Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
The vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has taken a swipe at President John Dramani for saying that he (Mahama) is not a magician to solve the unemployment problem in the country.
Dr Bawumia said the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government over the last eight years had had more money than all the past governments put together yet is unable to solve the challenges facing the country.
Rather, President Mahama and his government have made living more difficult for the people, urging Ghanaians to reject a ‘dead goat’ president who cannot meet their demands.
According to Dr. Bawumia, with Ghanaians desperately yearning for their problems to be solved, “He” (President Mahama) “tells us he’s not a magician. He says he’s not a magician to solve the problems of unemployment. But, he’s a very good magician when it comes to the disappearance of Ghana’s money under ‘create, loot and share’ schemes like SADA, Woyome’s judgement debt payment, Ameri, Karpower, GYEEDA, Waterville, ISOFOTON, etc.”
He continued, “President Mahama is a very good magician at making our money disappear. We want change. We want to elect a new president. We don’t want a ‘dead goat’ as a president. A dead goat is a dead goat, whether in Ashanti, Volta, Greater Accra, Brong-Ahafo, Eastern, Upper West, Upper East, Western, Central or Northern. We don’t want to vote for a ‘dead goat,’” he stated to thunderous applause from thousands of NPP supporters at a Volta Regional rally at Aflao.
With more revenue – in the form of loans and taxes – than all governments in Ghana’s history put together, Dr Bawumia, an astute economist, said the government of President Mahama has been unable to pay nursing and teacher training allowances, as well as several months of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims by hospitals.
“They cannot pay for School Feeding; they cannot pay for Mass Cocoa Spraying. The National Youth Employment Programme has collapsed under their watch and they cannot pay contractors. That is why we are saying they are an incompetent government,” Dr Bawumia stressed.
He was confident that the people of Ghana “don’t want to vote for a president who cannot think far. Of what use is a president who cannot think far be to this country? We want a farsighted president. We don’t want to vote for a president whose government is corrupt, and we definitely don’t want to vote for an incompetent president.”
He assured the people of the Volta Region that “In 18 days’ time a new Ghana will be born, and we will begin to see the restoration of a leadership of vision, integrity and incorruptibility under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. In 18 days’ time, we will have a new president-elect of the Republic of Ghana. We will replace this corrupt and incompetent government of President Mahama.”
Dr. Bawumia added that “in 18 days’ time, you will begin to see the process of the restoration of the teacher training and nursing trainee allowances. We will begin the process of transformation of the economy which brings down unemployment and brings jobs to our people.”
He therefore, urged residents of Aflao and the residents of the Volta Region to unite and ignore the tribal and ethnocentric politics being waged by President Mahama and his team.
“Let us all come together as one country, and let us not allow President Mahama to divide us. He has no message; he has lost the argument. You cannot govern with propaganda and tribalism. Away with tribalism and let’s get together with unity under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,” he appealed.
Magician
President Mahama, speaking at the GBC Presidential Forum last week, stated that he is not a magician who can just flip a hand to put money into unemployed graduates’ pockets. He said such graduates are not taking advantage of the opportunities in the system.
Job creation has taken a centre stage in this year’s electioneering campaigns as the number of unemployed youth in the country continue to grow at an alarming rate, with the United Nations pegging Ghana’s unemployed youth at 48 percent.
“Instead of taking responsibility for the situation, the president has rather resorted to blaming the unemployed youth for not being proactive enough,” Bawumia observed.
Economy Collapsed Under NDC
He blamed the NDC government for collapsing the economy which has led to mass unemployment; and entreated the government to take full responsibility for its failures. “This is a government that has brought so much unemployment to the youth because under their watch the economy has collapsed. And when we ask the president to solve the problem, he tells us he is not a magician,” he added.
Tribal Card
The NPP presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, condemned President Mahama for what he described as “tribal and ethnocentric politics” that could only move the country backwards.
President Mahama is reported to be engaging in ethnic politics in the northern parts of the country, telling them to vote for him because he is a Northerner.
He therefore, urged Northerners not to vote for Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP, “because they hate people from the North, adding that they will use you and dump you.”
But Nana Addo described the president’s comment as unfortunate. “Our president who should be a figure to unite us, is now campaigning on tribal incitement and inflammation. He is telling the people of the Northern Region to vote for him because he is a Northerner and that we the NPP do not like Northerners so they shouldn’t listen to us. Is that the Ghana we want? North against South and South against North, tribe against tribe,” he queried.
He continued that the NPP wants a Ghana that is peaceful and united, a Ghana with opportunity for all devoid of tribe or background, a Ghana where “all of us are coming together to redevelop the country.”
He said instead of convincing the people with policies and issues, the president has resorted to tribal politics because “he has his back to the wall and can feel the stool shifting under him as defeat stares him in the face; so he will do and say anything to put himself in the seat.”
According to Nana Addo, Ghanaians are looking forward and want a united Ghana to build a prosperous nation so such tribal incitements should be condemned with all seriousness.
“We are turning our backs on tribalism, petty politics and the politics of propaganda and deceit. That will not be the politics in the future of our country. We are going to build a new Ghana which is founded on commitment, truth and principle, where policies are worked out for the progress of our people, that will bring jobs and employment to our young people,” he added.
Nana Addo expressed the conviction that recent development shows that the people of the Volta Region are prepared for the new adventure of rebuilding the country to save it from the massive corruption and suffering it has been plunged into under the Mahama administration.
From Fred Duodu & Gibril Abdul Razak, Afla