President Akufo-Addo, by anchoring his 2016 campaign on seeking a solution for the same issues of economy, anti-corruption, which he promised to tackle in 2016, has admitted failure, manifest incompetence and lack of capacity and wherewithal to deliver on his promises.
President Akufo-Addo has wrecked our once robust economy handed over to him in 2017 by the Mahama administration. The economy handed over to the NPP administration was ranked one of the vibrant economies in the hub of Africa and one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Instead of any improvement, President Akufo Addo and his team have only succeeded in plunging our economy into a harrowing recession, wrecked our Cedi and collapsed banks and businesses, foisted obnoxious economic policies that scare away investors from our country, destroyed over I million jobs (formal and informal), de-marketed Ghana before the globe and plunged Ghanaians into the worst form of hunger and poverty.
Whereas the Mahama administration paid off our foreign debts and grew a virile economy, President Akufo Addo’s achievements are the accumulation of over 80 billion Cedis in debt within two years, depletion of our foreign financial instruments and making our thriving nation the poverty capital of the subregion.
Nana Akufo-Addo and his team of propagandists cannot point to any development project their administration initiated and completed in the last two years, despite the huge resources at the government’s disposal, yet he is out there telling Ghanaians to open their eyes.
Under Nana’s incompetent watch, insurgents, militiamen, marauders have taken over the country’s security, while criminal elements, armed robbers are having a field day pillaging our citizens in other parts of our nation.
In the same vein, Ghanaians can recall that transparency international latest corruption perception index amply showed that corruption in Ghana has worsened under Akufo-Addo with our nation dropping so many places in the corruption rung. The President’s anti-corruption is only a guise to hound the opposition leaders and former appointees while humongous corruption by members of his government, family members and cabal at his presidency, who have stolen billions of dollars in the last two years, go under his protective cover.
The once highly respected politician (Nana Addo), is now reputed to be the most corrupt President in the history of the fourth republic as impunity, official recklessness and protection of his corrupt relatives and henchmen have become a state policy.
Ghanaians have already passed a vote of no confidence on the government of President Akufo Addo on the occasion of its second anniversary. Below are some of the failed campaign promises
– Stability of the Cedi
-Ban on all government officials from seeking medical care abroad
-One Constituency, one million dollar(s)
-One District, one factory
-One Village one dam
-Free chocolate distribution to students and pupils
-Ban on purchase of new vehicles for government officials
-Make Accra the cleanest city in Africa
-Gender balance
-Reduce prices of fuel etc
-low electricity tariff
-Increase salary of workers
-Wipe off unemployment
-Create millions of jobs
-End borrowing
-Build 350 new secondary schools
-Free distribution of laptops to all students
-Provision of allowances to the unemployed youth
-Built a an entertainment centre across the country
-Lean government
-Economic growth and stability
-Removal of the stabilisation levy
-Preserving the independence of all institutions
-Special incentives to facilitate the education of the girl child
-Remove all (nuisance taxes)
-Support local businesses
-Construction of more roads
-Recruit more nurses and doctors
The irony is that the very issues Nana Akufo-Addo campaigned on in 2016 are the ones his government has managed to aggravate the most since coming to power. As we enter the third year of this government’s tenure, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a historic opportunity has been squandered. The Akufo-Addo government which was doubly blessed by a historic mandate from the people and two years of high oil, gold and cocoa prices on the global and stable power, had an opportunity to make Ghana the Mecca we all envisioned, enact widespread reform. Instead, this became a government with questionable priorities and a lack of any direction and legislative clarity.
The achievements the President makes noise about are debatable. However, there are few critical missteps which, without a doubt, define the Akufo-Addo government.
-The betrayal of farmers. The Akufo Addo government stopped the construction of the cocoa roads initiated by the Mahama administration. The Akufo Addo government stopped the free distribution of fertiliser and seedlings to the farmers, failed to increase producer price of cocoa, increased fuel prices which directly affected transportation of goods from the rural areas to the market centres. Ghanaian farmers have resorted to all manner of agitations to catch the Akufo-Ad do governments attention but the government has remained adamant to their appeals and demands
-The questionable rewriting of the Ameri and other deals. The President and his cohorts have changed the terms of some favourable contracts it inherited without following inherit clauses in the contracts
-Media Capture: there has been the enslavement of the media which simply choke on any criticism no matter how innocuous of the President and his officials. If a radio station or television channel is less than pliant, it is blacked out for hours, its premises are raided, or the offending journalists are mystery made to go on sabbatical or removed outright.
-The weakening of institutions: all the institutions of a state including the police, BNI, EOCO, Electoral Commission etc have been weakened by the President and his henchmen. The act on the orders of the President and his henchmen
-Mishandling of Political Opponents: the President has recruited his hoodlums into our security services and using them to intimidate and brutalized his political opponents and his critics. He recently unleashed them on officials of the NDC during the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-election
Erosion of Ghana’s influence in Africa: Until two years ago,-Ghana enjoyed a pre-eminent position in Africa and the Subregion with its voice sought on revolving matters within countries. It is clear that that influence has been eroded because of a foreign policy lacking any coherent objective, except to promote the President’s cult of personality.
Jobs; the President who promised the youth jobs, has collapsed millions of jobs since he took over, collapsed banks and businesses. He has revised the methodology for calculating GDP to make his government’s numbers appear artificially good when a capital flight on an unprecedented scale takes place.