The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that it would be a grave mistake on the part of Ghanaians to retain President Mahama for another 4 years in office, as the nation prepares to head to the polls in December.
According to the NPP flagbearer, the problems confronting our nation, be they in the form of the rising cost of living, rising levels of unemployment, high utility tariffs, decline in agricultural and industrial output, amongst others, is because President Mahama has “no plan, vision or action to address the problems of our people.”
Nana Akufo-Addo, therefore, stressed that “it would be a mistake to continue with where we are now. So many of the important aspects of our national life, today, are all in retreat.
Our economy is in poor shape, and I don’t think there is any honest person in this country, today, who can say Ghana’s economy is working well. It is not working well. Our industries are not working well, our agriculture is not working well, and unemployment amongst our young people is reaching record proportions.”
In spite of these, the NPP flagbearer is assuring Ghanaians that an NPP government under his leadership has a “programme and plan of how Ghana could be, if given the chance”, to serve Ghanaians.
Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing the Bolgatanga Traditional Council, on Sunday, August 28, 2016, when he made these remarks.
The NPP flagbearer explained that the party’s programme of developing Ghana, and returning her onto the path of progress and prosperity is hinged on the twin-track of industrializing Ghana’s economy as well as increasing agricultural productivity.
This, he added, are the means by which his government, God-willing from 2017, is going to create jobs for the teeming masses of unemployed Ghanaians.
“The most critical thing that all of us have to work on is how to improve the functioning of our economy. If our economy is working well, jobs will be created, income levels will rise and we will have prosperity in the country. That is the only way we can guarantee prosperity. An economy in decline or in retreat only means poverty for all of us. The economy that is working means all of us will be in a better place that where we are today in Ghana,” he stated.
The spectre of young men and women trooping down-South from the North, to find non-existent jobs, he said, is because there are virtually no opportunities for them in Northern Ghana.
“We can reverse all of that with proper planning and serious policy. We are determined to do so in the interest of Ghanaians. What is important for us to do in Ghana is to make sure that every part of the country becomes its own centre of wealth. This situation whereby all wealth is concentrated in Accra and Kumasi is dangerous for the future of the country,” he said.
He continued, “It means that these two poles have everybody rushing there. We want evert part of Ghana to be its own growth pole and area of wealth creation. That is why we are talking about ‘1-District-1Factory’, so that in every area there is an activity ongoing which will engage them and improve their living circumstances.”
Nana Akufo-Addo, thus, appealed for the support of the people of the North in this year’s elections, assuring that “we have got, without any reservation, the best team available in Ghanaian politics today to develop our country. We have high quality men and women, who when given the opportunity, can turn Ghana around in a short period of time can put smiles on their faces, money in their pockets and prosperity in every region. It is possible for us to do it.”
“It is being done next door to us in Cote d’Ivoire – a smaller country, less population, less resources. But, because of the quality of the leadership there, they are makes big leaps and bounds there. I believe that it is possible on the back of the elephant to rebuild our nation and bring prosperity back to Ghana.”
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(Nana Kwesi)