Ghanaians have been urged to compare their standard of living now under the administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) era. The comparison would enable them to realise which of the two political parties have the welfare of the people at heart. The call was made by Mr. Daniel Nii Okai, Chairman of the Odododiodoo Constituency of the NDC at a meeting of party members in Accra. He noted that this assessment was necessary for them to know which of the two parties should be given the mandate to rule the country in the 2008 Elections. Mr Okai said Ghanaians should compare the 41 trillion national debt left by the NDC to the 90 trillion cedis accumulated by the NPP in seven years to conclude which of the two deserved the right to manage the affairs of the country. He explained that the NDC debt included that of previous administrations since Ghana attained independence. Mr Okai recalled that on assumption of office of the NPP in the year 2000, the administration created the impression that the NDC had mismanaged the affairs of the country leading to the debt it left behind. He pointed out that the NPP after just seven years with one more year to go had accumulated more than double the debt of the NDC plus that of the previous administrations. The Odododoodio NDC Chairman said; "the NPP spending spree" should be seen against the background of "the huge debt forgiveness" by the country's foreign donors, increased aid from abroad and taxes, including the Value Added Tax (VAT). Mr Okai said; "They are now even going to tax airtime calls on mobile phones and increase utility charges," to increase the amount of State money at their disposal. He said parents could not afford the school fees and medical bills for their children in spite of the Capitation Grant, the School Feeding Programme and the National Health Insurance Scheme. Mr Okai called on the people, especially the electorate to be mindful of the "extravagant" campaign by aspirants vying to be the flag bearer of the NPP for the 2008 Election and asked themselves where they came by the huge sums they were spending for the primaries. "This is not the election itself and if they have such amount to spend on primaries, how much will they spend for the election itself and where did they get that amount from," he asked. Mr Okai advised the people to vote for the NDC and its Presidential candidate Professor John Evans Atta Mills in the impending election to turn round their fortunes for the better. He said Prof Atta Mills and the NDC had the antidote for their problems in line with the social democratic policy of the party, which placed the welfare of the people above all other considerations. This, he said, contrasted sharply with the NPP’s property owning democracy policy that could not free the people from "the shackles of poverty since only a few would benefit, making the poor poorer and the rich richer". Ghanaians wanted a change in 2000 and now can compare the NDC and the NPP to see which of the two should be given the nod to assume office after the next elections, Mr Okai said. Source: GNA