General News of Friday, 3 June 2016

Source: Ghanaian Times

I will fix power in 100 days – Edward Mahama

Dr. Edward Nasigre Mahama Dr. Edward Nasigre Mahama

The Presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr. Edward Mahama has promised to fix the country’s electricity problem 100 days into his administration when elected as president.

He said his team has thought through and designed a master plan to address the energy crisis within a period of three months after he assumes office.

Dr. Mahama gave the assurance in response to a question on electricity tariff posed to him by The Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Mr. David Agbenu, when he paid a visit to the New Times Corporation (NTC) in Accra yesterday.

“No one in Ghana has paid attention to electricity as I had. Not even the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). I have records on power outages since 2005 at my health facility. Therefore, electricity is an area that is of a high priority to me, and I have resolved to find a lasting solution to it,” he stressed.

According to him, it was time Ghanaians moved away from the traditional way of voting for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) to choose another party, specifically, the PNC to bring about real national development.

He stated that both NDC and NPP had failed Ghanaians in tackling pertinent issues and had over the years put the country in a reverse gear, not creating the necessary avenue for continuous development.

“Instead of both parties focusing on enhancing the livelihood of all Ghanaians, they rather turn their attention to create wealth for themselves and the few people that they are surrounded with. This situation should be reversed,” he stressed.

Under the theme, “New beginning, new deals, and new force”, Dr. Mahama said his team had couched campaign messages not only to address challenges confronting the country but to chart a new course for rapid development.

In her response, Ms. Carol Annang, Managing Director of NTC, thanked Dr. Mahama and his delegation for the visit and assured of the corporation’s commitment to create a level playing field for all political parties to advance their cause and propagate their messages to the electorate.

She said as a state-owned media organisation, NTC was constitutionally mandated to project national issues, including political matters and therefore the company would not hesitate to give space in its newspapers for the activities of the PNC.

“As a state-owned media, we will continue to make an available platform for political parties to have the needed exposure to propagate their message ahead of the upcoming November 7 general elections,” she stated.

Mr. Agbenu called for a mutual partnership between the party and the media to help facilitate free, fair and credible elections.

The Editor of the Spectator, Mrs. Tina Aforo Yeboah appealed to Dr. Mahama to include more women in his administration to help address issues of gender imbalance in governance.