Vice President and presidential candidate of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has stated that the NPP has out-performed the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in all sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
He said those achievements and records of the NPP should form the basis for the 2024 campaign of the party as it seeks to “Break the 8”.
The accomplishments of the NPP, according to the Vice President, are far more superior to the NDC’s when they were in office. Dr Bawumia pointed out that the NDC era was characterised by low economic growth, a decline in agricultural growth, and low industrial growth, among others even though the erstwhile NDC government did not face the twice crisis that has bedevilled the world which is the COVID-19 pandemic that struck the world in 2019 and the geo-political war as a result of the Russia invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
NPP out-perform NDC
Addressing members of the NPP in the United States of America for the first time since his election as the leader and presidential candidate of the NPP, on Saturday, 25 May 2024, at NPP-USA’s 30th anniversary celebration under the theme; “30 Years of Political Dedication and Sacrifice: Honouring our Heroes, Preserving our Legacy, Securing our Future through Victory,” held at the Hilton Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, Dr Bawumia said the NPP has a strong case to present to the people of Ghana on why the party should be retained in office to continue its agenda aimed at transforming the nation.
“The comparative performance [of what the NDC did while in office and that of the NPP] is practically like night and day. Of course, it is not everything we want to do that we have been able to do but it is true that if it is compared to them [NDC], we have done much more if they are the comparative metric for us, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said.
Agriculture sector
On agriculture, Dr Bawumia said the current NPP administration has doubled growth from where the NDC’s previous government left it. Industrial expansion the NPP leader said has been a major agenda of the Akufo-Addo administration and it has resulted in the creation of several jobs as compared to the NDC who were creating unemployment when they were in office.
“We have created over the last seven years 2.1 million jobs which have been well documented. 1.2 million jobs in the public sector and 975,000 jobs in the private sector with a crisis and even [amid] COVID, we were recruiting more nurses, in COVID, we did not lay off any public sector worker. We have created more jobs than any other government in the history of Ghana, no government has achieved the record of creating 2.1 million jobs in 7 years,” Dr Bawumia remarked.
Dr Bawumia further pointed out that the Akufo-Addo government has built more roads than any other government, more airports than any other government, more railway lines than any other government, more court buildings than any other government, more hospitals than any other government in the 4th Republic, more landing sites, more sanitation facilities which has resulted in Ghana being the country with the lowest cholera levels in Africa and about 5,400 communities have been declared open defecation free as a direct result of the investments in sanitation facilities.
“The security forces in the country according to Dr Bawumia have also been retooled to perform their functions. 93% of the National Communication Authority (NCA) licensed fibre optic cable for internet service in Ghana was put in place under the NPP government from 2017 [when it took office],” Dr Bawumia remarked.
“When you look at sports facilities no government has been able to achieve what the current government has achieved in office. So, when you look at the basic metrics that we normally use to measure development, we just have out-performed them [NDC] in every sector” the NPP presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia further remarked.
On digitalization, the Vice President said beyond all the achievements of the Akufo-Addo administration such as interoperability, the digital address system, Ghana Card, among others, should he be elected President, he will turn his attention to developing the country’s credit score system which is expected start with the launch of the individual credit score system before the end of the year.
Tax Reforms
The tax system in Ghana, according to Dr Bawumia, is difficult to understand and having studied the system and comparing the same to that of Estonia which is the country with the best tax structure in the world, he is convinced there is a need a major tax restructuring in Ghana and he will implement tax reforms when he is elected President.
“So in 2025, if by the grace of God, I am elected president, I will grant a tax amnesty to businesses and individuals so that we all start on a fresh slate with the flat tax system. The other tax reform I want to do is on import duty. I think the import duty system is a bit complicated and also high. We need clarity, predictability, and simplicity in the regime and so what I am advocating is a flat rate in the import duty regime” Dr Bawumia said.
To deal with the smuggling of goods to Ghana through the ports in Togo due to high tax rates at Ghana’s ports, Dr Bawumia said, the government will seek to make the tax rates at the country equal to that of Togo or lower since Togo is a competitor.
Support for Bawumia
General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong in his solidarity message to the NPP-USA from the national party in Ghana, charged the NPP-USA to document its history and formation 30 years ago to preserve the history the NPP-USA.
Mr Kodua noted that the party will rely heavily on the NPP-USA ahead of the 7 December 2024 elections if the party is to “break the 8.”
He indicated that Ghanaians have a choice to make on 7 December to choose between the NPP candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who will be able to come and account to the people after four years for re-election, and the NDC candidate who will have no accountability to do should he be elected.
“You in the diaspora have family members in Ghana, talk to them when you call them because they do listen to you. Some of the people in Ghana do not see the importance of this election [the 7 December 2024 elections] and how it affects the current generation and even future generations.
“We therefore beseech you to let them [Ghanaians] know when you call that the challenges, they are facing in Ghana are no different in the United States where you are and that things are difficult globally. So many of our compatriots back home think the challenges are unique to Ghana, the NPP general secretary said.
“It is understandable because some of them have not had the opportunity to travel yet. So, it is your responsibility to let them know these things and to appreciate that supporting Dr Bawumia and his transformation agenda is the way forward for Ghana if we are to achieve the developed and industrialised nation we all desire,” Justin Kodua added.
ROPAA implementation
Chairperson of NPP-USA, Mrs Obaa Yaa Amponsah Frimpong, in her remarks, expressed her appreciation to all the founding fathers of the NPP-USA who worked tirelessly over 30 years ago to form the NPP chapter in the USA. She also registered her gratitude to the Vice President and all the other party leaders and bigwigs who joined them in their celebration.
Mrs Amponsah Frimpong called for the implementation of the Representation of the People Amendment Act (ROPAA), 2006 (Act 699) which was passed by Parliament 19 years ago to allow Ghanaians in the diaspora to vote in Ghana’s general elections in their countries of residence, but is yet to be fully implemented by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The 30th Anniversary
About 1,000 members of the NPP in the United States attended the event with several other thousands of NPP supporters in the US and around the world joining in the celebration through video link and on various social media platforms and handles such as YouTube, Facebook and X.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana, the parent party of NPP-USA celebrated its 30th Anniversary in July 2022 under the theme; “NPP@30: Our Shared Traditional, Holding and Working Together a Stable and Prosperous Nation.” As part of the celebration, the party held a National Thanksgiving Service at the Kofi Ohene-Konadu auditorium at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on 31 July 2022, to climax the celebration.
NPP-USA as part of their anniversary celebration event at the Hilton hotel also had their annual fundraising ahead of the 7 December 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The NPP-USA is working towards supporting its parent party, NPP-Ghana to win a third consecutive election in Ghana (“dubbed, breaking the 8”) having won the 2016, and 2020 led by President Akufo-Addo.
Led by Obaa Yaa Amponsah Frimpong, chairperson of NPP-USA, assisted by Janis Asare Bediako, chairman of the Washington DC chapter, the NPP-USA, the 30th-anniversary event was also aimed at reenergizing the party’s leadership and base in the United States to support the efforts of their party in Ghana to win the December 2024 elections and to elect Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as President of the Republic.
The entire production of the celebration was powered by Padefra Multimedia Consult, a US-based event organisation and management company.
