Julius Debrah
The verdict is here. It was settled way back in 2016 by former President John Mahama’s Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah.
The debate was reignited last Wednesday by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia when he said he was the mate to President Akufo-Addo who is the driver of the Republic. The NDC and its guard dogs in the media, academia and civil society took the Veep to the cleaners.
But listen to Julius Debrah in Kaleo, in 2016 on this driver’s mate saga, thus, “In every moving vehicle, there is someone behind the steer and a driver’s mate. The driver determines which direction the car moves. The mate may have a say, but the driver takes the ultimate decision.
“In this simple analogy, President John Mahama is the driver. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, a Vice Presidential candidate will be the driver’s mate should Nana Addo win and cannot have the ultimate power. If he proposes something for you and Nana Addo says later, there is nothing he can do,” Julius Debrah postulated.
We ask the NDC and its allies what has changed that today the challenges of our time are blamed on Dr. Bawumia? This is simply hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty.
The NDC people do not read, otherwise, they would remember that when John Mahama presented his vision to the nation after the death of his master, late President Mills, he denounced some failures under President Mills in the area of sanitation, and promised to fix it but failed in that task resulting in cholera in Accra and other places in the country, claiming hundreds of lives.
Every leader, be it at the corporate and national levels, does not live under the shadows of his predecessor.
If John Mahama fears failure and hence lacks a vision, Dr. Bawumia understands the dynamics of our times. All we can say is that Julius Debrah’s position on the driver’s mate brouhaha, is a political gift and endorsement of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia by the NDC and its cohorts.
Many Ghanaians know how the NPP in 2023 defended the E-Levy to the hilt even against stiff opposition from the business community.
Dr. Bawumia had his share of the attack because it was felt the E-Levy was symmetrically opposed to the benefits of the digital economy. The tone of the lecture was set by former President J. A. Kufuor who said the very first day he met Dr. Bawumia in London, he realised the Vice President has a bright future.
He said his subsequent encounter with him showcased Dr. Bawumia as a man of vision and destiny. In the Fourth Republic, how many Presidents gave this type of testimonial to their Vice Presidents?
Late President Rawlings beat up his Vice, Mr. Arkaah, late President Mills wanted John Mahama investigated while Mahama sidelined his late Vice President, Amissah-Arthur, as elucidated by his wife, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur.
We think Ghanaians haven’t seen anything yet. Vice President Bawumia is a man of substance who would dare the status quo by announcing that given the mandate, he would abolish the E-Levy, VAT on electricity tariffs and the emission levy.
But there is work to do to derail the efforts of the Goebbels in pouring sand in the lofty vision of Dr. Bawumia. The party rank and file must carry the message of Dr. Bawumia with the same vim with which they gave him a standing ovation in the UPSA auditorium last Wednesday.
It is possible to break the eight. The party is on the verge of retaining power but that objective requires hard work and unity of purpose.