In a recent conversation with former Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong, asked Mahama to stop behaving in a way that gives the impression that he is grasping for political power.
Kodua Frimpong stated that the national elections in 2024 will be based on the records of both the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), including what each party did while in office.
In a speech he gave over the weekend to party executives in Accra’s Ayawaso North Constituency, he said, “The 2024 elections are going to be on records, and that is why we are charging our supporters to make sure that wherever they go, they should inform the good people of Ghana about our records.”
“Former President John Mahama should not behave in a way that suggests he is desperate. At the end of the day, there are rules and there are laws in the country if you feel that someone has done something that violates the constitution.”
The remarks of Kodua Frimpong come after Mr. Mahama admonished President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to accept responsibility for the economic difficulties that the nation is experiencing.
According to Mr. Mahama, the first thing that the president needs to do in order to begin addressing the issue is to acknowledge the responsibilities that he bears, and then he can begin recruiting people to help with the issue.
This statement was made as he was leaving Wenchi to begin his campaign tour for the position of flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the general elections of 2024.
“The first and most important principle of leadership is responsibility. If you are a person who leads, you must accept responsibility for every circumstance and work to find a solution to the problem.
You will never be able to find solutions to problems if you refuse to accept responsibility for your actions and if you are the kind of leader who is always looking for someone to place the blame on.
“The overall national debt was GHS 120 billion when this government took over from the government we had been under.
The president had the audacity to say that there has been no recklessness in borrowing, despite the fact that the national debt has nearly reached 600 billion dollars in just five and a half short years.
What else could possibly be considered more irresponsible than what he and his finance minister have done? It is not that their attention was not drawn to it; beginning in 2018, with every budget that they brought, the Minority in Parliament said you were overborrowing; even the World Bank told them that you were risking debt distress because of too much debt, and they refused to listen,” he said. “It is not that their attention was not drawn to it; rather, it is that they refused to listen.”
After Mr. Akufo-Addo stated in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on Wednesday, March 8, that his government has not been reckless in borrowing, the former President made these comments.
Despite the fact that the President has acknowledged that the inquiries that have been raised concerning the predicament the country finds itself in with regard to its debt are valid, there are projects to show for the borrowings that have been done over the period.
He stated, “Beyond the utilization of COVID funds, there are legitimate questions being asked about how the country’s debt situation got to where it is.” Permit me, Mr. Speaker, to emphasize that the borrowing and spending that we have done have not been done in an irresponsible manner.
It is important to keep in mind that the obligations for which we are currently responsible weren’t all incurred during the time that this administration was in power.
“Mr. Speaker, we have spent money on things that are urgent, such as building roads, bridges, and schools, to educate our young people and give them the tools they need to face a world that is competitive.
Taking into consideration the amount of work that still needs to be done on the condition of our roads, the bridges that have to be built, the number of classrooms that need to be built, the furniture and equipment needs at all stages of education, the number of children who should be in school but are not, and the number of towns and villages that still do not have access to potable water, I daresay no one can suggest that we have overborrowed or spent all of our reckless. Taking into consideration
Among other things, he mentioned the fact that frontline health workers were provided with tax relief equal to fifty percent for the period. Also, according to what he said, the prices that Ghanaians had to pay for water and electricity were lowered during that time period.