Nothing new in Nana Addo’s SOTN address – Asiedu Nketia

• Posted on February 22, 2017February 22, 2017
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has downplayed the President’s State of the Nation Address, saying he presented “nothing new” in his statement.

The President presented his first address before Parliament in which he among other things condemned the violent attacks that characterized the transition period earlier this year, adding that such undignified acts should not be encouraged during his address. But Asiedu Nketia,  in an interview with Citi News  after the President’s presentation, said the attempt “to create the impression that he disliked the behaviour of his party people during the transition is just a smokescreen. “ “Now everything has cooled down and he is coming to make a statement that let it be the end. Why will it be on your term and not any other person’s term?,” Asiedu Nketia queried. He said the President’s atempt to paint a gloomy picture of the economy, is just a way for them to avoid fulfilling their numerous promises to the Ghanaoian people.

He wondered why the NPP administration is now adopting strategies introduced by the NDC; when it vehemently opposed same, whiles in opposition. “Whether the state of the economy is good or bad, we are expecting you to deliver; but we are also sending strong signals about some of the promises which gives me discomfort. In talking about the Compact 2, we[NDC government] came here and said that we needed to restructure the way electricity corporation works, and we needed to privatize some aspects of their operations, they [NPP] said no way; and they indeed instigated workers of ECG to be demonstrating.” “..Now they are no longer going to sell ECG alone, they are going to sell all the major institutions in the power sector … If it was bad at that time, what makes it good now? This whole business of let us win power at all cost and then we deal with the challenges later should be a thing of the past.” “You cannot lie your way to power and come and take the people for granted. I want them to stand for full state ownership for ECG, full state ownership for VRA and full state ownership for GRIDCo which they stood for when we were in power.”

Economy won’t collapse under my watch – Nana Addo President Nana Akufo-Addo stated that, he will not allow Ghana’s economy to collapse under his watch, despite inheriting a challenging economy from the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. The President revealed that, the “reality of Ghana’s finances are quite stark as a result of policy choices.” According to him, “we find ourselves in the situation where Ghana’s total revenue is consumed by three main budgetary lines. Wages and salaries, interest and payments and amortisation and statutory payments.”

 By: Marian Ansah