As the election season intensifies, political parties and campaign representatives continue to engage the electorate, aiming to consolidate support across Ghana.
Recently, a significant engagement took place at the Kejetia Market in Kumasi, involving Ashanti Regional executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Free SHS Graduates Association, and a coalition of first-time voters.
This engagement sought to fortify the party’s standing in the Ashanti Region, a pivotal area in Ghana’s political landscape.
During the interaction, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign, addressed recent criticisms from former President John Dramani Mahama directed at the current administration.
Miracles Aboagye’s remarks provided a robust defense of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy, among other economic accomplishments under the NPP administration.
Miracles Aboagye began by criticizing Mahama’s recent commentary on Vice President Dr. Bawumia, asserting that the former president’s remarks bordered on disrespect.
He highlighted a specific instance in which Mahama dismissed Dr. Bawumia’s policies using what he claimed was “American slang,” a rhetorical approach Aboagye deemed inappropriate in Ghanaian discourse.
“In America, a little girl can look you in the face and say, ‘What the hell?’ In Ghana, it’s an insult. It’s not everything that is said in the USA that becomes courteous for us to use in this country.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign
He further expressed his disappointment, remarking that it was “very low that a former president will resort to insults in this conversation.”
Pivoting to the economy, Miracles Aboagye asserted that Ghana’s economic conditions under the current administration were measurably superior to those of Mahama’s tenure.
He argued that the NPP government had successfully addressed key economic and social deficits, many of which he claimed were left unresolved by the previous NDC administration.
“The former president should understand that this economy is better than his economy, and that is why all the teachers he left at home without employing have been employed under this economy.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign
He emphasized the contrast between the administrations, pointing out that, despite Mahama’s Criticisms “this economy is able to pay every single teacher that works,” whereas under Mahama, “they worked for 12 months and were paid for only three months.”
Economic Growth Under NPP Government
“This economy is able to buy fuel to power the generators. [John Mahama] was unable to buy fuel to power the generators. This economy is able to pay allowances for teachers and nurses.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign
These points he argued, underscored the pragmatic efficacy of the NPP’s economic strategies compared to those of the NDC, whose policies he described as “ineffectual” in addressing Ghana’s critical needs. Miracle Aboagye’s defense of the Free SHS policy was unequivocal.
He reiterated the NPP’s commitment to preserving this initiative, which he described as a “lifeline for the Ghanaian poor.”
“The Free SHS is the only policy that is opening doors and [opportunities] for the Ghanaian poor, irrespective of where you find yourself in this country.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign
Miracle Aboakye further warned that a return to power by Mahama and the NDC would jeopardize this progress, citing the opposition party’s stated intentions to revise or potentially scale back the Free SHS program.
He explained that the NDC’s proposed means-testing approach would reintroduce financial barriers for many students, a move he described as “the beginning of troubles for the poor person in this country.”
“In fact, what they have told us is that even if they do not cancel Free SHS, they’re going to do what we call means-testing. And the means-testing is where they are going to segregate who pays and who doesn’t pay.”
Dennis Miracles Aboagye spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign
Importance of Education
Highlighting the policy’s transformative impact, Deputy CEO of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and patron of the Free SHS Graduates Association, Mr. Obidombie Kwabena Asamoah, reiterated the importance of education in Ghana.
“Education is the great equalizer. Everybody aspires [to] social mobility. How do you embark on social mobility without education?”
Obidombie Kwabena Asamoah patron of the Free SHS Graduates Association
Mr. Asamoah argued that the NPP’s investment in education was a testament to the party’s commitment to the nation’s future.
“When you go into that ballot box, we, the Free SHS Graduates Coalition, want you to remember Free SHS, and we want you to remember that when you vote for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia at number one, you are voting for us, your children.”
Obidombie Kwabena Asamoah patron of the Free SHS Graduates Association
Mr. Asamoah emphasized the NPP’s belief that investing in the educational sector was a means of empowering the next generation, thus ensuring sustainable national progress.
“If somebody gives you education, that person is absolutely interested in you. That person cares about you. That person wants you to have a future, and that is what the NPP administration under Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh have done.”
Obidombie Kwabena Asamoah patron of the Free SHS Graduates Association
In sum, the engagement at Kejetia Market underscored the NPP’s efforts to consolidate support in its strongholds and communicate its policy achievements.
Miracle Aboagye and other NPP representatives used the platform to present a case for the continuity of policies initiated under the Akufo-Addo administration, with Free SHS positioned as a cornerstone of the party’s vision.
As the December elections approach, the NPP’s messaging is likely to remain focused on policy successes, contrasting them with perceived inadequacies of the previous administration and emphasizing the importance of sustained progress for the country’s socio-economic development.
