The leader and flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, is set to meet with the party’s National Executive Committee today to submit his nomination for Running Mate in accordance with the NDC constitution.
According to a press release signed by Joyce Bawah Mogtari Special Aide to the Office of the former President, Mr Mahama will this morning, present his nominee to the Council of Elders of the party.
“Today’s event marks a critical step in the party’s preparations for the upcoming general elections”.
The statement added
It assured the theming supporters and the general public that John Mahama and the NDC are dedicated to building a formidable team that will work tirelessly to advance the interests of the Ghanaian people and reset the country on a path towards recovery and a prosperous future.
“Selecting a Running Mate is an important decision, and John Mahama is confident his nominee embodies the values and vision of the NDC and will contribute to a successful electoral campaign. As leader of the NDC, Mr Mahama remains committed to representing the interests of all Ghanaians and building the Ghana we want together” Joyce Bawa explained.
The NDC constitution requires the party’s presidential candidate to nominate a running mate in consultation with the National Executive Committee and the National Council of Elders.
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The NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Kumawu, Mr Kwasi Amankwaa, has said President Nana Akufo-Addo has failed to tackle illegal mining also known in local parlance as galamsey.
He stated that the president could not talk about the impact of galamsey and what the government has done so far to tackle the canker during his state of the nation address earlier this week.
Amankwaa, who was speaking on Maakye program on Kessben FM in Kumasi, argued that the impact of galamsey on the river bodies in the country is devastating, adding that the rivers are worse off than Akufo-Addo met them.
He wondered why candidate Akufo-Addo in 2016 campaigned to tackle galamsey but has failed in the fight, leaving water bodies murkier than before.
“We have traveled far a bit and we know what good governance does to some countries… I listened to the president. But you see, we have problems in this country but the one who is the leader of the country did not acknowledge our challenges,” he said.
He continued, “We elect leaders to solve problems but this president who campaigned to solve the problems has done worse. He didn’t even acknowledge the challenges. He didn’t talk about youth unemployment and illegal mining.”
Amankwaa further went on to say that Akufo-Addo “should have talked about galamsey because it is a canker that has destroyed our water bodies.”
He described Akufo-Addo’s galamsey fight as a waste of state funds because the river bodies keep getting worse everyday.
“To me, I think Akufo-Addo’s address was a waste of time. He only came to campaign for Bawumia, his mate. All he was interested in was elections and how to get Bawumia to succeed him, ” he concluded.
The National Muslim Conference of Ghana, led by National Chief Imam Sheikh Dr. Nuhu Sharubutu, has presented a 14-point ‘Muslim Manifesto’ to the leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
At a meeting attended by the leader and flag bearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, national executives of the party and some members of parliament, the National Muslim Conference outlined some of the proposals in their manifesto, which includes a request for the construction of STEM and TVET schools in all Zongo communities in the sixteen administrative regions of the country.
They are also proposing an amendment of the inter-state succession bill before parliament to allow Muslims to decide their inheritance by Islamic ordinances, the construction of modern abattoirs that meet the World Health Organisation’s standard in all regions of Ghana, and the establishment of a permanent pilgrimage board that would facilitate the sacred trip to Mecca every year.
General Secretary of the Conference, Alhaji Inusah, explained that the Muslim community believes it had long been deprived of equal opportunities to share in the national cake. The presentation of the Muslim manifesto to all political parties is, therefore, a proactive step to ensure they are not neglected by political actors again.
In his response, the NDC leader acknowledged that many of the points captured in the Muslim Manifesto are contained in the 2020 People’s Manifesto of the NDC. He, however, acknowledged other critical issues and recommendations in the Chief Imam’s proposal that the NDC manifesto committee would consider to ensure that the Muslim community benefits from what is due them.
Mr Mahama announced that the next NDC administration would decentralise the implementation of the STEM programme into secondary education and be available in all schools rather than leaving it as a stand-alone campus.
He also assured the Muslim community of his already announced plan to establish a National Pilgrimage Authority to oversee all pilgrim activities in Ghana when elected to office in the 2024 general elections.
Mr Mahama, on behalf of the NDC, thanked the National Chief Imam and his entourage for the visit and their proposals. He assured them that his team would take a keen interest in their requests and appreciated their proactive step, making it easier for him as the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress.
Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has said the country under President Akufo-Addo is a hopeless one where youth unemployment has skyrocketed and pushed Ghanaians into severe poverty.
Reacting to President Nana Akufo-Addo’s final State of the Nation address on Tuesday, February 27,2024, in Parliament, the MP for Ejumako Enyan Essiam said unemployment had soared to a point that “two out of three Ghanaians are jobless.”
“In a country of 33 million, only 11 million are employed,” he stated while criticising Akufo-Addo for neglecting policies that would have created sustainable jobs for the people of Ghana.
“Mr. Speaker, the state of our nation is hopeless. No wonder that ordinary Ghanaians including professionals are leaving our shores in droves, in search of greener pastures. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I am scandalized, I am shocked to the marrow to notice that our president following the recent ministerial reshuffle has increased the size of his government. Mr. Speaker, today we have a Minister of Finance International and Minister of Finance domestic.”
“Mr. Speaker, 1 dollar is today GH¢13. Mr. Speaker, under President Mahama, 1 dollar was 3 cedis, 80 pesewas. Mr. Speaker, a vote for Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia is a vote for President Akufo-Addo. Mr. Speaker, to conclude on the matter, Ghanaians voted for the President and appealed to the vice president to support him to succeed. Mr. Speaker, the president cannot fail alone. The President will have to fail together with the Vice-President so Mr. President, you have failed with your Vice President. Mr. Speaker, to conclude, Ghanaians will not miss Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia. We know you are going, and we can only wish you bye-bye.”
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo in his address said he had taken responsibility for his governance but hastened that the economy would do well.
He also revealed that his government has fulfilled its pledge of settling the last coupons owed bondholders who signed up to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
He stated, “For the last leg of the domestic debt exchange on September 5, 2023, a week ago last Tuesday, on February 20, 2024, the second coupon of GH¢5.8 billion was paid to domestic bondholders. This is the largest coupon paid in a day in Ghana’s history.”
Touching on the external debt side, the president said his government has achieved a significant milestone by reaching an agreement with Ghana’s bilateral creditors.
“I will use this occasion to thank the Republic of China and France, co-chairs of the official creditors committee for their positive roles in this achievement.
“We have also intensified our engagement with our external bondholders on the principles of transparency, fair treatment consistent with the IMF debt sustainability analysis and good faith. We are focused and committed to accelerating the process,” he stated.
The 2024 flag bearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has reiterated his commitment to expanding Ghana’s economy the much touted ‘24 hour economy’ policy.
Speaking at the end of a two-day policy dialogue by the party at Peduase in the Eastern Region, the former president described the policy as a game changer, stressing that it would massively improve the economic fortunes of the country.
“The 24-hour economy now remains perhaps the surest way to achieve significant economic expansion, boost productivity, meet demand, curb unbridled imports and its attendant negative effects on our economy and currency and above all generate well-paying jobs for the millions of our people who are without employment.
“I am encouraged by the very positive feedback and input we continue to receive on the proposal from our compatriots in organised labour, academia, business and industry,” he said.
The two -day policy dialogue was organised under the auspices of the NDC Social Democracy Lab, a policy think tank group of the party.
The dialogue brought together many interest groups in the party to fashion out and fine tune public policies under three thematic areas : Human Development, Finance and Economy and Governance.
Chartered Economist and a member of of the opposition NDC, Bernard Oduro Takyi (BOT) has urged Ghanaian farmers to vote against the NPP government in the 2024 elections for “collapsing the agriculture sector”.
The entrepreneur stated that previous budget statements of the government and statistics from the Ghana Statistical Service indicate that the Agric sector growth has declined ever since President Akufo-Addo took over power.
Quoting the 2017 and 2018 budget statements on the Gumbe Show program on TV XYZ, Oduro Takyi popularly known as BOT said the figures in the budget depicted that the Agric sector grew under the Mahama era but started to decline when the Akufo-Addo administration took over.
According to him, the cocoa sector took a nose dive under Akufo-Addo, explaining that the scrapping of free fertilizers for Cocoa farmers by the Akufo-Addo government has negatively affected the sector.
For instance, he said the cocoa road projects the Mahama administration introduced to rehabilitate feeder roads in the cocoa growing areas was halted by Akufo-Addo.
“This cocoa road projects was halted by the Akufo-Addo to tarnish the image of Dr Opuni, who was the then COCOBOD Boss.
“This government didn’t think about the farmers and they took huge amount of dollars to Kroll and Associates to audit the project but they couldn’t publish the report which stated that the project was a clean contract,” BOT told host Oheneba Boamah Bennie.
He further urged the cocoa farmers whose trade has been destroyed by the Akufo-Addo government to stage a protest against the NPP government and its flagbearer Dr Bawumia and kick them out.
“The cocoa sector has collapsed under President Akufo-Addo. Farmers should vote the NPP government out on December 7 as their way of expressing protest, ” he urged.
Again, BOT assured that the ” Cocoa Road projects will return under the next NDC/John Mahama government to make their roads motorable.”
The MP for Juaboso, Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has admonished Ghanaians to ignore the new promises of the flag bearer of the NPP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, saying he is a dishonest politician who wants to swindle electorates for power.
The former minister made this assertion while reacting to the new pledges from the vice president to abolish some taxes, which are his creation, when he wins the 2024 elections.
The legislator, who mentioned the economic down turn and a weak currency under Bawumia’s tenure, said the NPP’s new leader lacks credibility which is stemmed from his consistent lies to Ghanaians ever since he became the vice president of the Republic.
Commenting on Bawumia’s pledge to scrap the controversial Electronic Levy, Akandoh stated that the vice president was behind the drafting of the tax and , as such, cannot be trusted to abolish it when he wins power.
What He Said About E-Levy
While delivering his first major address to the nation after he was elected NPP flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, stated categorically that he would abolish the tax on electronic financial transactions (e-levy) if he wins the 2024 polls.
Dr Bawumia added that his bid for a Digital and Cashless Ghana will be significantly boosted if e-levy is abolished.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
“To move towards a cashless economy, however, we have to encourage the population to use electronic channels of payment. To accomplish this, there will be no taxes on digital payments under my administration. The e-levy will, therefore, be abolished,” he declared.
Dr. Bawumia also announced that as part of a new tax regime by his government, he will abolish the emission tax, tax on betting as well as the proposed 15% VAT on electricity tariffs, if it is in existence by January 2025.
Akandoh’s Jab
Mr Akandoh who described Dr Bawumia as pathetic liar, indicated that prior to the drafting of the tax policy in 2022, the Vice President had already declared his opposition to levies on electronic financial transactions in an interview, questioning the rationale behind such moves.
“Before the introduction of E-levy, Bawumia opposed it but when E-Levy was introduced he could not come out to speak on it but went for a party to celebrate the implementation of the tax.”
“What does Bawumia mean when he says he will abolish the E-Levy? If he will do it, what is preventing him from scrapping it now? He does not have the credibility for any Ghanaian to trust him,” Akando posited while listing most of his failed promises, including the crash of Ghana’s economy which he said was doing well under Mahama yet Bawumia criticised its growth.
He said It is John Mahama who can be trusted to rescue the country from the economic mess that has brought untold hardhip to Ghanaians over the past 7 years.
He said the policies of Mahama are clear resonate with the immediate needs and aspirations of Ghanaians, adding that the NDC rejected E-levy from its conception and will abolish it when they return to power.
John Mahama’s Job Creation Drive
On his tour of the country recently dubbed ‘Building Ghana Tour’, Mr Mahama touched on some of his job creation and Industrialization policies which was hinged on implementing a 24-hour economy.
He also pledged to establish a Western Industrial Development Enclave, create well-paying jobs through various initiatives, including completing abandoned projects and establishing factories based on ecological advantages.
The former president also said the next NDC administration will establish factories across the country based on ecological areas’ comparative advantages. For instance, he mentioned Pwalugu tomato factory, meat factory for Wulugu and Zuarungu, cocoa, cashew, tomato, and other food processing plants.
He also promised to increase government’s share of profit and revenue from natural resources to fund development and reduce tax burdens.
The National Chairman of the Youth Working Committee of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Okai Mintah has procured projectors to be distributed to every NDC constituency office across the country to play back the unfulfilled promises of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to Ghanaians.
This is to help electorates make informed decisions and also know about the failure of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government ahead of the 2024 polls.
This was disclosed by the National Youth Organizer of the NDC, George Opare Addo in an interview with Mugabe Maase on Inside Politics on Power FM and TV XYZ.
Opare Addo labeled the flag bearer of the governing NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, as a chronic liar who needs to be exposed to Ghanaians as the country prepares to hold elections later this year.
He said Bawumia, as a Running Mate of Akufo-Addo, in 2016, made a lot of promises to get the votes of Ghanaian electorates but failed woefully in government to fulfil them but trying to run away from those promises, especially the health of the country’s economy.
He stated that one of the NDC’s strategy going into the elections is to remind Ghanaians of how Bawumia pledged to do a lot of things including stabilising the currency and inflation but has failed to do so, resultng in untold hardship in the country.
Opare Addo argued that Bawumia has attempted to cover files of his unfulfilled promises and hastened that the project would help expose the NPP flag bearer by replaying his old clips to Ghanaians.
Opare Addo further rubbished a claim by Bawumia in his address at UPSA on 7th February 2024, saying he is the one behind the digitalisation in the country.
“Bawumia claims he started digitalization but I am saying today that it is false. NDC through the Ministry of Communication under Dr. Omane Boamah undertook many digitalization projects that brought us to where we are today . Ursula Owusu during her parliamentary vetting in 2017 praised Omane Boamah for the great work he did at the communication Ministry so how come he is claiming he should be credited with Ghana’s digitalisation drive?”
“This is the reason I’m very happy that the National Chairman of the youth wing working committee, Okai Mintah has taken this bold step to expose Bawumia big time,” he stated.
Opare Addo said the project has already commenced in the Eastern, North East and Savannah Regions to educate the people about the falsehoods being peddled by Dr Bawumia.
The National Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo, has said the reshuffle made by President Nana Akufo-Addo is to ensure that Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia succeed him after the 2024 elections.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, together with Road Minister Kwasi Amoako-Atta and Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu were relieved of their duties in the cabinet shake-up announced on February 14, 2024
Dr Okoe Boye replaced Agyeman Manu as Health Minister and Henry Quartey, Greater Accra Minister, was reassigned to the Interior Ministry.
Speaking on Inside Politics on TV XYZ, the youth leader stated that there was some motive behind the shake-up to get some persons to execute certain tasks through foul means during the December polls to get Akufo-Addo’s protege, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to continue his legacy.
“Henry Quartey, for instance, who has been reassigned to the Interior Ministry signifies that clearly Akufo-Addo is sending a message to you and I that he intends to be violent during the elections,” he stated.
He continued, “Everyone knows Henry Quartey and how he behaves. He was the Deputy Minister for Interior when those rascals came to commit violence at Ayawaso West Wuogon, and Henry Quartey featured prominently in that.”
To him, Ghanaians will vote the NDC and John Mahama back to power but the NPP is bent on holding on to power by causing pockets of violence during the polls.
Opare Addo further cautioned the operatives who will be used by the NPP to instigate violence that the NDC is adequately prepared to face them squarely to safeguard the votes of Ghanaians.
“I know the reshuffle was done to achieve that but I am telling you that if they touch one, we will touch 4. They should not try because what happened in 2020 will not happen and I can assure you that,” Opare Addo told host Mugabe Maase.
Reshuffle
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has been moved to the Works and Housing Ministry, while his deputy Fatimatu Abubakar takes over as the substantive Minister.
Francis Asenso Boakye moves to the Roads Ministry as the substantive Minister.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has also been reassigned to the office of the President as Minister of State.
Deputy Energy Minister Andrew Egyapa Mercer has been assigned a new role as the Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts.
The recent reshuffle has impacted around 13 ministers of state, comprising 10 cabinet ministers and two regional ministers.
A press release from the presidency on Wednesday, February 14, catalogued the sacked ministers, those reassigned and newly appointed.
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has promised to provide accommodation for pre-tertiary teachers to improve the state of Senior High Schools in Ghana.
According to him, unlike the current government, he does not make promises he cannot keep.
His remark follows nationwide concerns among pre-tertiary teachers about how teaching and learning are being impacted due to the lack of essential amenities.
While addressing pre-tertiary teachers in a Town Hall meeting in Tamale as part of his ‘Building the Ghana We Want Together Tour’, Mr. Mahama explained that the economy is currently in a big mess; hence, he would not make promises he cannot fulfil.
He emphasized several promises made by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led administration, including constructing factories and dams in every district but failing to fulfil them.
He indicated that as a result of the current state, his administration is going to provide accommodation support to pre-tertiary teachers as motivation for them to stay on campus if elected.
This, he believes, will help cut unnecessary expenses for these teachers and also inspire them to do their best in the field.
He said, “I’ve said that the economy is in a big mess, so I cannot promise everybody I’m going to increase salary and all that. I won’t be like those dishonest people who came to promise heaven that they will build factories in every district, they’ll build a dam in every village, I’m not that kind of person. So I cannot promise you that I’m going to increase your salary.”
“And so we have taken note of the difficulties pre-tertiary teachers are going through, and I’ve suggested some of the solutions, and one is that we’ll help with accommodation in schools so that more teachers can stay in school.”
Dr Bawumia paid a visit to NIA in 2017, along with the current NCA Boss Mr Anokye and some CEOs. As Head of Systems at the time, it was my responsibility to take him and his entourage through the NIA systems. That is, where we started from, where we are now, and where we plan to go.
Below is a picture of me explaining the systems we had in place and how we are transitioning from the old centralised system, which only captured two fingerprints, to a new system that will capture all ten fingerprints of an applicant, Iris, phone numbers for SIM registration, and issue cards immediately.
As part of my briefing, I informed Dr. Bawumia and his team that we needed to transition to instant issuance printing because the previous system was expensive because it was centralised printing. That is, we register Ghanaians, bring their data to the NIA office, process it, print it, and return to the field to distribute it to applicants. However, with the new system, cards would be issued immediately.
Again, I informed Dr. Bawumia and his team that the old system, which had approximately 16 million Ghanaians’ data, had been successfully migrated to the new system. This is to ensure data consistency and integrity. That is why if you register now and change your Date of Birth, and it does not match what you registered with in the previous system, it will be flagged for investigation.
Dr. Bawumia and his team were informed that the new system had completed the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) in December 2016 and was now ready for the final acceptance test, the Site Acceptance Test (SAT), prior to its launch.
Dr. Bawumia and his team were also informed that the new system is a public-private partnership (PPP) between Margins Group and the NIA, with the first contract to pilot instant card issuance completed in 2013 as part of the FIMS project.
It is therefore surprising that Dr. Bawumia, in his lecture yesterday, took credit for the new system while condemning the previous government for doing nothing. That is obvious DISHONESTY. In my next post, I will share email exchanges between NIA and the Margins group as we migrated old system data to new ones.
The only thing they have added is the Digital address field on the forms. That was even done wrongly. Go to NIA now an give them any digital address and the system will pick so far as it is consistent with the format of the addressing system.
The Director of Interparty and CSOs Relations for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, has descended on Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia over the economic downturn of the country.
He said the flag bearer and leader of the governing NPP who wants to be elected to power in the 2024 has not proven to Ghanaians that he will be a better manager of the economy when given the nod.
Otokunor who was speaking on Dwaboase on TV XYZ contended that the promises Bawumia made to Ghanaians in the run up to the 2016 general elections have not been fulfilled because the Vice President knows nothing about the management of a country’s economy.
As the head of Government’s Economic Management Team, he noted that Bawumia had failed woefully to better the lives of Ghanaians as he promised in opposition.
pointing to the heightening corruption in government, the free fall of the Cedi, high interest rates, high cost of doing business and the numerous taxes slapped on Ghanaians, including COVID-19 taxes, Otokunor described Bawumia as a “pathetic liar” who should not come close to the presidency once President Akufo-Addo is booted out of power.
He said Bawumia, who had failed woefully to manage the economy well, should answer the 170 questions he posed to his predecessor, Paa Kwasi Amissah-Arthur – John Mahama’s vice– in 2016 about the Econ before Ghanaians can take him seriously.
”Dr Bawumia should answer the 170 quest he poses to the then Vice President, Paa Kwasi Amissah-Arthur, about the economy,” Otokunor stated.
He said the Ghana cedi has depreciated so much that the cost of doing business has gone up and businesses are suffering, rendering many people poor unlike what Bawumia pledged.
Otokunor further admonished Ghanaians to reject Bawumia and rather vote the flag bearer of the NDC, former President John Mahama, to power since he has always been sincere with the citizens.
According to him, it is Mr Mahama who is passionate about the challenges Ghanaians are faced with and willing to work tirelessly to turn things around.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
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