his job,’’ he insisted. He stated he was shocked to hear the news of the disaster during his whistle stop campaign in some communities in the Wa East constituency. ‘‘It is shocking to hear something like this happening. A commercial building like this collapsing? It makes us worry about safety standards; about inspection and about what is it that we do to make commercial buildings at least are safe and sound’’. “But our thoughts and minds and everything goes out to the innocent people who have been victimized this way and their families,” he added. He said the disaster should be used as a correcting experience which will ensure the laws of the country are enforced and the environment is safe for habitation. Wading in to IEA vice presidential debate, Dr. Nduom said listening to the debate on radio he wasn’t impressed about the performance of the candidates. ‘‘I was so disappointed yesterday that they were allowed to take notes and reading from notes. They were reading statement; my goodness. As a president or a vice president; you deal in the moment, things happen, you have to react to them. You have to make decisions and so preparing to get a job like that you go there with notes and they allow them to read statements,” he fumed. Dr. Nduom said he was happy he was not part of the IEA debate because it is not the kind of platform he will want to be a part of. ‘‘Even in 2008 we didn’t have notes, we just sat there and based on experience; based on qualifications we answered the question…that is how is should be. Look at what happens in the UK, in France and in the US; they don’t take notes. Why should we sink so low that our leaders need notes,’’ the PPP Presidential candidate asked