It beggars belief that despite the unbridled corruption, the arrogance of power and the irrevocable incompetence by the erstwhile NDC administration which resulted in massive economic collapse, the NDC apologists would still have the moral authority to accuse others.

Whatever the case, that is the beauty of democracy. The minority NDC operatives are within their democratic rights to whine and speak their piece and criticise the infant NPP administration as they see fit.

But all said and done, the NDC communicators ought to exercise a great deal of circumspection and consider criticising constructively and put forward alternative policies and programmes.

Some of us have always held an unfailing conviction that governance is a serious business and as such it requires forward thinking, serious and committed group of people to bring about the needed progress.

However, it has not always been the case in Ghana’s democratic dispensation. The multi-party democracy has given birth to both purposeful and coarse political parties.

And, as a consequence, we have over the years been relying on lousy economic managers who cannot see their backsides from their elbows and have only succeeded in sinking the economy deeper and deeper into the mire through corrupt practices.

In fact, we share in the sentiments of the reflective skeptics who argue vehemently that despite spending 27 years in government, the successive NDC governments have failed woefully to improve upon the socio-economic standards of living of Ghanaians.

The contending schools of thought have been arguing consistently that the successive NDC governments only managed to destabilise Ghana’s macroeconomic indicators through dreadful errors in decision-making.

Despite the likes of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) attesting to favourable economic growth under Akufo-Addo’s administration, the NDC operatives are all over the place nagging, grumbling and censuring the NPP government for perceived slow pace in development in less than three years in office.

The fact however remains that if the officials of the erstwhile NDC government had not allegedly squandered the funds meant for various developmental projects, the NPP government would have enough funds at its disposal to undertake a lot of developmental projects.

On 7th December, 2016, discerning Ghanaians found in NPP, a redeemer, in whom they reposed their absolute trust to set them free from the NDC government’s unpardonable economic enslavement.

So who says that the critics are not absolutely right for suggesting that if discerning Ghanaians had not graciously intervened by showing the dreadful economic managers (NDC) the exit through universal adult suffrage, the terrible errors in decision-making and the rampant corruption would have obliterated Ghana off the world map completely?

Given the appalling conditions back then, we can confidently deduce that discerning Ghanaians made the right decision on 7th December, 2016 by electing the septuagenarian Nana Akufo-Addo and retiring the middle-aged John Dramani Mahama.

How can former President Mahama and NDC stand in front of the good people of Ghana to solicit for their votes in 2020, if they cannot see the need to beg for forgiveness for willfully dragging the 14% economic growth in 2011 to a disappointing 3.4% by December 2016?

So, do former President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks really believe that they can manage the economy again when they needlessly raised Ghana’s debt from GH¢9.5 billion in 2009, to an incredible GH¢122.4 billion by December 2016 with a little to show for?

The good people of Ghana cannot so soon forget and forgive former President Mahama and the NDC apparatchiks for the business crippling dumsor in the last five years of their administration.

Truth must be told; the NDC apparatchiks should stop taking Ghanaians for granted and ask for forgiveness for terribly collapsing the agricultural sector by reducing the growth from 7.4% in 2012, to a miserable 2.9% in December 2016.

If former President Mahama and NDC really want to lead the country again, then they should render an unqualified apology to the good people of Ghana for shrinking Ghana’s GDP from US$47 billion in 2011 to US$40 billion by December 2016.

Who says that discerning Ghanaians have forgiven the NDC for recklessly giving out large portions of Ghana’s scarce resources to parasitic creatures?

Why should discerning Ghanaians trust ex-President Mahama and NDC again when they flagrantly gave away more than 58% of Ghana’s bauxite to the sibling of Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama, on 29th December, 2016, just a little over one week before exiting power?

In fact, former President Mahama should do the honest thing by apologising on behalf of his brother, Ibrahim Mahama, for egregiously evading import taxes to the tune of GH¢12 million during his tenure in office.

So ex-President Mahama and the NDC apparatchiks think that Ghanaians have forgiven and forgotten the purported GH¢800 million dubious judgment debt payments, including the GH¢51.2 million to Woyome, US$47 million to the Waterville and US$325,000 to Isofoton which resulted in the drastic reduction of capital expenditure?

How can discerning Ghanaians be so sure that the alleged misapplied loan facility of US$200million which was supposed to provide around 5000 affordable housing units and only provided just under 1500 housing units will not happen again in Mahama’s second term in office?

Are the NDC apparatchiks not concerned about the misappropriation of US$175 million loan facility secured in 2012, which was meant to provide seven district hospitals but misapplied on the blind side of Ghanaians?

To be quite honest, some of us would be extremely surprised if the NDC apparatchiks failed to beg Ghanaians for forgiveness before 2020 general elections for surreptitiously diverting six million of a government loan facility of US$175 million meant to provide seven district hospitals into researching the then governing NDC party’s chances of winning the 2016 general elections.

Well, the NDC apparatchiks should not think that Ghanaians still suffer from chronic memory loss and therefore cannot recall the over GH¢200 million SADA funds invested on trees which were reported to have burnt down to ashes and the guinea fowls which flew to the nearby Burkina Faso without a trace. How bizarre?

Even though a competent court of jurisdiction has convicted and sentenced two former NDC officials over the embezzled GYEEDA funds meant to provide suitable employment for the youth of Ghana, former President Mahama must apologise to Ghanaians for superintending over such mess.

Last but not least, former President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks definitely owe discerning Ghanaians an unconditional apology over the scandalous Bus Branding, the Brazil World Cup, SUBA, SSNIT, NCA, MASLOC, and the Ford Expedition Vehicle, amongst others.

From the look of things, unless former President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks decide to render an unqualified apology, the good people of Ghana will continue to ventilate their arousing disgust over their terrible errors in decision-making which culminated in harsh socio-economic standards of living.

Verily, it will be easier for a camel to go through an eye of a needle than discerning Ghanaians voting Mahama and NDC back into power in 2020.

k.badu2011@gmail.com