The former President and the current Presidential candidate of the leading opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said that Ghana’s economy is projected to be somewhere around 66 billion dollars in 2020 under the watch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by H.E. President Akufo Addo, which translates into a nominal expansion of 11 billion dollars over his four-year tenure.
According to Mr. Mahama, in 2012, the size of the Ghanaian economy was 41.6 billion dollars, and by 2016 under his watch as President, it grew to 54.5 billion dollars, a nominal change of some 13 billion dollars in about 4 years.
He said this whilst giving a message to the mark the celebration of the founder and first president of the republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
“This year 2020 on the watch of Akufo Addo as president, Ghana’s economy is projected to be somewhere around 66 billion dollars which means that the NPP government in four years change the size of the economy by 11 billion dollars”.
Comparing the growth of the two administrations, he advised citizens to “Note in four years; by 13 billion dollars under my watch and 11 billion dollars under the NPP’s watch. This is what the data says, and it is verifiable, you can examine the data for yourself. This government has, however, borrowed 140 billion as against about 54 to 56 billion that was borrowed during my presidency”.
He indicated that, the Akufo Addo government does not have a track record in terms of infrastructural development, and that the NDC fought corruption better than what the NPP are currently doing.
“The Akufo Addo government has not got the track record, not in health care; we built hospitals, they have none. Not in tertiary education, we built universities, they have none. Not in the road sector, we built roads, they have declared the year of roads without roads. Not in fighting corruption, we fought corruption head-on, President Akufo Addo fights those who fight corruption in his government. The case of the auditor general, Daniel Domelevo is prove that corruption is fighting back; fighting the president”.
He described Dr. Nkrumah as an inspiration to many countries around the world for his tireless and monumental contribution not only to the nation’s history but an iconic figure in the independent struggle and liberation of many African countries.
He advised the general public in this message to be cautious, bold and to have hope. Mr. Mahama said to citizens “to be cautious when you read articles on social media because unfortunately today, we are living in the age of ‘fake news’. it is now too easy to take something false as the truth”.
He further explained that, there is sometimes a big difference between what someone really did and what people are made to believe that he or she did. He cited for instance that, during his first term as president, people described him as a ‘poor manager’ of the Ghanaian economy. This, he said has been repeated so many times that people believed it.
“Some of you may have been made to believe this false story as a result of constant repetition”.
Mr. Mahama believes that if Ghana has the digital infrastructure that allow people to work easily from home like they do in countries like South Korea or Denmark, the COVID-19 pandemic will have had a lesser impact on our economy than it has done currently. He encouraged Ghanaians to have hope because the next NDC government will provide jobs and prosperity for all.
“So I’m telling our people; have hope. Our manifesto, the people’s manifesto, pledges that the new NDC government will help 1 million young Ghanaians to become coders and programmers to become the backbone of the new economy we will build together for the benefit of all our people not a few people.
“Because, together with the NDC, we already delivered and if we have delivered once before we are able to deliver again. So my brothers and sisters be cautious, be bold and have hope. I guarantee you that the next NDC government will provide you with a clear and honest chance to live a decent life. Be cautious, be bold, have hope. Jobs and prosperity for all and not just a few people”, Mr. Mahama concluded.
