The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reiterated its call on Ghanaians to reject the Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. John Dramani Mahama.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra yesterday, a member of the communications team of the NPP, Nana Akomea said cannot trust “inconsistent Mahama” to deliver on his promises if voted into power.
“President Mahama does not present as a leader of firm principles. He is not a leader whose word is his bound. He shifts positions depending on which direction the wind blows. He presents as a leader who the Ga people will call Rophopho, or obey the wind leader.”
He said Mahama has been inconsistent since he lost the 2016 elections and out of desperation he is resorting to cunning means such as doctored videos to smear the campaign of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“He seems to talk from all sides of the mouth, and looks forwards and backwards at the same time. He will not provide this country with firm, decisive leadership based on consistent principles and integrity, which we need at this time of our national development.
“The saying is that it’s only a fool who doesn’t change his mind. But when the mind changing is so frequent as to become a habit, then that’s a troubling sign in a leader.”
Nana Akomea went ahead to outline some of Mahama’s inconsistencies as follows:
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS UTILITY BILLS
He stopped government’s payments of University Students Utility Bills in 2015? President Akufo Addo restored payments of Student’s Utility Bills. Now President Mahama is saying he believes in the principle of government paying for Students Utility Bills, a clear instance of an inconsistent leader.
TRAINEE ALLOWANCES
President Mahama in 2015 cancelled payments of allowances to trainee teachers and trainee nurses. He staked his entire political fortune on this stance, telling Ghanaians he will not shift from that position even if it cost him the 2016 election.
President Akufo Addo found the money to restore payment of allowances to trainee teachers and nurses. Now seeking re-election, President Mahama says he will uphold the policy, clear case of a leader who shifts with the winds.
CORRECT HIS MISTAKES
President Mahama has told us in this 2020 campaign that he will correct his mistakes if elected President again. But he has not told Ghanaians what those mistakes are/were, and how he is going to correct them. So how should the voter take him seriously? A bold leader will tell/admit his mistakes, and show how he will correct them if given another chance.
PROMISES OF OPPOSITION POLITICIANS
President Mahama told us in 2016 that we should beware of the promises of politicians who are outside government as those politicians, being outside government, do not know the real situation on the ground, and tend to make unrealistic promises. Now he is a politician out of government making all kinds of promises, how should we take his promises now??
FOUR YEARS NOT ENOUGH
President Mahama told us in 2016 that four years were not enough for any President. So why is he asking Ghanaians to reject President Akufo Addo after four years. Is this consistency??
PAYMENTS OF DEPOSITORS FUNDS
President Mahama has this year told us the Ghanaian people that if elected, he will pay bank depositors’ funds in one year. But we remember that when he was President, his government’s response to the financial crisis was to pay billions to the bank owners and bosses, who had caused the crisis in the first place.
President Mahama looked on when his party’s general secretary told us government was not responsible for the mistakes of depositors.
And indeed President Mahama did not give much consideration to Ghanaian bank depositors who had lost their deposits. Why has he changed his stance today?
CONCEPT OF FREE PROMISES
President Mahama and his government and party told us in 2016 that the NPP was on a binge of free promises, promising free this, free that. He said to Ghanaians that if care was not taken, Nana Akufo Addo and the NPP will be promising free Air, forgetting that God had already provided free Air.
He and his party ran adverts, going as far as using out of context voices such as of Hon. J. H. Mensah and Pastor Otabil, all in a bid to demonstrate to Ghanaians that anything free was not good. Today, President Mahama is on a binge of free promises, Free Primary Health Care, (whatever that means), free half fees for University Students etc. Another clear instance of a leader who turns where the wind blows.
FREE SHS
Perhaps nowhere is President Mahama’s lack of candor, lack of firmness of mind, and leadership of expediency demonstrated more starkly than in his attitude towards the policy of free SHS.
The majority of the Ghanaian electorate are living witnesses to the vehement campaign President Mahama, aided by his government and party, waged against free SHS in 2012. The instances of his vehement campaign against free SHS are just too numerous and recent to recount here.
Shockingly and unbelievably, President Mahama today in 2020 is telling the Ghanaian people that he introduced free SHS in 2015. It is clear that apart from his shocking display of politics and leadership of expediency, President Mahama has also shown he is a leader without scruples or shame.
Today, in another example of President Akufo Addo’s resolve to ensure money is not a barrier to the education of the Ghanaian child, the President has directed the Scholarship Secretariat to launch the online portal to enable our SSS students to access scholarships for their tertiary education.
ABOVE CRITICISM
Perhaps the biggest danger that will confront the Ghanaian people from a John Mahama re-election is his attitude of intolerance. President Mahama told Ghanaians in 2016 that he would not take criticism from anyone who has not been President before. That even leaders such as Dr. Bawumia, were not qualified to criticize him as they had never been President of Ghana before. He actually went on to list the people who had capacity and were qualified to criticize him- President Rawlings and Kufuor, only two people.
We also recall that in 2016 when President Mahama was asked to account for the loans he had taken on behalf of the Ghanaian people, he directed us to go to Parliament and look for what he had done with the loans he had taken for which the taxpayer was to repay. President Mahama also told us in 2016 that as far as criticism was concerned, he was a dead goat, i.e. totally unresponsive to criticism.
Now if in 2016, when President Mahama was seeking re-election, he had this attitude of cannot criticize me, don’t bother me with questions and won’t listen to your concerns towards the Ghanaian people, can we imagine his attitude to the Ghanaian people, if he is given a second term as President, and he would not have any need to solicit any renewal of any mandate?
The further irony of this matter is that today, President Mahama in 2020, has asked the current government to account for the loans taken. He was not referred to Parliament. Dr. Bawumia politely provided to him and the Ghanaian people a comprehensive list of projects on which the loans had been applied. This is a contrast that is crucial in determining the next leader of Ghana, for which the Ghanaian people must take due notice.
