Politics
Akufo-Addo speaks as though he is on a different planet – Ricketts-Hagan
Former Deputy Finance Minister Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan has said Ghana is currently in economic difficulties due to the recklessness of the Akufo-Addo administration.
Although he said, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo disputes this claim, economic facts and figures point to an economy that has been mismanaged.
Speaking on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 Wednesday, March 8 while reacting to the State of the Nation Address delivered by the President, the Cape Coast South Member of Parliament said “we are where we are as a result of the recklessness and wasteful expenditure of this government, overborrowing which has brought us to where we are today.
“The President obviously disputed that but the numbers are there to show, we wouldn’t be where we are today if we have managed this economy well. We wouldn’t be where we are today if we had not been reckless, we wouldn’t be where we are today if we had not over-borrowed.
“So sometimes you will think the President is probably on a different planet with a different Ghana where things are completely different in that Ghana than the one we live in.”
President Akufo-Addo in the address reiterated that Ghana’s economy was doing well prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
This, he said, is a fact that the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recognised.
Mr Akufo-Addo indicated that due to political advantage some people are seeking to take, they are unable to accept the fact that the economy was doing well.
“I have said, and the Managing Director of the IMF has also said, our economy was doing well until covid 19, and Russia Ukraine war,” he said.
Earlier, he indicated that when he assumed office on 7th January 2017, he inherited a severely-challenged economy, whose rate of growth, at the time, was the lowest in over two decades.
But, he said, by dint of hard work, prudence and creativity, the government has managed to turn things around, creating an economy which, for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019, the years before the onset of COVID-19, was amongst the fastest growing economies not only in Africa, but also in the world, recording an annual Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) growth rate of seven percent (7%).
Speaking at the 66th Independence Day celebration on Monday, March 6, he said “We were the best place to do business in West Africa, and, in 2021, we were described as the most attractive destination for investment in West Africa.
“The next twenty-two (22) months of my mandate will be focused on restoring the economy we had before COVID and the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the period of rapid growth. It is a solemn pledge I am making to you, my fellow Ghanaians, and one which I am determined to fulfill. Before I take my seat, I want to inform you that, in fulfilment of the announcement I made at last year’s Founders’ Day Celebration, I will, on Tuesday, 14th March 2023, confer national honours on some citizens of our country, who distinguished themselves in the fight against the pandemic of COVID-19. By their actions, they helped protect and preserve our population, and won global acclaim for Mother Ghana.
“I will, also, on that day, express the nation’s gratitude to the legal team of men and women who were charged with ensuring that the maritime boundary dispute with Ghana’s immediate, western neighbour, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, ended favourably for Ghana, thus ensuring that our western maritime resources, including their potential oil and gas reserves, remained legitimately in our possession.
“I am sure we all saw the three (3) helicopters belonging to the Police Service joining this morning’s celebration. It is the first time in our nation’s history that the Police Service is employing the use of helicopters to improve its operational efficiency.
“The acquisition of these helicopters is to honour the pledge I made at the 2019 end of year Police WASSA, and I assure the officers, men and women of the Service of Government’s continued support in helping them to discharge effectively their mandate.”
Politics
We control one-third of NPP; No major decision can be taken without consulting us – Ken Agyapong
Assin Central Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong says his performance at the just-ended New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential primary shows that he is a force to be reckoned with and that no major decision can be taken by the party without consulting him.
Mr. Agyapong made the comments on Saturday, November 11, during a “Showdown” Thanksgiving party organized for his supporters and coordinators during the NPP presidential primary campaign.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia won the presidential primary with 118,210 votes, representing 61.47%, while his closest contender, Mr Agyapong, polled 71,996 votes, representing 37.41%.
Speaking at the party, Mr Agyapong thanked his campaign team and said that he was “underestimated” ahead of the primary.
“They underestimated us, but we’ve proven to them that we now control one-third of the NPP,” Mr. Agyapong said. “No major decision will be taken without consulting us.”
Mr. Agyapong added that he had been underestimated by many, including a pastor who predicted that his best performance would be 16%.
“There was this pastor who even said if I get more than 16 percent, he [pastor] should be killed,” Mr. Agyapong said. “But today, I am praying for that pastor, that God should grant him long life and he should not die soon.”
The showdown Thanksgiving party brought together in Accra all coordinators of Mr. Agyapong from every region in Ghana.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been elected to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Election 2024 as flagbearer.
It had been predicted Bawumia was going to win with a larger margin but as promised, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong gave him a “showdown”.
Ken Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central came second with 37.41%.
Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto came third with 0.76% while Francis Addai Nimoh was last with 0.41%.
The Institute of Research Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University, in its latest poll, has disclosed that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia stands a greater chance of winning the upcoming New Patritoc Party (NPP) flagbearer race as he will most likely secure an overwhelming victory in eight regions.
Ahead of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential primaries on Saturday, November 4, many researchers have tipped Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as leading the race, with Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong being his closest contender.
The latest to conduct a poll on the upcoming election is the Institute of Research Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University.
The director of the Institute, who is the lead researcher for the poll, Prof. Smart Sarpong, in an interview with Citi News, disclosed that 15,595 NPP delegates were engaged.
He noted that the key components considered among the four aspirants were who is the most unifying, who has the most visible leadership qualities, who is most likely to break the “8,” as well as non-policy factors such as religion and ethnicity were taken into account.
Prof. Smart Sarpong disclosed that 71.1% of the respondents said Dr. Bawumia has a higher chance of breaking the “8,” while 26.8% of them stated that Kennedy Agyapong stands a better chance of breaking the “8.” 1.8% and 0.3% chose Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Mr. Addai Nimo, respectively.
69.9% also described Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the most unifying, whereas 19.4% said Kennedy Agyapong is the most unifying. In terms of being the most unifying, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto had 8.5%, while Francis Addai Nimo had 2.2%.
In terms of being the aspirant with the most visible leadership qualities, 70.5% of the delegates engaged chose Dr. Bawumia, and 19.4% mentioned Mr. Kennedy Agyapong. 8.1% and 2.0% of the delegates chose Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Addai Nimo, respectively.
With respect to how religion or ethnocentrism can influence the choice of vote, 13.4% said religion would be taken into consideration, while 86.4% said they would not consider religion. 13.8% of the delegates said they would strongly consider ethnicity, while 86.2% said they would not consider one’s ethnic background before voting for them. 97.1% noted they would take into account the past record of each person before voting for them, while 2.9% said that factor would not be considered.
Out of the 16 regions and the one national headquarters, Prof. Smart Sarpong revealed that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a commanding lead in eight (8) regions with an average of 81.9%.
“Out of these 17 clusters (the 16 regions and the NPP national headquarters), I see 8 of the clusters being already decided. The Vice President has taken a very good lead. Those regions include; North East, Northern region, Upper East and Upper West, Ashanti, Bono, Eastern, and Volta.”
Prof. Smart Sarpong further noted that their research predicts that the election would be open in five regions, as none of the aspirants has a clear lead.
He, however, noted that the work the aspirants put in a few days before the election could change the dynamics.
“It is 50/50 for any aspirant who works extra harder. Those 5 regions include the Western region, Savannah region, BonoEast region, the party headquarters, and Western North.”
The research also showed that Mr. Kennedy Agyapong could have a clear lead in four other regions if he works harder, as he is leading with an average of 49.6%.
“The following regions have the potential of going for Hon. Ken Ohene Agyapong. They are likely going to go for him. It doesn’t mean he should go to sleep on them. He should try and consolidate whatever gains he has in these four regions. So, Hon. Ken and the team, Oti region, Greater Accra region, Central region, and Ahafo region.”
Reacting to the latest poll, the spokesperson of the Kennedy Agyapong campaign team in the Ashanti region, William Kusi, insists that despite the research stating that their candidate is not strong enough in the Ashanti region, their own poll states otherwise.
“Our candidate, for instance, has combed the whole country, and we as a campaign team have also done a lot of work, especially in the Ashanti region. We have heard of the sponsored polls that have come out and are giving Dr. Bawumia the lead, but we disagree because on the ground, we are far ahead.
For instance, our internal polls suggest that we are going to have 75-80 percent support in the Ashanti region. So, when I heard of the polls from the one who always fails, Ben Ephson, for instance, I was like, what is happening? Smart Sarpong at the regional level did so well with his polls. It was accurate, but he is getting it wrong this time,” he said.
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