NDC IS CONFUSED

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, June 6, 2016

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has observed that the way the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government is handling affairs of the state points to the fact that it (government) is confused.

According to Nana Akufo-Addo, last week the Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, and President John Mahama issued conflicting directives on the taxation of allowances and pensions, observing that it was an indication that Ghana was being ran aground.

The NPP flagbearer made the remarks when he addressed Ghanaians in Italy at a town hall meeting in the northern city of Modena on Saturday as part of his tour of that country.

Confusion Galore!

"The Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, told us that he is preparing to tax pensions and allowances. And his president, two days later, stated that they were not going to do anything like that. If this is not confusion in his government, then I don't know what it is; and if this is not a sign of incompetence, then you would have to tell me what incompetence means,” the NPP leader stated.

He said, "President says one thing, the finance minister says another. So who is telling us the truth? Are we going with the finance minister or with the president? There is complete confusion in his government."

Ghanaians Suffering

Nana Akufo-Addo observed that the unending socio-economic crises in the country had continued because the Mahama-led government, over the last seven years, “has proven itself to be corrupt, incompetent, indecisive and confused.”

He continued, "Mismanagement, corruption and incompetence have brought us to where we are today. When the word 'incompetent' is used to describe his government, the president gets very upset. But this week we have seen another example," he articulated.

Nana Akufo-Addo recounted how Ghana's GDP growth rate slumped to 3.9% in 2015 - less than half of what President John Agyekum Kufuor had left Ghanaians in 2008, which was a growth rate of 8.4% without the enjoyment of oil revenue.

The Ivorian Success

He repeated his argument that Cote d'Ivoire is experiencing the same ‘external shocks’ as Ghana yet it is experiencing economic boom, noting that it is evidenced by the fact that in spite of its recent war, it has worked hard to become the number one investment destination on the African continent with 9% annual GDP growth rate and $12 billion in agricultural export revenues.

He said Ghana, on the other hand, was in the decline and could only garner $2 billion from its agricultural exports.

"We have to change these statistics. We cannot continue, whilst other people are prospering, to go down the hill. We need to have a change in Ghana. John Mahama cannot help us," he stressed.

NPP Assurance

Nana Akufo-Addo promised that should the NPP be given the mandate, he was going to supervise the expansion of industries and modernise agriculture, adding, “These are going to be the main themes for the next four years.

“This twin-track of rapid industrial expansion and increase of agricultural productivity is what will generate the hundreds of thousands of jobs that the teeming masses of unemployed Ghanaian youth need.”

The NPP flagbearer also reiterated his pledge to reduce electricity tariffs when he wins this year's election, saying, "We are going to reduce electricity tariffs when we come into office. No ifs, no buts. We are going to reduce electricity tariffs so we can bring relief to our citizens and to our businesses."

Ghanaians have been grappling with killer tariffs, with President Mahama justifying them after imposing heavy taxes on electricity consumption only to backtrack claiming that he was sharing in the suffering of Ghanaians.

Nana’s Optimism

"I believe that like Buhari in Nigeria and Ouattara in Côte d'Ivoire, third time lucky is what is going to happen to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. I want, one day in our grand children’s time when things are going well and they are writing the history of Ghana, that they will say it was in our grandparents' time when Akufo-Addo was president that Ghana was put on the road to progress and prosperity. That is what I am fighting for."

Present at the event were the wife of the NPP flagbearer, Rebecca Akufo-Addo; NPP Italy branch chairman, Owusu Boateng and branch executives; acting NPP Western Regional Chairman, Francis Ndedesiah; Western Regional Secretary, Charles Bissue; parliamentary candidate for Evalue Ajomoro Gwira, Catherine Afeku; parliamentary candidate for Effiduase Asokore, Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie and Italy NPP elder, Dr Afrifa, among others.