The Majority Leader in Ghana’s Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has said the country’s future would be worse off if former President John Mahama, now the flag-bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wins the December general elections.
According to Afenyo-Markin, addressing a press conference last Friday said not only does former President Mahama seek to return to government with a horrible track record not worth writing home about, but the internal dynamics of the party he represents would most likely land his presidency in crisis from day one.
“Perish the thought; should former President John Mahama becomes President again, he has only one term. Because of the Constitutional requirements which say he cannot go more than two terms and he has already done a fist term. There would be no sense of urgency. We dare say that from day one, his government would be in crisis because there would be people struggling to be the next leader.
“Ghanaians need a stable government which would focus. We don’t need a government that would start with crisis from day one because they know that President Mahama would not seek a second term so because people know he would not seek a second term, from day one, people would be jostling for power and that would affect governance”, Afenyo-Markin noted.
Afenyo-Markin questioned the records with which John Mahama seeks to be re-elected into power and said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) offers a better alternative in the person of Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia:
“In Dr. Bawumia, we have a new person coming in with everything at stake knowing that should he be successful, he would have another opportunity so he would have a much more determination to work the extra hard and to introduce new policies.
“He has not distanced himself from the challenges we have faced as a government. He is part of government but he is saying he has his new vision and so far this is what we have done but given the opportunity with new ideas, he can bring something new and he has started with the digitalization policy which is creating a new opportunity for private sector to grow.
“What has the NDC done and what is new on their side? So comparing the NDC and the NPP, one has something at stake and we are saying that Dr. Bawumia offers a better future for this country than former President Mahama”, the Majority Leader who doubles as the Member of Parliament for the Effutu Constituency in the Central Region added.
Here are excerpts of a transcript from the press briefing addressed by Afenyo-Markin:
“The NDC has not changed since 2016 when they lost the elections by over one million votes. The only thing that has changed is their running mate. Even so, the running mate was part of the government and she was the main advisor on educational policy, who advised the government to the effect that Free SHS was not possible.
“It is the same old team from the flag-bearer through to the running mate to all their former ministers, some in Parliament, some outside, their communicators who still find space in the media criticizing our government and promising a new Heaven. It is important to remind all of us that these same people while in office made certain profound statements as to what they could do and what they could not do
“We need emphasize that they were clear on their minds that vulnerable people who would benefit from Free SHS was indeed impossible. They were loud and clear on that.
“When the NPP assumed office in 2017, without delay, the Free SHS policy was implemented just for the records. We have since had enrolment increasing by 75 percent. In terms of numbers, we have had 800,000 plus getting access from the beginning up to 1,400,000 now of Ghanaian children on Secondary school for free. Majority of them from vulnerable homes that could not have afforded if it were a fee paying policy
“Across the country, this government has so far completed 747 structures in dromedaries, classroom blocks to support the implementation of this policy. Yes we have challenges but largely, we have been successful in this project.
“We recall that somewhere in 2015, when Ghanaians were calling for a reduction in utility tariffs particularly electricity, the then President Mahama, currently the flag-bearer of the NDC said the cost of production of electricity was so high that there was no way government would reduce electricity tariffs.
“It is true that Ghanaians are complaining of electricity tariffs and the cost of living is high but if the NDC was in power, considering their posture in government at the time, the situation would have been worse.
Comparatively, the NDC is not a party to be trusted from its flag-bearer to all its operatives. They were the same old stuck the appointors and his appointees have not changed. As at now, all they do is to criticize and mislead Ghanaians with the view of getting power.
“They have not put in place alternatives to say this is what they left behind, this is what the NPP is doing and this is what they can do better. As we speak, the NDC has not put out an alternative in terms of policy. We want to emphasize that in spite of all the challenges that Ghanaians face we have not left them naked. We walked the talk, we implemented rebate on electricity tariffs and we have been cautious of tariffs increment. Even during COVID we ensured that lifeline consumes had free electricity and we had up to 50 percent reduction for others during the COVID.
