Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
PRESIDENT NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Saturday assured the nation that his government would negotiate a good deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), pledging that the welfare of Ghanaians will serve as a guide for the negotiation.
According to him, he looks forward to a deal that will allow the government to revive the economy and continue “the task of building a stronger economy than we had before.”
Addressing the National Delegates Conference of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the Accra Sports Stadium in the national capital, President Akufo-Addo said, “We will be in the position, not only to negotiate, but implement a good arrangement.”
“Our responsibility is to confront the difficulties that are confronting our people and find an effective solution to it, and that is exactly what we are going to do.
“We came to office under the IMF programme; a derailed IMF programme which we inherited from the Mahama administration,” he stated, and added that the NPP has a tradition of taking Ghana out of difficulties.
He noted that the government worked hard to exit the country from the IMF programme, continuing, “And we were in the process of building a strong economy until the event of COVID-19 and its consequences.”
“I want to assure you and assure the people of Ghana that we are going to negotiate a good deal with the IMF; a deal that will allow us to revive our economy and to continue that task of building a stronger economy than we had before,” the President stressed.
He reiterated that the NPP, with its tradition, took Ghana out of HIPC in President Kufuor’s time, and added, “We took Ghana out of the derailed IMF programme of 2015.”
“Our party was the one that made it possible for us to survive the COVID-19 pandemic with one of the lowest mortality rates of any government of any country anywhere in the world,” the President touted.
“We have done it before, and believe me, we are going to do it again. In doing so, the strong economy that we are going to build, is the economy that is going to provide the platform for our victory in 2024,” he declared.
President Akuffo-Addo said, “It is our historic duty to maintain the NPP in office under a new candidate and new leader, but with the same commitments of good governance, sound economic management, respect for human rights and rule of law.”
According to him, an important step towards that victory will be determined by the leaders the delegates would elect to steer the affairs of the party.
“Let us make sure that we elect the men and women who can hold us together; who will enable us to work together; and who will be able to provide the leadership for the party to be able to surmount our mantra: – Breaking the Eight. And breaking the eight, we shall in 2024,” he charged.
Outgoing Chairman
The outgoing NPP National Chairman, Freddie Blay, said the congress to elect new officers for the party underscored the NPP’s commitment to deepen the party’s democratic culture and tradition.
“As we expect to strengthen our bonds and resolve to remain united, we need to invigorate the party by undertaking a few elections as dictated by our constitution,” he posited.
He appealed to all and sundry to work together, irrespective of the outcome of the elections, saying that the party would be the ultimate winner.
“It will only make our party strong, ready and sharp for the task ahead. I am talking about 2024,” Chairman Blay asserted.
For him, there is the need to deepen and strengthen the sense of inclusion in the governance for all party members and ensure that the NPP wins the 2024 general election.
He said the Nana Akufo-Addo-led government had initiated some of the boldest socio-economic policies in the history of the country to bring about transformational changes in area of education, healthcare, industrialisation, agriculture, digitalisation, and security among others.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu