Former President John Mahama says God in his wisdom made the NDC lose the 2016 elections in order for Ghanaians to compare and appreciate their performance while in government.
He attempted to forge a path of peace, unity, collaboration, and cooperation in front of a crowd who had accused constituency executives of broken promises, greed and neglect and insisted the party’s wholesale defeat in 2016 was caused by them.
Mr. Mahama seeking to play down the accomplishments of the Akuffo-Addo said what the country is going through now was a deliberate act by God for Ghanaians to compare and appreciate how honestly his administration was working to develop the country.
He said the defeat of the NDC has exposed the dishonesty of the NPP and hope Ghanaians will now begin to cherish the principals and policies of the party.
“If God hadn’t let us stepped aside Ghanaians would never appreciate anything that we do, because they would say that, if Nana Addo had won he would have reduced petrol prices, electricity tariffs, if Nana Addo had won he would provide employment to all Ghanaians; so God said sons, my children step aside, let Ghanaians experience that one too, and we are experiencing it. we are living it,” he said.
The former president was addressing dozens of party faithful after a walk through the streets of Tamale, the capital of his home region which continued to be a major determinant of the NDC’s fortunes in all general elections.
The walk was to bring an end to almost nine months of bitterness and blaming trade among members of the NDC after the lost power.
“When you come out of a defeat you need time to heal and so in the aftermath of the defeat, you will have disagreement, as to who caused that defeat and that will lead to quarrel amongst you but you gone through that processes we called catharsis, you must put your differences behind and start to look forward the next battle.
“And so let’s say that after eight months of quarrelling and accusing each other and doing everything in disagreement, the time has come for us to put those disagreements behind and look forward the battle of 2020” Mr. Mahama said appealed.
In a direct criticism, Mahama scoffed the NPP administration and reminds that “no amount of propaganda can make the people oblivious to their own living because they are living it”.
He said two responsibilities of the NDC to Ghanaians was to become a formidable opposition, be the voice of voiceless and point out where government was going wrong for corrections in the interest of Ghanaians and secondly, to reorganize, re-strategized and analyze the reason why we lost the last elections and prepare ourselves for next elections ahead in 2020.
Free Senior High Education has no reliable financing – Minority Leader
The former president was accompanied by leading figures of the NDC including the party’s GeneraSecretaryry, Johnson Nketiah, Mr. A.B.A Fuseini, former chief of staff Julius Debrah, Kojo Bonsu, Haruna Iddirisu, Inusah Fuseini, Alhassan Suhuyini, all the regional and some constituencies leaders and former appointees including DCEs.
The minority leader before he introduced the former president to the excited crowd said the economy is broken and there are no funds to finance the Free Senior High School policy.
He slammed the timing of the Free Senior High School policy and said government is yet to secure reliable source of financing for the much praised educational intervention.
He said the policy would crumple soon unless government build consensus and open the policy to national dialogue. He added the minority in Parliament would stamp attempts to implement the policy without proper measures in place.
“We know and we say with certainty, without fear of contradiction that he cannot finance and the economy cannot contain and finance the free Senior High School today,” the Tamale South legislator said.
Mr. Haruna described the policy as a noble social and political educational objective accepted by all parties but cautioned that it pursuant must be premissed on adequate and reliable financing. He said the NPP administration was piloting the policy with “experimental financing”.
