John Mahama
There is a groundswell of opposition against the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) from many quarters, especially the NDC and its partners in “crime” in the media, civil society, clergy and academia.
We think it is just a wind swell, but the NPP government and its flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia must not take it for granted.
In an election year, this kind of alliances must be expected by the NDC which is on a so-called rescue mission. As a political party, the NDC lacks the policy alternatives to take on the man of vision and destiny, Vice President Bawumia.
That is why John Mahama and his NDC have chosen the path of rather highlighting NPP failures instead of telling Ghanaians how he hoped to take us to the Promised Land and to avoid the country’s return to the unproductive dumsor.
We hold the view that the NDC cannot compare its track records to that of the NPP in any sphere of our economy.
Before John Mahama lost the election in 2016, the NDC used to boast that in terms of infrastructural development, it has done better than any government in the history of the country. That was why John Mahama was sarcastic but sounded insulting when then candidate Akufo-Addo asked about the roads constructed by the NDC.
Candidate Akufo-Addo had said during his tour of the country, every chief had asked for good roads and wondered what roads have the government constructed, to which John Mahama responded in a very disrespectful way.
At the time, the visually impaired should have mounted a challenge to the statement by the NDC flagbearer.
Indeed, the NDC has refused to appreciate the efforts of the government to fix the challenges caused by COVID-19 and the Russia/Ukraine war. Even if the numerous interventions are held at the eyes of John Mahama and his NDC members, they would still say the country has not made any strides.
The NDC and its members are like the proverbial hawk that would not be pleased with the best dance steps by the fowl. So persistently, the NDC has made it a point to amplify economic challenges as the failure of the government.
No doubt, the least power disruption is equated to dumsor, when they know that during the four-year tenure of John Mahama, Ghanaians had no choice but to endure dumsor. As the NDC continues to smear the NPP administration, it has made it a point to paint the Judiciary and the Electoral Commission (EC) under Ms. Jean Mensa with the same brush.
The NDC and its allies have never spared the opportunity to describe these two institutions as tools in the hands of the government to undermine our democracy.
Like the hawk, the NDC does not think that the Judiciary and the Electoral Commission are impartial in the discharge of their duties, but they are being manipulated for electoral advantage.
The challenge caused by “short memory” that John Mahama said had afflicted Ghanaians has taken shelter in the corridors of the NDC, making it difficult for the members to learn from the past.
If that were not the case, the NDC would have by now learnt useful lessons from what Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan said about elections many years ago. He is on record to have made it clear that the Electoral Commission cannot rig elections for any political party because elections are won at the polling stations.
The NDC in opposition has never trusted the Judiciary and the Electoral Commission when they know that these institutions play by the rules.