By Nicholas Osei Wusu.
President Akufo-Addo has admitted that there is economic hardship in the country currently. He has however blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and its negative impact on a derailed national economy.
Adressing the NPP’s 2021 Annual National Delegates Conference in Kumasi in the Ashanti region, President Akufo-Addo assured that the government’s Obatampa programme to be rolled out in 2020 will help significantly mitigate the plight of Ghanaians.
Conference
The National Delegates’ Conference of the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP, the highest decision making organ of the party, was to afford the leadership, rank and file the opportunity to take a retrospective look at the State of the party and also its performance during the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
The Conference was in three parts beginning with a Church Service, speeches by selected leaders and a consideration of some proposals by members for consideration for amendment of its Constitution.
Vice President Bawumia
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia ridiculed the NDC and its leadership for their supposed inability to properly defend their petition at the Supreme Court after the Presidential election saying that “Nana Akufo-Addo won the polls genuinely”.
Governance
According to him, despite the havoc wreaked by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the NPP government has still managed the macro economy far better with many innovations including an Electronic Pharmacy Care he will launch in January 2022.
“If our performance is better than your(NDC) performance with such a pandemic, how can you say your economic management is better. Under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, for the first time in our history, Ghana has successfully issued a Digital National ID card, for the first time in our history, Ghana has implemented a Digital Property Address System, for the first time in our history, Ghana has Mobile Money Interoperability. People may take this for granted but, when we came into office, the NDC was trying to implement this for $1.2bn, we spent $4.5m to implement Mobile Money Interoperability.”
Election 2020
President Akufo-Addo also insisted that the NPP won 2020 on a clean note.
“The Party has a majority in Parliament contrary to claims by some people.”
Election 2024
President Akufo-Addo promised to hand power over to another NPP government since the next Presidential elections is for the NPP to lose only if the rank and file will unite behind whoever will be elected the next Flagbearer.
“A lot of people are making a lot of noise that there is no majority party in Ghana. The standing orders of our Parliament do not talk about the majority party it talks about majority grouping, majority group and we are that majority group in Parliament in Ghana. The 2024 elections is not for us to lose. It is my responsibility and the responsibility of the national executives to ensure that we have a level playing field so that the party can make its choice of its leader and all the other executives. I want to be able on the 7th January 2025, to go to Black Star Square in Accra and hand over the baton of government to the next NPP Presidential Candidate. We will get a Candidate that will unify our party and by hook, who will unify us.”
Economy
On the prevailing economic circumstances of the people, President Akufo-Addo admitted that there is currently hardship in the country but blamed it on the Covid-19 pandemic.