Keta MP scores Akufo-Addo government only 20 percent, says gaffes too many 

The Member of Parliament for Keta in the Volta Region, Richard Mawuli Quashigah says on a scale of one to one-hundred, the Nana Akufo-Addo administration deserves only 20 percent for its poor work so far since taking office.

There have been too many gaffes in the 90+ days old administration, he says, and the 20 percent marks is the best it deserves.

“From where I’m coming, I won’t say he’s done any well. The hundred days have been hundred days of chaos, hundred days of hopelessness, hundred days of dismay and hundred days of spreading fear and panic…”, Quashigah told Richard Sky on Citi FM’s Point Blank programme Monday, insisting that there is indeed, nothing to write home about the new administration.

“We don’t think that so far there is anything to be proud of,” he said, explaining that from day one when Nana Addo started his governance, he kicked off amidst international ridicule. “It became an international embarrassment – plagiarism – the speech that he gave was replete with plagiarism, quotes from other places that were not acknowledged and all. That was so embarrassing, that was so worrying.

“Not long after that what did we see? Vigilante groups, young men who illegally began taking over state institutions and all, that became a very worrying situation for many. There were complaints from various quarters, the expectation was that Nana Addo who had promised the Ghanaian people that he would ensure fairness, uphold the rule of law and uphold the constitution of Ghana would rise to the occasion, but then we did not see that. We got worried as to whether indeed he was the decisive leader that we perceived him to be.”

Richard M. Quashigah, MP for Keta

He said apart from that there were a number of other unpleasant activities to follow. “For instance Nanka Bruce, the issue of Nanka Bruce, the police officer who was manhandled… right in the seat of government, very disturbing, very worrying, very uncomplimentary, and I think that we should have had Nana coming out very strong speaking against that and compelling his officers to take action to actually eliminate that kind of thing. But then what did we see? The action that ought to have been taken has not been taken up till now.”

Reminded that the picture cannot be all gloom as he sought to paint the situation, with at least some of those thought to have offended the law being prosecuted, with the elimination of some taxes and reduction in domestic plane fares, Quashigah would only scoff at the suggestion and insisted it is not yet uhuru. 

“I hope that you’re not making reference to the kayayei tax that does not exist in law, I hope that you’re not saying that transportation fares which concerned majority of the Ghanaian people have come down drastically? Of course we know recently that transport fares have gone up drastically by 15 percent, so if you’re talking about a handful of people who would use commercial flights from Accra to Kumasi being beneficiaries of some tax relief, I don’t think that that is deep enough and I don’t think that, that is a sign of general hopefulness for the Ghanaian people.”

He expressed hope that the one positive thing to come out of the government, the cedi’s recent renaissance, could be sustained but added that the country’s debt level has certainly grown above the GH¢122 billion, the new administration derided so much yet has done nothing to stem it, the creation of new ministries by President Akufo-Addo which he said generated a new storm for breach of procedure, the unprecedented size of ministerial appointments (110), and the not entirely free SHS deception after promising so much.

He maintained that so many things have happened within the short life of the administration that do not give hope.

“The only positive thing (about Nana Addo’s government) that I can talk about is that they have managed, as it were, to appoint 110 ministers and deputy ministers of state, which is going to tell on the state purse. It’s going to tell on the state purse so much, and apart from that we also have situations where people are being compelled, as it were to resign.