Mahama To Blame For Ghana's Problems - Akufo-Addo

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party says it has become clear that the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress government, over the last 7 years, has proven to be incapable of finding solutions to the myriad of problems they have created for the people of Ghana.

At a mammoth rally held at Boadum Park in Asankragwa, on Sunday, December 13, 2015 to climax officially the party’s campaign ahead of the December 15 by-election, Nana Akufo-Addo stated that the economic hardships, rampant and widespread corruption, rising cost of living, ‘dumsor’, the weak Cedi, and the unprecedented levels of unemployment, amongst others, are the doing of President Mahama and his NDC government.

“The hardships Ghanaians are facing are a result of bad leadership. Our President, clearly, has no clue and has shown that he is incompetent. The President says we shouldn’t say so, but we will continue to say so, because that is the reality. He and his government are the reasons why there is so much suffering in Ghana at the moment,” he stressed.

Citing the recent contradictions made by the Minister for Power, Dr. Kwabena Donkor, and the Minister of Communications, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, about when ‘dumsor’ will end, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that this is ample proof of the clueless nature of the Mahama government.

To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo assured the thousands of constituents gathered at the Boadum park that the NPP is determined to wrestle power from the Mahama administration in the 2016 election so Ghana can be put back on the path of progress and prosperity.

“We, in the NPP, are not seeking power so we can steal the money of Ghanaians and enrich ourselves. No! That is not why I am in politics. I want the people of Asankragwa and the Western Region to have confidence in me. I am coming into office to use the resources of the nation judiciously and, thereby, improve the living standards of every Ghanaian in every part of the country, without discrimination,” he stressed.

He continued, “An NPP government will put in place policies, as well as create a conducive environment for the private sector to flourish, which will bring in its wake the creation of thousands of jobs for the masses of unemployed Ghanaian youth. The Free Senior High School policy, which has been bastardised by President Mahama and his government, will be properly implemented to enable every school going child have access to basic, quality education, and lift the burden of unaffordable school fees off parents who are already suffering.”

To the people of Asankragwa, whose mainstay is agriculture, particularly cocoa farming, the NPP flagbearer assured them of the correct implementation of policies like the mass cocoa spraying exercise, introduced by the Kufuor-led NPP government, so Ghana’s cocoa sector can rise up again to levels witnessed under the NPP government between 2001 to 2008, so farmers can also improve on their livelihoods.

“This is my pledge to you, if you help push the ‘Elephant’ into the Jubilee House,” he added.

Nana Akufo-Addo recounted the example of Cote d’Ivoire, a country ravaged by civil war and electoral disputes and currently witnessing a massive transformation under President Alassane Ouattara.

“I am humbly asking the people of Ghana to give me the opportunity to do for Ghana what Alassane Ouattara is doing for the people of Cote d’Ivoire,” he noted.

Ahead of Tuesday’s by-election, the NPP flagbearer urged the people of Amenfi West to vote for the NPP’s candidate, Lawyer Paul Denkyi, as “he will work to bring development and progress to this constituency.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, in concluding, also urged all NPP members to guard jealously the ballot on Tuesday, stating that “the days of ‘twenty-seven-zero’ are over. It should never happen again in Ghana’s electoral history.”