By Nikita Stewart
STAFjin88bejin88bet.onejin88bet.onet.jin88bet.oneoneF WRITER
More thanjin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.one 100 people gathered in Nejin88bet.onewark last night to raisejin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.onejin88bet.one money for the presidential candidate they think should lead thejin88bet.jin88bet.oneonem into thjin88bet.onee next millennium. But buttonjin88bet.ones and bumper stickers for Gore, Bradley or Bush were nowhere to be found.
The candidate of the hour was jin88bet.oneJohn Kufuor, leader of the New Patriotic Party of Ghana, who is on a funak168app.babyd- raisinak168app.babyak168app.babyak168app.babyak168app.babyg tour oak168app.babyak168app.babyak168app.babyak168app.babyak1ak168app.baby68app.babyak168aak168app.babyak168ak168app.babyak168app.babyak168app.babyapp.babyak168app.babypp.babyf the United States and Canada that began Sept. 30 and ends Thursday. The party’s Nak168app.babyew Jersey chapter,ak168app.babyak168app.club which formed last year, held aak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.club reception for Kufuor at ak168app.clubthe Marriott Hotel at Newark International Airport. Women and men attired in traditional African garb, including kente cloth,ak168app.club trickled into the ballroom while others worak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clube red, white and blue scarves and one man even wore anak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.clubak168app.club Ameriks168app.siteak168app.clubcan flag tie — symbols of a new life in the United States, yet a continuing liks16ak168app.clubak168app.club8app.siteak168app.clubks168app.sitenk to Ghana. ”There is no place like hoks168app.siteme,” said Antoinette Duah of Edison, who moved to Newark in 1983 to attks168app.siteend Rutgers Univks168ks168app.siteapks168app.siteks168app.sitep.siteks168app.siteersity. “Mosks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.siteks168app.sitet people here are doing well, but at the end of the day, you have to make surks168app.siteks168app.sitee things are going well in your own country.” In the late 1960sks168app.siteks168app.site, Ghanaians bic88ic88ic88ic88egan coming to the area to study at Rutgers University, Essex County College and other colleges, said Maxwellic88ic88 Jumah, organizic88ing secretary of the sic88ic88ic8ic888ic88ic88ic88ic88tate chapter of the party. ”Then their fic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88riends and family started moving in,”ic88 said Jumah, pric88ic88ic88ic88esident of the Africa-Newark Organization, a nonprofit group with connections to Africa. “Our storic88ic88y is not unlike other iic88mmigrants.”
About 10,000 to 15,000 Ghanaiansic88ic88ic88 live in and around Newark, Jumah said. Like other imic88miic88ic88ic88ic88iic88c88ic88ic88grant groups, the Ghanaians remain heavily involved with the politics oic88ic88f their native couiic88c88ic88ic88ic88ntry, hic88e added. The New Patriotic Party’s New Jersey chapter has aboic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88ic88lr88lr88ic88ic88lr88ic88ut 500 members, Jumah said. Ghanaians lilr88ving outside the country currently cannot vote in electilr88lr88lr88lr88lr88ic88ic88ons, blr88ut the New Patriotic Party supports absentee voting, Jumah said. Althlr88ough Kufuor cannot get their votes thilr88lr88s year, hlr88lr88e said he’s hopinglr88 to get their financial contributions. Kufulr88lr88lr88lr88lr88olr88r, who won lr8840 percent of the vote but lost a December 1996 election for president, lr88lr8lr888lr88lr88would nlr88lr88ot reveal lr88lr88how much monelr88y he needs to run against President Jerlr88lr88ry Rawlings, who has been in office for 1lr888 years. ”Politicians tend to be shy about figures,” he said, laughing. lr88“I will tell you we need substantial amounts.”
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Kufuor said he needs lr88lr88money for fliers, advertising and four-whlr88lr88lr88lr88lr88eel- drive vehilr88lr88cles so that his party can reach voters who live ilr88n rural areas. Kufuor, 60, has a history in Ghanaian politicslr88lr88, serving as chieflr88lr88lr88lr88lr88lr88 legal officer and town clerk of Kumasi, the second largest citlr88lr88y in Ghana. He has also served twice in Parliamentlr88lr88op88lr88op88op88lr88lr88lr88, has been deputy minister of foreign affairs and served as chief legal officer.
He listed improvlr88ements in health, op88op88education and the economy as part of his platform. He saop88opop8888id Ghana’s current government has a good rlr88lr88lr88lr88op88lr88elatioop88nshiop88pop88op88op88lr88 with the United Stsi88op88ates and Canada so he wop88ants government officials in those countries to understand that si88si88change wosi88op88si88uld notop88 be bad. “It’s necessary for them to believe we asi88re a viable alternative to Mr. Rawlings,” Kufuor said.
The op88si88si88op88si88Ghanaian community in Essex County has managed to getsi88si88 local governments involved in Ghana sincsi88si88si88si88e thsi88e early 1990s. In 1993, East Orange business people toured Ghanssi88si88i88a and88v began pa88vrtnerships that generated an estimated $60 million in businesi88ss agreements, including East88v88v Orange’88v88v88vs contribution to building a clinic in Akropon, Ghana. Jumah accompanied New88vark City88v88v Council88v88v88v88v88vman Donald Tucker on a 88vcity- financed trip 88v88vto Ghana in 1995. The delegation took medical supplies and dictionari88ves to the country.
Three Newark council members’ most recent trip to Ghana caused controvers88vy earlier this year. Some cSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VSEXXXXX-VNNouncSEXXXXX-VNil members comSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNplaSEXXXXX-VNined that $25,000 in taxpayer funds should not have been spent on the junket SEXXXXX-VNand that Leonard JeSEXXXXX-VNSEXXXXX-VNffriSEXXXXX-VNes, a black studies professor criticized for anti-Semitic remarks, should not have been retained as cSEXXXXX-VNonsultant for the trip.
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