Former Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, has launched an attack on the Nana Akufo Addo-led government claiming that Ghanaians are disappointed in the manner in which the country is being handled.

Amissah-Arthur has come under intense public pressure in the past over his usually silent stance towards issues.

However, speaking publicly for the first time since the National Democratic Congress lost power a year ago, the usually calm former second gentleman claimed that Ghanaians have been disappointed so far by the NPP's way of governance.

“…I think that quite a number of people are disappointed as to where this country is being taken, and we are looking for an alternative that will provide better results,” he added.

The statesman made the comments last Monday in an interview with the media at Ho in the Volta Region, after he together with his wife, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, made some donations to the Children on admission at the Ho Regional and Municipal hospitals.

Touching on the subject of the NDC's loss to NPP, he said they (NDC) are analyzing why they lost and laying out strategies for a return to power.

“We are analyzing what we could have done better looking at the national situation and deciding how we can move this nation forward. So that is what we are spending our time doing. Critically looking at policies, programmes that will move this country from where it is. I think that quite a number of people are disappointed as to where this country is being taken, and we are looking for an alternative that will provide better results. So that is what we are spending our time doing,” he said

Implementation of Free SHS

According to him, the Free SHS policy was not well thought through, and was rushed by the NPP government to gain political points.

“The way it’s being done, it’s a little haphazard in my view, and it doesn’t help because every parents want to provide the best education for their wards. So they should be less haphazard in a way,” he said.

The free SHS programme, which was implemented by the NPP some few months ago, has since its inception recorded some setbacks in terms of infrastructure, a problem government has assured to address.

Government recently announced the setting up of a fund to receive voluntary contributions from individuals to support the implementation of the programme, and the education sector as a whole.

It has also allocated an amount of money to solve the infrastructure challenges.

The former Vice president insists that most of the policies implemented by the NPP government are without “full conceptualization.”

“I think that programmes have been adopted and implemented without a full conceptualization of the appreciation of the cost. So it’s like we are moving and then resolving as we go along. But a lot of these programmes should have been costed, agreed and implemented from day one rather than let’s start and model our way through.”

“I think there is a lot of modeling our way through the implementations, especially the free SHS programme. There should have been more consultation with people who have a more definition of exactly what it is that we want to do, and some clarity in the things that we want to achieve,” he added.


 

By Musah Abelyire/ghanaguardian.com