VOTE FOR CHANGE – NPP TELLS GHANAIANS

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, December 05, 2016

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised Ghanaians a corrupt-free government under him and implored the electorate to vote massively for him to win the December 7 presidential poll.

“I will not come into office and steal from you. I will not put all your money in my pocket. I am coming to serve you and give you honest leadership,” he said at the NPP’s final rally which was massively attended at the Ghana International Trade Fair Site at La, Accra, yesterday.

Nana Akufo-Addo promised, “If God grants us our wish, we will go there to serve you. We will bring policies that will move Ghana towards prosperity.”

The rally, on the theme, “The Battle is the Lord’s,” saw tens of thousands of NPP supporters from every nook and cranny of Accra poised to show the Mahama-led administration the exit this Wednesday.

Unlike other political parties which bus party members to rallies, Sunday’s event saw party members going for the event on their own volition.

Food vendors and persons selling party paraphernalia took advantage of the crowd to make good sales.

Massive Resources

Speaking passionately about his vision for the country, the NPP flag bearer told enthusiastic party supporters that Ghana has been blessed with massive resources but incompetence and corruption being exhibited by President John Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government had stifled economic growth and thrown the nation into extreme hardship.

“These are hard times for Ghanaians. Parents cannot afford school fees; electricity bills are very high and everybody has been affected, but we will remove this hardship on Wednesday with our thumbs,” he said.

Flagship Policies

He reiterated NPP’s plans, including the restoration of nurses and teacher trainee allowances, introduction of free senior high school education, restore and put new life into the National Health Insurance Scheme and reinforce the adult education programme, among other things.

Nana Akufo-Addo said the NPP has plans to pump an amount of $1 million into each of the 275 constituencies annually to deal with issues of basic infrastructure, including water and sanitation, introduce the Zongo Development Fund as well as the rural industrialization programme where there is going to be ‘one district, one factory’ for the three northern regions.

Wind Of Change

“Within a few years, we are going to transform Ghana when we are given the mandate. The wind of change is blowing everywhere and we are taking the elephant to a historic victory,” he told the teeming party faithful who incessantly made the ‘change’ sign.

He accused President Mahama of leading his party people to engage in tribal and divisive politics saying, “In these last 48 hours, the NDC are going to make libelous and defamatory statements.

“Don’t pay heed to any of these things from the NDC. It is utter rubbish, lies and fabrication. We are going to tell them that that is not the Ghanaian way.”

Nana Addo said he was hopeful Ghanaians would vote for him and the NPP parliamentary candidates saying, “After the election, it is going to come from Madam Charlotte Osei’s own mouth that Nana Akufo-Addo is the president-elect.”

He assured Ghanaians that the NPP would go into the election in a peaceful manner, positing, “We will tell President John Mahama that ‘thank you and good bye!’”

Ghana Will Rise Again

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor predicted victory for the NPP in Wednesday’s crucial general election.

He said, “Ghana is going to rise again under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. We are at crossroads and we will do the right thing with the right leadership.”

He said but for the ruling National Democratic Congress truncating the forward march of Ghana, the country would have rubbed shoulders with other successful economies in the world.

Using the case of Joshua in the Bible, President Kufuor noted, “God has spoken. He says there is victory coming for the NPP and it is starting from Greater Accra, Eastern Region and Ashanti. We will take Brong-Ahafo and in the Central Region, I have a feeling we are taking there too.”

Mr Agyekum Kufuor said the NPP is the biggest party in Ghana currently and encouraged the supporters “to make our numbers count in the elections.”

He observed that the NPP is the only party that is capable of putting Ghana first adding, “It is a party of historic destiny. We used only six years to lift Ghana from extreme poverty to lower middle income status.”

He also said the NPP has the human resources to make Ghana better and urged Ghanaians to give them the mandate.

Woyomenomics

When he took his turn, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate of Nana Addo, accused Mahama’s NDC government of practising what he called, “Wayomenomics” and not proper economics (referring to the GH¢51.2 million paid to NDC financier Alfred Abgesi Woyome for no work done).

He underscored, “We are facing a defining moment in three days time on December 7, and the people of Ghana face a stark choice; it is a choice between competence and incompetence; it’s a choice between corruption and incorruptibility; it is a choice between a man of vision and a man who ‘cannot think far.’”

Dr. Bawumia added, “It is a choice about the future of this country and we have to go to the polls on December 7 and leave nothing to chance. We have to go and vote and stay there; count the ballots until Nana Addo is declared the President of Ghana.”

Juxtaposing the achievements of the erstwhile Kufuor administration to the current government’s, Dr Bawumia contended that change is inevitable because over the last four years, the NDC government under President John Mahama had demonstrated without any question that they are “the most corrupt government in the history of this country and are very incompetent.”

Dr Bawumia, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana,  said it is worth noting that the NPP in eight years with resources of only GH¢20 billion under ex-President Kufuor, reduced taxes and moved the country from 3.7 percent to 8 percent in economic growth.

According to Dr. Bawumia, Ghanaians saw social interventions such as NHIS, National Youth Employment programme, free maternal care, school feeding programme, capitation grant, teacher training allowance, MASLOC, LEAP, Metro Mass Transit system (MMT) - all in eight years with only GH¢20 billion under Kufuor. 

He continued, “..and there you have this ‘edey bee keke’ government after eight years they have more resources than all governments from Nkrumah to Kufuor put together. They have resources of GH¢248 billion but they cannot pay for NHIS, National Youth Employment, school feeding programme, free maternal care programme, teacher training allowance, nursing training allowance; mass cocoa spraying programme has collapsed and today electricity is costing more than rent.”

He observed, “This is the government of John Mahama. That is the record and this is why we say if the NPP could build this economy with GH¢20 billion and you come and collapse it with GH¢248 billion, it shows without question that you are an incompetent government.”