was lifted yesterday<\/strong><\/span><\/a> [Thursday] after the chiefs said they had consulted all seventy-seven gods of the land for permission.<\/p>\nThe Progressive People\u2019s Party and a local radio station, Cape FM were banned from holding separate outdoor events during that period but the NDC got the green light.<\/p>\n
A statement signed by the chairman of the 2016 Afayhe Planning Committee, Nana Kow Amoasi III said after pacifying the gods, the NDC have been cleared to go ahead with their campaign launch.<\/p>\n
But the decision has sparked outrage among many of the residents in Cape Coast.<\/p>\n
A resident in the area who expressed his disappointment about the development said: \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s so sad and very disappointing. It is very clear that they have taken that stance because of NDC which is uncalled for. It has made a joke of our festival. If they need the drum for political parties then there should not be any ban on drum. The authorities have disappointed the entire Cape Coast people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another resident said: \u201cIt seems that modern day dieties in Cape coast have also grown into the modern world . I don\u2019t know whether they listen to hip pop what it is but for the fact that they will also understand and agree that the traditional 21 days that they use to ban noise and drumming all of a sudden, for some reason or the other for whatever monies that pass through wherever it passed, for that matter the gods have agreed that take one week of ours and make noise because you have given us token or something. This does not make sense anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
One other resident believes the traditional leaders are setting a bad precedent by their decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very bad precedent that they have set because we know tradition is tradition and if we bring politics into our traditional system them we are not achieving anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
NDC to launch campaign <\/strong><\/p>\nDirector of Communications for the NDC\u2019s 2016 Campaign, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, said earlier that it was in the interest of the party to organize the event in the Central\u00a0Region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is some nostalgia, there is some love for the Central Region, there is a good reason why we believe that this time, it is in our interest to launch in the Central Region and that is exactly what we intend to do,\u201d she\u00a0said on Eyewitness News on Monday.<\/p>\n
According to her, the launch of the campaign in the region,\u00a0where John Evans Attah Mills hailed from, would be a fitting tribute to the late President, 4 years after his passing.<\/p>\n
She denied however that his influence in the region prior to his demise was being exploited by the party for political gain.”<\/p>\n
“You know really well that there is really no such exploitation. Don\u2019t forget that we will be doing several activities in several other parts of the country. We are a social democratic party, we like to do things from any part of Ghana and we are not even barred from holding any such activity in any part of this country. So I don\u2019t think that there is anything to do in terms of exploitation. We just believe that this time round, strategically, for us the plan is to officially launch in the Central Region and several other activities will be taking place as we go along,\u201d she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
Click on audio to listen to the residents\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n