It is becoming funnier and funnier as we head towards election 2024. Sometimes laughter is not enough to release tension as jokers increase day by day. Any attempt to put dust into the eyes of Ghanaians by the NDC backfires, and so instead of sending a campaign message to the electorates, they spend all their precious time to claim whatever project the Nana Addo government has done, including the James Town Fishing Harbour. It seems they have been cursed.
When JDM tried to claim that the NDC introduced the NHIS, it backfired badly. The man was left licking his wounds after he was exposed by the good people of this country. When former President Kufuor’s Cabinet tabled the NHIS Bill in parliament, NDC Parliamentarians boycotted Parliament, only for Mahama to come around many years later to claim that it was the NDC which first introduced the scheme. Then he drove his moving violation van to the doorsteps of the Free SHS, and he was struck down by the thunder god of truth.
Dazed, confused, demystified and defenseless, he ate the humble pie and told NDC supporters recently that when he comes back to power, he will look at the food given to the students enjoying the Free SHS. According to him, instead of giving money to caterers to buy food for the students, his administration will give the money to the headmasters to buy the food, including sheep and goats since the food being given to the students are not nutritious enough. Eh, sheep and goats for these millions of students? Come again, Mr. Confusion!!! In fact, if this promise comes to reality, I will have to vacate whatever job that I am doing and start rearing goats and sheep. Maybe that is another way of job creation.
I used to get ants in my pants when many TV stations in this country decided to bring to the notice of Ghanaians the bad state of feeder roads in this country. I blamed MMDCEs for sitting down without taking any action, and allowing the media to go out there to identify the bad roads, some of which have been there since independence.
The youth, chiefs and assembly members constantly criticised the government for not mending their roads. Meanwhile, these people knew very well that their bad roads were there before the NPP under Akufo-Addo took over power. But do you have to blame them? The answer is no because they know if you bring the issue to the notice of the current government, something would be done. At a point in time, I had to throw my hand in the air in despair.
Unknown to Ghanaians, the NPP government had their trump cards firmly fixed on their chest. The government had planned to introduce what they term as District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) to solve the problem. Various types of machinery to embark on the programme were ordered but the government still put their cards on their chest.
Because such heavy machinery can only be transported by ships on the sea, it took time. We woke up one morning to see two thousand, two hundred and forty (2,240) road construction machines like, bulldozers, tipper truck, pay loaders, rollers etc. packed at the Independence Square, ready to be commissioned by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Then the NDC, through the Member of Parliament of Banda, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, reactivated their propaganda machine. Listen to the “Honorable” Member of Parliament lying through his teeth. “It was the NDC which ordered the equipment but they arrived late. So the NPP cannot claim that it was their brainchild” And another “Honorable” NDC Member of Parliament of Salaga South Constituency followed suit.
A lady, who is supposed to carry her honour high, lied to her people that the equipment were acquired with part of her MP Common Fund. And she calls herself an Honorable lady! What sort of self-inflicted disgrace is this? The two MPs were shot down from where they perched on the tree to lie to Ghanaians. The God of Abraham raised His mighty hand and the truth came to light.
When the equipment were distributed to all the MMDAs in Ghana and packed at the various offices of the MMDAs, hell broke loose. NDC supporters, seeing the wonders and hearing the credit Ghanaians are giving to the NPP, they decided to challenge why the equipment were packed at the offices and residences of the MMDAs. What type of nonsense is this?
What is even making them angrier is when they saw posters of NPP Parliamentary Candidates and Dr. Bawumia pasted on the equipment. They have forgotten that when the NDC constructed the Accra Circle Interchange, huge billboards embossed with artist’s impression of the project were erected in all regional capitals for Ghanaians to see what the NDC had done in Accra. They have also forgotten that when the NDC introduced the Marine Police, billboards with pictures of Policemen and women riding in speedboats were also erected in all the regional capitals.
In fact, they have also sadly forgotten that Mr. Mahama’s scandalous bus branding were all decorated with the colored pictures of the Bole/Bamboi jealous man. And has the NDC apparatchiks all too soon forgotten that when the NDC was in power, they distributed laptops to schools with the picture of John Dramani Mahama boldly pasted on the laptops?
Today, the man is complaining how the DRIP equipment were transported to the various MMDAs as if that too matters. What is most laughable is what one of the speakers during the NDC rally in Bono Region said that the DRIP machines are meant for galamsey by the government after the elections. Shame unto you!
What is most absurd like what supporters of NDC at Salaga did was that, like the MCE official vehicle, the DRIP equipment belong to the MMDAs. In case the NPP leaves power in future, will they carry this equipment away? The NDC had an opportunity to dream big but they lazily chose the path of propaganda as far as road maintenance was concerned. If the NPP thought outside the box and brought such a lofty idea, why cry over it instead of praising the government? Is it jealousy? No, it is skin pain!!!
By Eric Bawah