Majority leader and MP for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has mounted a spirited defense against concerns that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has failed to improve the living conditions of the Ghanaian people over the last seven and a half years since they came into power.
He said despite the apparent economic hardships, the situation would have been worse under the National Democratic Congress (NDC), “given their posture while in government.”
The Effutu legislator emphasised that the NPP, upon assumption of office, implemented key policies such as a reduction in electricity tariffs to cushion businesses and households as well as the free senior high school policy, which, according to him, the NDC, while in government, said were “political talk.”
Addressing the press in Parliament on Friday, April 19, the Majority Leader stated that the NDC is nowhere near the NPP in the administration of the country.
“Somewhere in 2015 when Ghanaians were calling for reduction in utility tariffs, particularly electricity, the then president Mahama, currently the flagbearer said the cost of the production of electricity was so high that there was no way they could reduce electricity tariff. The NPP government today, the NDC criticises, took steps to negotiate a major tariff reduction.”
“Households enjoyed between 17 to 20 percent, corporate enjoyed reduction up to 25 percent, the mining companies benefited and the records are there that upon assumption of office, the very thing we spoke about in opposition which our friends then in government said it was political talk, we came in and announced this major tariff reduction.”
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He admitted that “it is true that Ghanaians are complaining of electricity tariffs; the cost of living is high,” but quickly added that “what we want to emphasise is that it was worse under the NDC and if they were in power, given their posture in government at the time, the situation would have been worse.”
He further stressed that the NDC has not changed since 2016, when they lost the election by over one million votes, indicating that “the only thing that has changed is their running mate.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Afenyo-Markin alluded to the fact that the NPP has completed 60 out of the 101 community-day school buildings (E-Blocks)—started under the erstwhile Mahama administration—to augment infrastructure concerns due to the implementation of the Free SHS policy.
He argued that the NDC only completed 29 of the E-Blocks until they were voted out of office in 2016.
“As at the time we assumed office, they who were the initiators of this initiative had completed only 29. This government believes in continuity…so far, we have successfully completed as at 2022, 31 more so making it a total of 60 community-day schools that are in operation,” he told the press.