The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party Nana Akufo-Addo is set to outline what he says are promises made and broken by the governing National Democratic Congress in the eight-year tenure under President John Mahama.
The NPP’s ‘broken promises encounter’ with the media comes two days after the governing party launched a promise filled manifesto Saturday.
Acting party chairman Freddie Blay welcomes the media to the hurriedly arranged press conference.
Director of Policy Boakye Agyarko takes over to run the media through the program of the day. There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept. The people of Ghana trusted you more than you deserved. Exactly 78 days to go Ghana will go to the polls to make a decide who leads the country for the next four years.
The decision will be to either retain the NDC for 12 years or bring back the competent NPP. The election is much about bread and butter as it is about competence and credibility. This meeting is to share observations of the manifesto of the NDC launched over the weekend. The NDC coming to the end of its term. One expects the NDC to bid for the election on their past elections, rather they are making grandiose promises of what they will do if re-elected.
At the weekend yet another avalanche of promises was made. One can predict the future of Mahama based on what happened in the past. The future under Mahama is a future of lies and broken promises. Are people better off as they promised; Mr. President have improved the management of the economy and public policy; have tackled corruption?
These are the blueprints to which a government can be assessed not phantom promises made to which are to be broken anyway. Mahama says if he is re-elected he will continue with the work he is doing. It appears he is proud of his achievement. But the reality is one of a president who is so out of touch with the reality of Ghanaians.
The story of Ghanaians is the same, one of joblessness, pain, and hardships. The president’s better Ghana agenda is only for the family and friends. We will subject the record of the NPP to scrutiny.
Putting People First is the first thematic area of the NDC. How many Ghanaians feel Mahama has put them first. It is nothing more than lies. The NDC said in its manifesto that 100 million free exercise books have been distributed; in the green book it says 42million exercise books were distributed. Does it mean they 58million exercise books in 2015 alone?
It can only be a figment of the imagination of the NDC. Some 120,000 boarders were promised with progressive free education. This promise is missing from the published manifesto. Schools are reopening and parents are looking for money to pay their school fees. The 2016 report of public education indicates the disbursement 320488-day students supported 12,148544 cedis a mere 38 miserable cedis for the entire academic year to offset close to 420 cedis.
Who is the NDC trying to fool? Stealing ideas they cannot implement and improve Ghanaians all the more. There has been tumor for 4 years, four years of joblessness. A government that puts people first is one that is competent and implement promises that makes life better for all, not the one that takes away from the people. It is evident John Mahama cannot be trusted to put people first. It is rather a government that puts corruption first.
Job Creation
The biggest source of employment is agriculture. The cocoa production which was at its highest under Kufuor has plummeted under Mahama. The NDC says the youth employment is creating a number of jobs but that is insignificant. GYEEDA was a vehicle used to loot the country’s resources. By January 7, 2009, when the NPP left office, it employed 110,000 youth under NYEP in two years.
When the NDC came into power it sacked all these youth and after 8 years it has failed to employ even a 100,000 youth. The NDC couldn’t do in 8 years what the NPP did in 2 years.
The shaky economy we are enduring is as a result of the IMF intervention. We elected John Mahama into office but he, because of his incompetence handed Ghana over to the IMF with all its conditionalities one of which is to lay off public sector workers under rationalization policy. The current freeze on the public sector will not be lifted. Mahama’s track record in job creation has been abysmal.
Infrastructure
The Mahama government has borrowed over 39 million but has little to show for it. What it means is that Ghana would have developed three times as fast if it was handed to another president. Under the Mahama administration, Nii Laryea Afortey Agbo, Greater Accra Minister inaugurated a six class room block at 510,000 cedis. Some 20 days later, MTN inaugurated a fully furnished six class room blocks at 170,000 cedis. Mahama cost of project was 200% more than what MTN did. It means the private sector can build three times less than what Mahama has built. Every school built by Mahama means three times more could have been built. For every teacher employed, the question is how many more teachers could have been employed. Kufuor built District hospitals for less.
Mahama’s cost of infrastructure defies every pricing policy and will easily make it to the Guinness book of records.
Corruption
Auditor General 2014 report says over 5 billion of Ghana’s tax payer which cannot be found and yet nothing has been done about it. Nobody has been held accountable.How can the then vice president investigated for corruption by his boss John Mills be trusted to fight corruption? How can a president who admits to collecting a 100,000 dollars worth of vehicle from a foreign contractor be trusted to check his appointees who are likely to collect same. Another four years for Mahama will be a disaster because he cannot be trusted.
Mahama’s borrowing culture
Mahama borrows for everything. He borrows to pay salaries and now borrows to pay debts. But for the IMF intervention, Mahama will still be borrowing. Ghana is broke. The NDC manifesto promises pitched against Mahama’s incompetence is trouble for Ghana. It doesn’t matter which party you support, consider the threat to your own livelihood or that of your relatives. Dear president, if you succeeded in deceiving Ghanaians in 2012, do not take them for fools. They trusted you more than you deserved. Mahama promised to revive factories created by Nkrumah. These factories were shattered and sold off under the NDC. Mahama has been the worst manager of the cedi. Mahama has destroyed the credibility he inherited. A government that has no policy credibility and had to run to IMF for credibility cannot be said to have the credibility to govern the country.
The future under another Mahama will be bleak. We are very likely not to have money to pay salaries under four year Mahama term.
18:08 The MC Anthony Karbo takes over and asks if the media men, women have questions. There appears to be no question. The program comes to an end.
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