Why the NPP must be retained in the next elections

It will be a travesty for Ghana if the NPP is voted out of office in the forthcoming general election on December 7, 2024. 

Indeed, in the last four years, the country has experienced financial challenges resulting in hyperinflation, with the depreciation of the cedi causing difficulty for everyone.

However, amidst this crisis, the country hasn’t ground to a halt and business has been carried on as normal. The skill that the government has utilised to circumvent these challenges ought to be applauded and it is in this vein that I believe they should be retained to complete the process of fixing the problems.

The year 2020 will be etched in the memory of everyone in the world, as the Coronavirus permeated every part of the world, causing disruption in our interaction with one another.

When the situation was ultimately deemed as a pandemic, it culminated in a lockdown in virtually every country in the world. Ghana wasn’t exempted from this problem and it was devastating to the economy, after all the hard work of restoring economic stability to a burgeoning economy for four years, by the new NPP administration it was all neutralized by the effects of the lockdown. 

Russian/Ukraine war

When we thought the crisis was under control and life will be back to what we knew as normal, the Russian/Ukraine war kicked off causing instability with oil prices, thus wreaking havoc on our fragile economy even further.

Oil prices went up and this had a devastating effect on our logistics companies, who had to adjust costs which impacted on prices of goods and services. Inflation went up and panic hit the marketplace with vendors reacting adversely to the sudden rise of logistics services.

Coupled with this problem, was the high demand for dollars to appease Ghanaians, who have a taste for foreign goods. As the government couldn’t meet the demand for dollars, due to it’s inability to raise loans, the speculators reacted to this by pushing the value of the dollar against the cedi to levels that was unfathomable three years before the crisis, when the cedi was enjoying stability that hasn’t happened in the history of the 4th Republic.

The two main political parties would have been in power for 16 years by the time of the next elections and we ought to look at their accomplishments in perspective, to determine who warrants to be voted in to carry out the transformation that Ghanaians need to elevate the masses from hardships.

We cannot allow emotions to dictate who we vote for, as Ghana requires the right team to steer its quest into developing the economy. It is imperative that we analyse the respective sectors of the economy to see how well each party has fared in executing its policies.

The 4th Republic is over 30 years old and some of the requisite needs of the people to alleviate the masses from poverty has been social intervention programmes by the two main parties.

Looking at the NDC there are two major social intervention programmes that they have provided since 1992, which are the District Assemblies Common Fund Act, 1993 and the GETfund Act 2000, which were established by the NDC under President Rawlings.

The NPP on the other hand, has established the following social interventions.

The National Health Insurance Scheme and the provision of free maternal healthcare (NHIS), the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Program, Pension Reforms and mass cocoa spraying, initiatives that were undertaken by the Kufuor led NPP. Whilst Nana Addo has implemented the Free Senior High School Education Programme, the One District One Factory, One District One Warehouse, One Village One Dam and the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.

Based on this simple and crude assessment of the initiatives under the NDC and NPP governments, it is obvious who has made a massive difference to the lives of the masses. 

We cannot deny the last eight years of the NDC saw very little in terms of social intervention initiatives, and a cursory look at the last four years of the NDC government led by Mahama, has been wrought with difficulties.

In 2012, Ghana was blessed with a windfall from oil revenues for the first time, but we somewhat fell on hard times and stayed in darkness for three years and ended up with the IMF for a bailout.

We are currently experiencing an IMF bailout, curated by different conditions unlike the previous one, where mismanagement was largely the reason for it.

As President Akufo Addo is approaching the end of his eight year tenure, his replacement as Presidential candidate, Dr Bawumia, who happens to be technocrat is dynamic and savvy and provides hope in a political system where disillusionment and apathy seems to be the order of the day. 

Comparism

Comparing NDC’s Mahama with Dr Bawumia at the helm, seems stark, as we have experienced Mahama as both Vice-President and President for eight years and it wasn’t reassuring.

Mahama came into office with a lot of promise, youth on his side, with access to money due to the discovery of oil. After four years in government, the masses were disappointed and voted him out.

After eight years in opposition, you will think he would be brimming with ideas and spent time reviewing his shortcomings, however his marquee idea of a 24 hour economy sounds more like a ‘slogan’ than a policy. For me, the NDC are ill equipped to manage Ghana out of a crisis and continuity with the NPP will be best for Ghana.

I believe Ghana will be at the cusp of greatness, with Dr Bawumia as President, as his vision of moving Ghana from an analogue system into a digital system is phenomenal and will be transformational.

 He has been instrumental in the introduction of the Gold for Oil, a policy that helped steer the economy from disaster. The government has already implemented the identity card for all adults and linked it to their mobile phones, thus making everyone accountable within the economy.

With the recurrence of successive governments abandoning projects of their predecessor, it is incumbent on Ghanaians to see through the digital economy being postulated by Dr Bawumia.

Projects such as introducing credit scoring will enable Ghanaians to easily have access to credit, which will undoubtedly open up markets, create opportunities for the teeming youth who have been educated under the Free SHS. Job creation being the underlying reason for the digital economy, will help lessen unemployment and the despair amongst the youth, not knowing where to turn to after undertaking their studies.

Corruption is endemic in our society and a major problem for both the NDC and NPP. Listening to any of the two Parties harping on about corrupt practices is laughable, as both are guilty of indulging in this malaise.

Ghana needs a visionary leader who has the commitment to hold his team to task. The record of NDC’s Mahama is appalling and he makes a mockery of rooting it out in his campaign for President, whereas Dr Bawumia, as a politician is untainted by corruption, making him a good candidate to tackle it.

The 2024 polls is crucial in the direction of Ghana’s economy. Amidst the challenges the country has undergone, we ought to be careful in who we vote for and emotions shouldn’t play a crucial part in our decision-making.

We need continuity at this moment to build on the policies of Nana Akufo Addo, which will help the digitisation of the Ghana economy. Dr Bawumia has proven to be a shrewd and competent leader and the impact he has made as a Vice-President is without a doubt noteworthy and deserving of him to be at the helm. 

The writer is a Political Activist