Decision to increase price of petrol insensitive — Akufo-Addo
The Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has described the decision by the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to increase the prices of petroleum products in the midst of the ongoing crippling energy crisis as a mark of an insensitive government.
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According to him, at a time when Ghanaians were reeling from the effects of three years of ‘dumsor’ and thereby resorting to the use of generating sets to produce power, “a responsible government would rather ensure that the fuel which aids citizens and businesses to generate power will not receive an upward adjustment in its price”.
The NPP’s 2016 presidential candidate said “it means there is no end to the difficulties for the ordinary Ghanaian”.
Nana Akufo-Addo said this last Saturday in Köln, Germany, when he addressed a packed meeting of Ghanaians, NPP members and sympathisers on the first day of his 16-day tour of some European countries.
Leadership styles of NPP and NDC
Ghanaians, Nana Akufo-Addo said, had had the opportunity to witness at firsthand the governance and leadership styles of the NPP and NDC, and their resultant impact on their standard of living.
“When President Kufuor left office, people were speaking of our country as Africa’s success story, possessing a stable democracy and an economy on the rise. Within six years of his leaving office, Ghana has retrogressed. Ghanaians are suffering and experiencing difficulties never witnessed in our history,” he said.
He stated that no single government in Ghana’s history had had the resources and monies that the Mahama administration had been blessed with.
“Between 2001 and 2008, the total tax revenue collected by the NPP amounted to GH¢15.2 billion. In contrast, the NDC government, under President Mahama, has collected a total of GH¢62 billion in the last six years (2009-2014).
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“Exports of gold and cocoa between 2001 and 2008 earned Ghana $16.4 billion. However, under six years of NDC, these exports have earned the country $39.5 billion, in addition to the $3 billion in oil revenues and the GH¢78.7 billion worth of new loans contracted by the NDC government. Kufuor’s government received no oil revenues.
“But today, Ghana is broke and back to the IMF looking for a bailout of $1 billion. Ghanaians want change, they want to go back to the Kufuor era of progress and development. Despite all the difficulties they are facing, they have hope in the NPP,” Nana Addo said.
Wranglings in NPP
In recent times, however, this hope in the NPP, Nana Addo said, might somewhat have been questioned because of the internal wranglings in the NPP, which have become a source of worry to Ghanaians.
“However, I want to assure all of you, and Ghanaians back home, that all these internal wranglings will soon come to an end. We will elect our parliamentary candidates on June 13, and, thereafter, we will announce our campaign team. We will then have one objective after that, which is to win the election of 2016,” he said to spontaneous applause and cheers from the gathering.
Leadership in Cote d’Ivoire
Nana Akufo-Addo urged Ghanaians to continue to have faith in the NPP, adding that Ghana’s predicament could be turned around, citing the case of Cote d’Ivoire – a country that was ravaged by civil war and yet had managed to turn its fortunes around.
“Because they got a strong and competent leader, they have turned everything around, and today Cote d’Ivoire is rediscovering itself. It is again the engine of growth of Francophone West Africa, because they have found a competent, strong leader.
“If a man, Alassane Ouatarra, who is three whole years older than me, has been able to change the destiny of Cote d’Ivoire, all I am asking God and Ghanaians is to give me that same opportunity to bring back our country onto the path of progress and prosperity,” he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo asked for the full support of the membership of the NPP towards ensuring victory in the election of 2016, and by that, “build the free, democratic and prosperous Ghana that our founding fathers dreamt about. That dream is very much alive in me. I have the hope and confidence that we can be the beacon and the Black Star of Africa”.