Former President John Dramani Mahama has bemoaned the current state of the Ghanaian economy, indicating that Ghanaians did not subscribe to such a level of hardship when they voted for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The NDC 2024 presidential candidate, in his closing address at the party’s policy dialogue in the Eastern region, reiterated his readiness to take on the reigns of government. He maintained that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has overburdened Ghanaians with taxes coupled with poor management of the country’s resources.
“Compounding our miserable circumstances as Ghanaians are astonishing levels of
governmental corruption and plain thievery of our resources, severely weakened and heavily politicised governance institutions serving the NPP rather than the national interest and, more importantly, the insufferable arrogance of power.
“This is not the Ghana we subscribed to. Without a doubt, this current iteration of our country requires urgent rebuilding anchored on our collective aspirations with workable, progressive, and sustainable policies”, Mr Mahama added.
However, Mr Mahama emphasised that the NDC has a plan and strategy and knows exactly what to do when sworn into office on January 7, 2025.
He further urged his party members to come together to achieve the common goal and objective of winning the upcoming December elections.
Mr Mahama underscored that the current challenges facing the country are self-inflicted wounds brought upon Ghanaians by the NPP government.
The former President said the NDC’s policy proposals “seek to address the current Akufo-Addo/Bawumia-created twin challenges of economic and governance crises”, stressing that they also directly respond to most of the thorny issues raised by Ghanaians during his ongoing “Building Ghana Tours“.
The leader of the NDC also touted his 24-hour economy policy as the surest bet to solve Ghana’s many challenges.
He said, “The 24-hour economy remains the surest way to achieve significant economic expansion, boost productivity, meet demand, curb unbridled imports and their attendant adverse effects on our economy, currency and, above all, generate well-paying jobs for the millions of people without employment”.
The policy, according to him, will allow certain sectors of the economy to operate 24-hour systems. Companies that opt for the 24-hour system will also receive government incentives and subsidies.
About NDC LAB
The NDC held a policy dialogue between February 22 and 23, 2024, in the Eastern region
The event was led by former President Mahama, the NDC leadership, and the Social Democracy LAB, an NDC policy think tank. The National Policy Dialogue aimed at deliberating on the party’s policy priorities for the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The programme had 200 experts who participated in the policy dialogue. They were drawn from the party structures, the Minority Caucus of Parliament, and the Social Democratic LAB. Thematic groups comprised human development, finance and economy, and governance.