It is November 2020, and I am yet to see the so-called “paradise” that Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP promised Ghana in 2016.

I had so much faith in then-presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and believed that my fortunes as a commercial driver would be turned around once he became President and Commander-In-Chief of this country.

He made strong pronouncements such as “y3 ti sika so nanso 3kum di y3n” which literally translated into English means “we are sitting on money yet we are hungry” and that should we vote for him he would literally “conjure” money from within the country for Ghana’s development. This statement by Nana Akufo-Addo was made during an interview on Despite Media’s UTV in 2016.

In the last political campaign rally in 2016, Nana Akufo-Addo bemoaned how everyone in the country was suffering including doctors, teachers, and drivers. So as a commercial driver, I was captivated and became interested because I thought I was paying too much for fuel and for vehicle maintenance at the time. But alas! little did I know that I was just being “scammed” for votes.

In 2016 Nana Akufo-Addo promised to reduce the price we commercial drivers pay for fuel and vehicle maintenance. On the contrary, today we are now paying more for fuel than ever. The cost per gallon of fuel today is GH¢19.08 compared to GH¢13.88 that we paid in 2016. Prices of spare parts have also shot up astronomically thereby increasing the cost of vehicle maintenance compared to what we used to spend on maintenance in 2016.

The roads we drive on today are in a worse condition since NPP took over the helm of national affairs and this has increased the frequency that our vehicles breakdown and need maintenance and repairs. NPP touted this year 2020 as the “Year of Roads” but to date nothing substantial has been done to improve the condition of roads in the country and as such the “Year of Roads” remains mere deceptive rhetoric and empty sloganeering that NPP is renowned for.

Today I pay more for rent than I used to pay in 2016. The same can be said for electricity.

We are heading towards the December 2020 general elections and as usual Nana Akufo-Addo and NPP are once more promising “heaven on earth” to us. We are being told that NPP has a big plan for us, commercial drivers. Recently, I heard Nana Akufo-Addo communicate through NPP’s Communications Director, Honourable Buabeng Asamoah, a promise that he (Akufo-Addo) will replace our rickety vehicles should he be retained as president of Ghana for another 4-year term. Nana Akufo-Addo and NPP seem to have thrown the dice and are resorting to making all kinds of “empty” promises just as they did in 2016 and failed to fulfil and implement.

My fellow drivers, I urge you all to think hard before you cast your vote on 7th December. Remember how much you were paying for fuel and vehicle maintenance in 2016. Remember also how often you were maintaining your vehicles back then? Do not also be deceived by the supposed free water that Nana Akufo-Addo claims to be delivering because your water bills are just being piled-up for you to pay the “free water” you have consumed in January 2021.

In fact, you should only expect more broken and unfulfilled promises, and disappointments from Nana Akufo-Addo and NPP should you repeat the 2016 mistake and vote for them again on 7th December 2020.

Please, my fellow drivers, look at your current situation and compare it to how things were for you, as a driver in 2016. If we are honest to ourselves, we will see that we were far better off then.