Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 115 In seeking to advance regional integration, the NDC and NPP governments executed economic policies and programmes aimed at stabilising the local currency and ensuring economic growth. The NDC indicated that it would design Ghana's monetary policy to ensure that it met the goals set by the ECOWAS, particularly, the 'convergence criteria for the ECOWAS Second Monetary Zone and the ultimate Single Monetary Zone'(NDC, Manifesto 2004:73). The NDC highlighted the specific economic policy areas it would pursue in order to qualify for the membership of the WAMZ of the ECOWAS. These included the'attainment of a single digit rate of inflation, gross foreign reserves to cover six months of imports and a limit of 4% to the budget/GDP ratio', among others(NDC, Manifesto 2004:74). It further promised to pursue policies to address problematic areas in the West African integration thereby giving meaning to the Treaty of the ECOWAS: Ghana under an NDC Government will enhance her role within the ECOWAS by providing a balanced approach to the problems confronting each country in the sub­region, with a concentration on such issues as the creation of the Free Trade and Borderless Zone, the establishment of the Single Monetary Zone, and communication linkages(NDC, Manifesto 2004: 73). The same economic measures spelt out in the manifesto of the NDC were re-echoed in the NPP policy objectives for regional integration. According to the NPP, its policies on banking, finance and monetary management during its first term in office were structured in line with the party's vision of regional integration. For instance, the economic policy targets set by the NPP reflected the content of its manifesto – that had focused on meeting the criteria determined by the WAMZ. According to the NPP: The effort towards macroeconomic stability will be guided by the need to achieve the targets set by the West Africa Monetary Zone(WAMZ) convergence criteria. In the shortest possible time, the process will eventually lead to the five West African Countries(Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) adopting a common currency, the ECO. The over-riding objective is to achieve regional(ECOWAS) integration(NPP, Manifesto 2004: 21). Political parties in Ghana have utilised the platform offered by the establishment of the ECOWAS Parliament to advance the course of regional integration in West Africa. The Ghanaian political parties have schooled the populace on many dimensions of the ECOWAS protocols even though the education has not penetrated deep into all segments of the citizenry. Nevertheless, the Ghanaian parties, particularly those represented in Parliament, namely, the NDC, NPP, CPP and PNC have been instrumental in raising the consciousness of the people on human rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizens in the sub-region. The parties' representatives serving on the ECOWAS Parliament have drummed issues pertaining to conflicts in West Africa louder than any sister country. The commitment to