The vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, yesterday said Ghanaians have a duty to end rampant stealing of the country’s resources by voting out the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, headed by President John Mahama.
He said persons entrusted with the duty of overseeing the national purse are emptying the content into their private pockets, urging Ghanaians to end the stealing by voting for the NPP in the December elections.
Speaking to residents of Nyanyano, near Kasoa in the Gomoa East Constituency at the start of his campaign tour of the Central Region, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s running mate said the practice whereby appointees stash stolen money in Burkina Faso and Dubai at the expense of the people should come to an end.
Dr. Bawumia added that for Ghanaians to see real change in their lives, there was the need to vote out the Mahama administration, which Dr Bawumia noted has been characterized by incompetence, mismanagement and unbridled corruption.
“There are a lot of hardships in the country today. In Nyanyano Kakraba, water is a problem; paying for electricity is a problem; paying school fees has become a problem; there are no jobs and this is why there is the need for change. Ghana’s economy has now been totally run to the ground and that is what is causing these hardships.
“But the problem is not a lack of resources. This is a land of resources but the real problem is that those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of managing our resources, mismanage and steal them, and this situation cannot continue any longer,” he said in Twi.
$1m Per Constituency
Dr Bawumia said an NPP government under Nana Akufo-Addo would give $1 million to every
constituency in the country every year to undertake development projects.
“The $1 million represents 20% of capital budget which would be given to all the constituencies in the country every year while industrialization policy would also be introduced,” he reiterated.
He added that plans were underway to put that in the 2017 budget when Ghanaians vote for the party in the upcoming general election.
According to him, Ghana is a rich country and needs people who can manage its resources well to improve the living conditions of the people.
He said the NPP government, which was headed by President John Agyekum Kufuor, utilized the country’s limited resources judiciously and implemented many social interventions such as the National
Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), School Feeding Programme, Capitation Grant, Metro Mass Transit, among others.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to return the NPP to power for the betterment of all.
Manifesto
Speaking at Nyanyano Kakraba, Dr. Bawumia disclosed that the soon-to-be-launched NPP manifesto would primarily be about the party’s vision and programmes for job creation, especially for the millions of youth who are jobless today as a result of the inability of the government to create the environment for business and economic growth.
“Our soon-to-be-launched manifesto will be about jobs. Today our youth cannot find jobs; this will change under the NPP. We will introduce policies that will make it easy for businesses to operate, make profit, grow and employ. We will deal with the high import taxes to make it easy for companies to bring in raw materials and equipment for production and we will reduce the high tax burden on companies and traders,” he indicated.
The renowned economist stated that the NPP would reduce taxes, as well as create more jobs to reduce the unemployment situation in the country, adding that the next NPP administration would restore the allowances of teacher and nurse trainees.
He donated GH¢5,000 towards the Gomoa Nyanyano Educational Fund as well as 100 bags of cement to complete the Buduatta Community Centre.
He paid a courtesy call on the chief of Buduatta, Nana Osuan Ewusi III.
Nana Ewusi reiterated the commitment of the people in the area to voting massively for the NPP in the December elections.
According to him, he would vote for the NPP and canvass for more votes for the party to win the elections in his constituency.
Nana Ewusi hinted that that was the first time a running mate had visited the area and hoped Dr Bawumia and his party in government would help with the development of the area.
From Sarah Afful, Gomoa Nyanyano
Email:affulsco@gmail.com