“When the record of Ghana’s history in the 4th Republic is being written, we can point to the establishment of the District Assembly concept, which sought to deepen popular participation in governance, as originating from former President Rawlings.

“The establishment of the National Health Insurance Scheme, which delivered affordable, quality healthcare to Ghanaians, bears the name of President Kufuor. President Mills was not with us for long. In the Five years of President Mahama, what can we say is his legacy? What has he done to ensure Ghana moves forward? Perhaps it is the ‘dumsor,’” the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said at Fotobi, in the Nsawam/Adoagyiri constituency, at the commencement of his 5-day tour of the Eastern region.

Addressing a durbar held in his honour by Nana Kofi Osae Ababio, Chief of Fotobi, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that President Mahama’s tenure of office has been marked by the wanton theft of state resources, widespread cases of corruption and a broken economy.

“Our economy is in tatters and the President has no clue as to how to fix it. That is why the cost of basic necessities has become so expensive. Whether it is electricity, petrol, food, everything has become so expensive. The theft and corruption in Mahama’s government have become rampant and widespread,” he stated.

An Akufo-Addo government, he explained, “is coming to fix our monetary system, root out the theft of public resources and corruption, create an enabling environment for the private sector to flourish, and modernize our agriculture.”

To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment of setting up one factory in each of the 216 districts, and urged Ghanaians not to pay heed to the skeptics who continually say it cannot be done.

“When I said I was going to implement the Free SHS policy, Mahama said it cannot be done. But, later he turned around and tried to implement it,” he said.

Again, the NPP flagbearer noted that “the same way I proposed the Northern Development Authority to help the three Northern Regions, so as to help bridge the developmental gap between the North and South, there was the usual talk of ‘it cannot be done’, ‘he can’t do it’. Again, he (President Mahama) tried, through the creation of SADA, to implement my idea. He failed woefully at it.”

Nana Akufo-Addo, therefore, urged Ghanaians not to be hoodwinked by this propaganda, stating that “those who have no vision are always the ones who say it cannot be done. We are coming to rebuild Ghana and bring jobs to all Ghanaians.”

Disregard politics of division
The NPP flagbearer also urged the people of Fotobi and the Eastern region not to entertain the politics of tribalism and ethnicity, which will be waged by opponents of the NPP, but should rather vote based on the competence and the track-record of the various political parties and their respective candidates, and their ability to deliver decent standards of living for the citizenry.

“The various tribes in the Eastern Region always live in harmony. However, when the time for election is due, there are some who will come with their messages of division, trying to set tribes against each other. Please, do not pay heed to such people. We are all Ghanaians. That is what is important,” he stated

Continuing, he explained that “hardship does not know any tribe. It is affecting all of us. The carriers of division do not want what is best for this country. We want a leader who is coming to unite Ghanaians, and who is coming to work for the benefit of us all. It is those who have no message who will trumpet the politics of division. We in the NPP have a message. We are coming to solve Ghana’s problems and eliminate the poverty and hardship that are affecting all Ghanaians.”