Bright Simons of IMANI Africa has stated that the NPP’s biggest regret will be their actions during their term, as they sidelined and diminished all centers of dissent, making critical voices irrelevant.
He stated that if the NDC now seeks to consolidate power by reshaping the public sector and key sectors of the economy to strengthen their patronage networks, they will be following a path cleared by the NPP, with minimal resistance.
According to Simons, the NPP systematically removed the roadblocks that could have hindered such actions.
“I have been lucky to see five presidents in the 4th Republic. By far the least interested in non-partisan opinion and civil society views was the one about to leave office… The same strength of will that many thought would be deployed to reform governance in Ghana simply became the most strident tone-deafness Ghana has ever seen.
“In this quest, he was enabled not by family and friends as some say. That is a comfortable LIE. This President [ H.E Akufo-Addo] was supported to the hilt by mid-level activists and the middle-class bulwark of the NPP. Everything he sought to do, they found a ready basis for it. They had zero alternative views on anything. Any attempt to pin the blame on some small cabal would be disingenuous post-hoc rationalization”.
Bright Simons
Simons further noted that the outgoing President, with the full backing of the NPP elite, removed institutional checks on power.
He indicated that the mindset of “let them talk, they’ll tire” and “we’ll do as we please” became ingrained in the party’s elite, seen as key to staying in power.
According to him, the desire to dominate the NDC led to complacency, with no one willing to challenge the status quo.
Simons noted that, however, as events show, sometimes a group can be too clever for its own good.
He pointed out that the system the NPP built to secure its power has now become a dangerous advantage for its opponents. “I hope that some true and deep soul-searching happens in the NPP about the dangers of the culture that was allowed to fester”.
Simons Criticizes NPP’s Inward-Focused Response to Electoral Loss
Furthermore, Bright Simons lamented that the NPP’s response to its recent electoral loss has been focused on inward-looking issues.
According to him, discussions revolve around unfair distribution of power, unresponsive appointees, rigged internal primaries, and other familiar complaints.
He noted that the burden is being placed on a few senior executives and political figures, with no focus on the quality of policy debate within the party or on renewing its connection with the millions of non-NPP voters in Ghanaian elections.
“No one is asking how come no group within the NPP elite and middle-class opposed e-levy, the cathedral, Kelni GVG, excessive partisan appointments to sensitive institutions, SML, etc. How come? In a group with thousands of highly educated and intelligent individuals?
“Even today, I bet you that if discussions about such policies come up, middle-class and elite NPP people will find arguments to justify them. See how they are reacting to a scheme to spend roughly $300 million on so-called e-immigration stuff that has no resonance with economic development in a country under IMF strictures that is struggling to pay its national debts”.
Bright Simons
Simons pointed out that these same policies contributed to the DDEP, fiscal crisis, and ongoing cost-of-living issues. He noted that the NPP has failed to address how its social structure allowed bad policies to pass without internal opposition.
He stressed that by enabling unchecked government action, the NPP has set the stage for the incoming government to attack public institutions with limited resistance.
According to him, if the new government follows the NPP’s example, it could push through harmful, vengeful policies and dismantle the patronage infrastructure, hurting national institutions.
Simons warned that opposition activists will struggle to curb this misuse of power, as they will have limited influence which was the case under the outgoing government. “[Activists were] Tied with ropes woven by the outgoing NPP government and its high-handed President”.
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