NDC Elections: Vendors Cry Over Poor Patronage Of Paraphernalia Due To Price Hikes

Black, white, green, and red colours abound in and around the Tema Sports Stadium on Sunday as delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) gathered to elect executives to steer the affairs of the party in the Greater Accra Region.

As characterised by every political programme, vendors of paraphernalia have moved camp and relocated their trade around the sports stadium to do business with the sale of NDC T-shirts, flyers, badges, and flags.

Others are vuvuzela, wristbands, berets, whistles, scarf, and caps.

Most of the traders told the Ghana News Agency in Tema that their wares were not being patronised as they had expected, “we are aggressively targeting the party members, but they pretend they have not seen what we have here.

“Even when you follow them with the paraphernalia, they still refuse to open their bags or dipped their hands in their pocket to buy things”.

The traders GNA observed have either displayed the goods on the ground or gone hawking to attract party faithful to buy.

The vendors, however, had expressed disappointment as according to them even though people come to ask about the price of the goods, they were not buying as they used to.

A vendor who only gave his name as Koduah said the least price among the paraphernalia was GH¢5.00 which buyers complained was too expensive.

Some of the party faithful told the GNA that in this current economic situation, paraphernalia is not key, “we are managing with our old ones to show our support for the party and the candidates we support”.

Meanwhile, Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, NDC Member of Parliament for Tema East Constituency has called on adherents of the party to stand firmly and move forward for the party to recapture power to serve Ghanaians.

Mr Odamtten in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said that at the end of the election being supervised by the Electoral Commission “we should all see ourselves as winners, no losers, and work together for the total liberation of the country”.

The Tema East MP urged the party faithful to consider the best interest of the nation and the party; “we must team up to redeem Ghana for generations yet unborn, we have a duty to save this country through Election 2024”.

Mr Odamtten noted Ghanaians are calling for the NDC to redeem the country, “we cannot fail the suffering people of Ghana, we are all going through difficult times and all that our current government is noted for is blaming others for its mismanagement of the economy”.

Posters of NDC members contesting for its national executive positions were also on display at strategic locations while traders have also set camp selling party paraphernalia.