The General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, has chided the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for failing to recognize the efforts of previous governments in the success of the Ghana Card project.
He said that the true mark of great leaders is their ability to recognize others for their efforts. In his view, Dr. Bawumia’s failure to acknowledge the efforts of previous governments in the Ghana Card Project indicates that he is suffering from a “gratitude deficit”. He emphasized that leadership is continuous, and it is therefore important for successive governments to recognize the efforts of previous administrations so they can build upon them.
Mr. Kwetey asserted that the continuous attempt by the Vice President and his communication team to take all the credit for the success of the Ghana Card project cannot be correct. According to him, the Mahama government ensured the “passage of the law that makes the Ghana card the sole document for identification purposes for any transaction (L.I. 2111); collected biometric and demographic data on about 16 million Ghanaians; processed about 4.7 million; distributed 900,000 cards; procured 9 million blank cards”.
The General Secretary emphasized that all successive governments must be credited for the gains made with the Ghana Card.
He alleged that unlike the NPP government which has refused to give some credit to the NDC for projects started by its governments, the NDC has always demonstrated true leadership by recognizing the efforts of others where necessary. He stated that the Mills-Mahama-led NDC acknowledged the N1 Highway, and the Bui Dam projects as achievements of the Kuffour-led NPP. However, they had to raise additional funds to complete the projects.
“It takes someone who does not show gratitude to claim that the Tema to Akosombo rail line was the achievement of the NPP government when all records show that the financing was secured in 2016, one year before Nana Addo/Bawumia came into office. To claim that the NPP government introduced the online passport application system when the truth is that the online application system was launched under John Mahama in December 2016.”
Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey
NDC Campaign Strategy To Attack Dr. Bawumia
Meanwhile, the Director of Communications of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has called out the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for adopting personal attacks on the Vice President as their campaign strategy.
He said that the NDC leadership and their communicators are attacking the personality of the Vice President because they are unable to match the clarity and quality of his vision, teasing that “it is a classic case of if you don’t get the ball, don’t miss the man”.
He stressed that the propaganda against Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will not make headway because the people of Ghana have transitioned to a politics of ideas and intellectual discourse. He teased the leadership of the NDC and the flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, to rather share their policies with the electorates so they can determine who is fit to lead the country come 2025.
The Communications Director of the NPP also used the opportunity to highlight some of the key interventions the Vice President seeks to introduce when elected as President of the Republic, including the cancellation of the emission tax, tax on betting, electronic transactions levy, and the controversial 15% tax on electricity tariffs if it’s in existence by 2025.
“My administration will introduce a very simple, citizen and business-friendly flat tax regime. A flat tax of a percentage of income for individuals and SMEs, which constitute 98% of all businesses in Ghana, with appropriate exemption thresholds set to protect the poor.”
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
At the launch of Dr. Bawumia’s presidential campaign, he expressed his opposition to the controversial e-levy and promised to cancel it when he is given the mandate as President of the Republic. He added that his administration will encourage more people to use electronic payment platforms so the country can have a cashless economy.
