The Communications Directorate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it has observed that the upcoming Delegates’ Congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would be rigged in favour of John Mahama.

A statement signed by Yaw Buaben Asamoah, National Communications Director, indicated that the defeat suffered by Mahama in 2016, showed that he had lost touch with the people, even in his own party.

According to the statement, to prevent any further embarrassment at the primary, the party was working hard to make John Mahama winner of the election, come what may.

“No doubt the intended come back is already marred in incompetent attempts to rig the internal elections in his favour, arguably sparking the greatest public show of internal dissent in party leadership since the formation of the NDC,” the statement read.

The allegation by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) comes at a time when some key members of the NDC, including aspirant hopefuls, have had to step down from activities ahead of the primary, as they believe the processes had been engineered to favour Mahama.

Read the full statement below

The Communications Directorate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) continues to observe with interest blatant attempts to rig the upcoming Delegates’ Congress of the opposition NDC in favor of John Mahama.

We recall the spectacular defeat he suffered when the Ghanaian people totally rejected him in the 2016 general elections, as a result of his incompetence.  No doubt the intended come back is already marred in incompetent attempts to rig the internal elections in his favour, arguably sparking the greatest public show of internal dissent in party leadership since the formation of the NDC.

Whether this farce of a comeback succeeds or not, we are prompted by necessary curiosity on the part of Ghanaians to ask the former President what he is actually going to offer Ghanaians beyond easy clichés of “Ghana is Hard”

We would therefore be grateful to have him answer the following questions for the benefit of Ghanaians when he speaks after filing his nomination.

Economic management

Now that the IMF has concluded that the NPP Government is the better manager of the economy and, even more importantly, the evidence and data eloquently confirms it, can he tell us:

1.Whether he achieved policy credibility with the IMF
2. Whether he realises that our debt to GDP ratio has gone down as a result of which Ghana’s international financial grading standards have gone up, making room for the unprecedented GETfund and Sinohydro deals for infrastructure.
3. Can he comment on the Government’s employment record over the past two years compared to his government’s employment record over eight years?
4.Is he aware that the NPP government is paying debts, investing in social capital and is still able to maintain relative Macro stability including the recent decline of petroleum prices?
5. Is he aware of significant changes in the energy sector leading to virtual elimination of “dumsor” and saving of millions of dollars through cancellations of dubious power production contracts signed under his watch?

Social Sector

Can the former President explain what exactly is his policy of “Review of Free SHS”? The NPP government policy is clear. Fund education as a major tool of social inclusion and economic transformation and borrow responsibly to fund infrastructure expansion in education.

The NPP government has paid off virtually all the NHIS debt. Apart from the shamefully abandoned “One Time Premium”, can he tell Ghanaians how he is going to fund and improve NHIS?

Governance

Can the former President contribute to the debate on election of MMDCE’s, a policy that is fundamentally going to change governmental structures and relations from local level through regional to national levels? Has he averted his party’s and his mind to the impact on resource allocation, implementation and output of government business in the new environment and its benefits to Ghanaians?

We would love to hear his take on the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the proposed budget for the Office and how that could impact the fight against corruption.

In the opinion of the NPP Communications directorate, much as the ongoing rigging process to put the former president in as the candidate of the NDC is likely to succeed, we are concerned that he is able to lift the policy debate above simple populism in order to deal with issues that truly stabilize and position the economy of Ghana for sustainable growth towards Ghana beyond Aid.

…Signed…
Yaw BuabenAsamoa
(National Communications Director)