Fred Oware
The opposition New Patriotic Party yesterday restated reasons why Ghanaians must vote for a change in the country’s political leadership following what it described as the successful presentation of its programmes and policies at the IEA presidential debates.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, First Vice Chairman of the party Fred Oware debunked President Mahama’s claim that the Constitution allows for two terms.
“Our Constitution gives the people the right to vote and choose their leaders; it does not give any party the right to a second term as Mahama so arrogantly stated,” he said, insisting, “A second term for a party must be earned and the Mills-Mahama record is not one worthy of continuing.”
He told Ghanaians, “Let’s stand tall and not be intimidated by NDC strong-arm tactics and distortions of our Constitution” and that “we must change now and move Ghana forward”.
According to him, Wednesday’s debate gave a choice that faced Ghanaians on December 7; an NDC plagued by corruption and inaction on the important topics of education, healthcare, and jobs and the NPP that espoused a bold vision of economic transformation based on a well-educated population, which would move Ghanaians out of poverty and into prosperity.
On the issue of corruption for instance, the NPP stalwart said, “Nana Akufo-Addo exposed the crass corruption that the President and his government are presiding over”, with Nana Akufo-Addo pointing out a lot of unanswered questions regarding many deals made by the NDC government which had refused to do anything about them.
Chief among them was Nana Addo’s assertion that the controversial Woyome judgment debt alone could have built over 400 schools, with the Construction Pioneers (CP) judgment debt training 28,200 doctors trained in Cuba, as per the president’s own admission.
Mr. Oware noted, “Surprisingly, President Mahama found an excuse for the NDC doling out of some GH¢858 million in dubious judgment debt payments” going by the same position that the late president adopted. He blamed the NPP for dubious payments of all the GH¢858 million in judgment debts.
He said this impliedly meant President Mahama went to the defence of Alfred Agbesi Woyome, who is standing trial on charges of defrauding by false pretense and causing financial loss to the state “in spite of the fact that Mr. Woyome has publicly stated he had no contract to renovate sports stadia for Ghana’s hosting of the 2008 African Cup of nations”.
Mr Oware also parried claims by President Mahama to the effect that 18 new oil discoveries had been made under the NDC, insisting that “it hides the fact that all 18 discoveries were made from production agreements signed under the NPP”.
On the economy, Mr. Oware said, “President Mahama and Vice President Amissah-Arthur were the main actors responsible for managing the economy” and “what they delivered was economic hardships to the people” failing to manage the economy.
He indicated, “They have borrowed over $18 billion in just four years, increasing our total public debt to GH¢28.3 billion as at July 2012, and yet still there’s nothing to show for it.”
“They have failed the people of Ghana and cannot be trusted with the destiny of this country,” he emphasised.
He stated that the December 7 elections would serve as a referendum on “the abysmal performance of the John Mahama-Amissah Arthur administration as Ghanaians begin to wallow in poverty, economic hardship, and unemployment”.
That, according to him, was the reason “Nana Akufo-Addo is putting himself forward…” and “has put forward bold solutions, and after last night’s performance, there is no doubt that the NPP team has the passion, the drive, and the competence to deliver for the Ghanaian people.”
“As Nana said, everyone who wants Ghana to achieve more must go out and vote,” Mr. Oware charged.
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