Former President John Dramani Mahama has welcomed the criticism against the Akufo-Addo administration by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
The Bishop Conference described as a façade Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s promise while in opposition to protect the public purse should he assume office as president of Ghana.
President of the Conference, Most Rev. Philip Naameh, said during the 2021 plenary assembly in Wa in the Upper West Region, that the performance of the Akufo-Addo-led government so far leaves much to be desired.
He said what Ghanaians are experiencing by way of governance is a contradiction of what they were promised, a situation he said the government does not seem to care about.
“Though poverty stares us in the face, it appears lost to those with power. The expressed commitment of the president of the republic to protect the public purse, a promise that citizens welcomed, seems to be an illusion now”, he said.
Most Reverend Naameh also raised concerns about corruption and embezzlement in public offices.
“Are those managing the public purse not concerned about waste and misapplication of resources that belong to all Ghanaians? Can this be referred to as irresponsible use of power or the lack of compassion and empathy?”, he quizzed.
He again advised politicians not to take the will of the people for granted because “those who are entrusted with power that comes from our collective will must know that what they do with that (power) shapes what we all will become in the future”.
Reacting to this development at a forum to thank Ghanains on Wednesday November 10, Mr Mahama said “I must at this point recognise the nationalistic truth and outpouring of the sentiments of many Ghanaians by the Catholic Bishops Conference on Monday. Until we are bold to reflect what we are all experiencing under this government, the situation will continue to worsen, and we are all going to be worse off from suffering.
“Civil servants, doctors, nurses, teachers, businessmen and women, traders, farmers, drivers, and the teeming unemployed youth of Ghana, this government is our common national tragedy. We may yet have to endure these very difficult times for a while more due to a combination of factors.
“But I come to you this evening with a simple message. Do not – out of avoidable hardships and difficulties – despair to the point of losing hope and giving up on Ghana. Do not lose hope! Instead, I urge you to hope and work hard for a better Ghana and a better future under a new NDC administration in 2025.
“I am talking about a future where your name, your ethnicity, your tribe, your circumstances of birth will not determine how you are treated in your own country by your own government. I recall the words of the Most Reverend Japhet Yao Ledo during my thank you tour of the Volta Region, and I stand this evening to assure the people of the region and the nation at large that all successive NDC administrations will continue to be national and people-centred ones, sharing the national cake, equally and beneficially to all regions and parts of the country.”
By Laud Nartey|editors.3news.com|Ghana
