Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, (NDC), John Mahama has dared Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to go back to the rural communities and take pictures with students for votes as he did in 2016.
According to the former President, there are over 1.3million pupils with no basic furniture or learning under trees today who need the same propagandist support he exploited in 2016.
Mr Mahama who is on a campaign tour of the Upper West region reminded the people of the populist action by then, then NPP Running Mate Dr Bawumia who mischievously took pictures in some of the less privileged communities for sympathy votes when he clearly knew the effort by his government to remove schools under trees.
Mr Mahama who responding to complaints about neglect described as very surprising the total neglect of the very people Dr Bawumia exploited, in 2016, since he became Vice President over seven years ago.
“Dr Bawumia is now in charge of the budget. He controls it and is even in a better position to support schools in those deprived communities” he noted
“Mahamudu Bawumia as running mate used to go round villages in the Upper West Region where there was no furniture, taking pictures of kids sitting on stones” he recalled
A 2023 report by some Civil Society Organisations and teacher groups revealed that only 17 out of 5,400 schools under trees had been completed by the Akufo-Addo-led government since 2021.
The report put together by 10 CSOs including STAR-Ghana, CAMFED and ActionAid added that at the current pace, it will take Ghana more than 300 years to eradicate the over 5,400 schools under trees, sheds and dilapidated structures.
Addressing a mini durbar at Dafiama in the Dafiama Bussie Issa constituency of the Upper West Region as part of his three day campaign tour of the region, Mr Mahama indicated that the data is worrying and called on the Vice President to redeem his sunken image
“Today, 1.2 million children in schools are without furniture, and yet he is in charge of the budget. I dare him to come to the Upper West Region and take pictures of the pupils again” he concluded
