The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has asked the handlers of Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to be truthful to him and should not be moved by their parochial interests.

He said the team should be able to be frank with Dr Bawumia if things were not going well so that he could re-strategise rather than allowing him to go astray.

The Otumfuo said the objective should be the collective interest of the team and that of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should be able to guide him on the campaign tour.

Courtesy

The Asantehene made the call when the Vice President paid a courtesy call on him at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Wednesday [June 12] as part of his campaign tour of the Ashanti Region.

Dr Bawumia is the flag bearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Election 2024,

The Asantehene encouraged Dr Bawumia to continue to explain his policies and ideas to the electorate so as to be able to get their buy in.

He said he believed Ghanaians would vote for him [Bwumia] if they are convinced by the message.

He said no government would be able to solve all the problems facing the country but each of them would play a part for another one to continue.

For the Asantehene, Bawumia’s candidature presented a unique opportunity to tell Ghanaians what the government has been able to do and what he would add on when elected.

Trust

He said the time has come for him to vindicate the trust President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had in him when he nominated him as his Vice.

Tax regime 

In his address, Dr Bawumia reiterated his plans to review the tax regime and make it a flat tax for easy compliance.

Currently, he said traders and businesses have always been in a tussle with the Ghana Revenue Authority over their taxes and said the system was a bit complicated making compliance a bit difficult.

He believed that with the introduction of the fat tax regime, it would be easier for the private sector to pay and also reduce the cost of commodities.

Digital skills

He said his administration would create about one million jobs for the youth in digital skills as such coding, soft engineering and this, he said, could also absorb those with certificates.

With these skills, he said the youth would not need to travel to UK to work but could work in UK from Ghana provided they have access to a computer.

“Digital skills, creative arts, sports, tourism are areas I want to invest in for all of us to benefit from” he said and added that Ghana was well ahead of other countries in the sub region in digitization.