In a recent interview with KSM on Pan-Africa TV, former President John Dramani Mahama, the leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), expressed strong criticism of Nana Akufo-Addo’s New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, suggesting that Ghanaians have been too forgiving of their actions.
Mr. Mahama pointed out that if he had been responsible for even a fraction of the issues faced by the current government, he would have faced severe criticism and condemnation. He accused the NPP government of having a deliberate intention to come to power and subsequently mismanage the country.
The former President also accused the government of deceiving Ghanaians in order to gain power in the 2016 elections. He stated that the NPP’s actions have created a crisis of confidence in the population regarding democracy, leading many to believe that politicians are merely lying for political gain.
Mr. Mahama emphasized that the NPP is now attempting to shift blame onto others for their own problems, calling it propaganda. He disagreed with the notion that the NDC and NPP are the same, highlighting the achievements of his government and previous NDC administrations. According to him, the NDC has consistently prioritized the interests of Ghanaians above all else.
“We in the NDC have a track record. We have given more Ghanaians electricity than any party in this country. Rawlings started the national and rural electrification programmes which have brought Ghana to above 80 per cent of electricity coverage among the top 10 in Africa.”
“We started the digital revolution in this country. I was the Minister of Communication when we divided post and telecommunications and created Ghana Telecom and allowed Spacefon and all the mobile operators to come in. We started laying fibre optics in this country. We did the eastern corridor fibre optic.”
“We’ve given more Ghanaians water than any party in the history of this country. When Prof [John Evans Atta Mills] came into office, water coverage was 55 per cent; by the time I left office, water coverage was 72 per cent.”
“Seventy-two per cent of Ghanaians had access to good drinking water. We have built all the public universities in this country. NPP hasn’t built one public university. They are just good at renaming them with their party figures. And, so, somebody builds a university and you come and name it Dombo University, Tedam University, and so, don’t let them come to tell us we and them are the same. We are not the same. They should just wallow in their mess and leave us alone.”