NO SECOND
TERM FOR A NON-PERFORMING PRESIDENT”,
AKUFO-ADDO
The
2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo, says the belief by most Presidents that a second term in office is
all but guaranteed, even though they have clearly failed, is beginning to
become a thing of the past in the politics of Africa.
With
2016 marking the end of the second consecutive term of the NDC, since 2009,
Nana Akufo-Addo noted that since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1992,
Ghana has seen two transfers of power from one democratically elected president
to another from a different political party.
However,
with 2016 marking the end of the second consecutive term of the NDC since 2009,
the NPP flagbearer explained that “like in Nigeria, it marks also the end of
the first full term of a vice president elevated to the highest office, after serving
out the term of a deceased President.”
According
to the NPP flagbearer, “what we, in the NPP, have to do like the APC did in
Nigeria, is to mobilise the majority of Ghanaians to ensure that there is no
automatic second term for a non-performing President.”
Nana
Akufo-Addo was speaking at the E-lection Bridge Africa Conference organised by
the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, on Monday, May 16, 2016, at the Alisa hotel, Accra,
when he made this known. This event brought together experts from
sub-Saharan Africa and Germany to build a bridge between players in modern
political communication, and provide a forum to share ideas, practices and
successes.
Describing
the 2016 elections as a critical one for Ghana, “critical not only because it
signals the end of an incumbent party’s second term in office”, Akufo-Addo
stated that determining the future direction of Ghana and the wellbeing of the
people is even more critical, i.e. “whether we let things continue to
deteriorate, as they have been doing, or stop the sinking ship, and change
course.”
Making
reference to The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, which stated
that one of the biggest threats to democracy in the world “is the anxious mood
of our times”, the NPP flagbearer noted that Ghana, likewise, finds herself in
an anxious mood.
“With
a president desperate for a second term, yet pulled down by his own unimpressive
track record since 2009, and with Ghanaians clamouring for a change in their circumstances,
the stakes are very high. Nigeria showed the way in April of last year and we
hope this will turn out to be a lesson that Ghanaians can learn from our
neighbours; that change is, sometimes, needed after just one full term,” he
added.
The
calls for change in Ghana, according to Akufo-Addo, stem from widespread
despondency, brought about by severe hardships, rising cost of living, high
levels of youth unemployment, collapsed businesses, low real wages, and
increasing poverty, which is partly the result of a 4 year old energy crisis,
all under the leadership of President Mahama.
With
Ghana’s public debt shooting up by 1,000% in 7 years since the NDC took office,
GDP growth rate reducing from 8.4% in 2008, without oil, when the NPP left office,
to 3.9% in 2015, under the NDC, when Ghana is now an oil producing nation; and
with agriculture and industry, which should be the key drivers of the economy, doing
very badly, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that change was, indeed, imperative.
“Unemployment,
especially amongst the youth, is widespread. The macroeconomic indicators are
troubling to say the least. Inflation is on a persistent upward trajectory,
currently over 19%, and so are bank lending rates well above 30%. The cost of
utilities, particularly electricity, poses major challenges for the ordinary
budget. The cedi is now a weak currency, which has destroyed the confidence of
our traders,” he noted.
Instead
of proffering solutions to these myriad of problems, so as to assuage the fears
of Ghanaians, Nana Akufo-Addo stated the Mahama government’s only reaction has
been to throw a ‘green book’ in the face of Ghanaians, hoping that all the
problems will be solved by this.
“This book supposedly sets out a record of its
infrastructural projects, many of which have turned out to be artists’
impressions and non-existent on the ground. Others are the work of the former
NPP government. The ‘green book’ fails to tell Ghanaians why the economy has degenerated
so markedly under the management of a government that has received more monies,
in terms of revenues, taxes, and loans, than any other government in our
history, and what is being done to fix it so Ghana can be put back onto the
path of progress and prosperity. The return of the country into the embrace of
the IMF is eloquent testimony to the difficulties the Ghanaian people face.Ghanaians
are clearly in an anxious mood,” he stressed.
To meet
the healthcare needs of mental health sector, management of Breast Care
International (BCI) and Peace and Love Hospitals (PHLs) have donated drugs
to psychiatric hospitals across the country.