Alexander Afenyo-Markin
The Majority in Parliament has urged Ghanaians not to waste their votes on the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flagbearer, ex-President John Dramani Mahama because they have nothing new to offer them.
According to the caucus, the NDC has not changed since 2016 when it lost the election by over one million votes.
Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin told the media in Parliament yesterday, “The only thing that has changed is its running mate. Even so, the running mate was part of the government and she was the main advisor on educational policy.”
“She advised the government to the effect that Free SHS was not possible. So it is the same old team – from the flagbearer through to the running mate and all their former Ministers with some in Parliament and others outside Parliament,” he stated.
The Majority Leader has called Ghanaians to vote against the NDC in the upcoming December elections because it offers no new ideas for the country.
He claimed that since the NDC’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, would only be eligible for one term, the party might experience a leadership crisis if it were elected.
For him, a Mahama-led administration would lack a sense of urgency in governance due to the same reason: one term eligibility.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin stated that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), offers a brighter future for the country than Mr. Mahama.
“We have the NDC candidate who has had the opportunity to serve as vice president and president. He has been vice president for three and a half years before, and he’s been president for some four and half years.
“We know his track record. He is the same person with the same old team coming to tell us that they have something to offer,” he asserted.
“And we dare say that from day one that the government will be in crisis because those party people will be struggling for who should be the next leader. Ghanaians need a stable government with focus. Dr. Bawumia offers a better future than John Mahama,” he stressed.
For the NDC running mate, the Majority Leader said Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang has no project to show in her home region, the Central Region, indicating that she has not been able to start on a single infrastructural project for people to earn their votes on December 7.
Mr. Afenyo-Markin noted that, unlike the NDC, the NPP government has established landing beaches across the country, with the Central Region benefiting from the projects.
Free SHS
On the Free SHS, the Majority Leader said the NDC poo-pooed the policy, adding, “We need to emphasise they were clear in their mind that vulnerable people who could benefit from Free SHS was indeed impossible.”
“They were loud and clear about that. They even initiated what they called the E-Block system that they were going to increase infrastructure,” he posited.
He pointed out that when the NPP took office in 2017, the Free SHS policy was immediately implemented.
“Upon successful implementation of the Free SHS, we have had an enrolment increasing by 75%. This is 800,000 plus students getting access from the beginning up to 1.4 million students now.
“Currently, we have 1.4 million Ghanaian children in school, majority of them are from vulnerable homes – thus homes that could not have afforded if it were to be a fee-paying policy.
“In terms of infrastructure, across the country, this government has so far completed as of December last year, 747 structures including dormitories, classroom blocks, to support the implementation of this policy,” he intimated.
Afenyo-Markin agreed that the Free SHS implementation had challenges, but it was ultimately successful.
“We are not saying that it has been done without challenges. We have challenges, but largely we have been successful in implementing Free SHS,” he emphasised.
“They left us with some Day Schools. We have a total of 60 out of the 101 Community Day SHS or the E-Block that have been completed.
“We need to emphasise that as at the time we assumed office, those who were the initiators of this initiative had completed only 29. This government believes in continuity; we didn’t come with our own policy just to abandon what our predecessor had initiated,” he submitted.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House