Politics of Saturday, 14 November 2020

Source: peacefmonline.com

NDC confused about successful implementation of Akufo-Addo's Free SHS - Evans Nimako

File photo of Free SHS students File photo of Free SHS students

Director of Elections for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Evans Nimako says the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is in a state of confusion about the successful implementation of the Free SHS policy introduced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Evans Nimako noted that the success of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s Free Senior High School (SHS) policy is giving the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) a nightmare especially when all their top hierarchies never dreamt that the implementation of the Free SHS policy was workable.

“In 2016, if you listened to all the top hierarchies of the NDC, nobody supported the implementation of the Free SHS policy as they said that it was not possible. In fact, Fifi Kwetey met with some people and some students and he said that Free SHS policy that Nana Akufo-Addo is talking about is a scam,” he noted.

He, however, wondered the sudden turnaround of former President John Dramani Mahama to claim that the Free Senior High School (SHS) educational policy was introduced under his tenure in 2015.

He based his argument against the backdrop of former President John Dramani Mahama claiming in Kumasi as he embarks on his campaign tour that he introduced the Free Senior High School (SHS) educational policy in the Fourth Republic.

The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama claimed in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region that he has never objected to the constitutionally-backed educational policy.

“I launched Free SHS in 2015, and the record is there. Our constitution directs us to introduce it progressively,” he said, adding that from 2015 to 2016, he commissioned new secondary schools numbering 43 across Ghana.

But reacting to the assertion of the NDC flagbearer, Evans Nimako on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show insisted that the former President prior to the 2016 general election told Ghanaians he would not use Ghc2 million to implement the Free SHS policy but rather use the money for something else.

He reminded that the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy did not start from 2016 but rather President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo started talking about the policy from 2008 as an opposition leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

To him, President Akufo-Addo has proved to be a leader who has been very consistent about what he wants to do and has therefore committed to his words with the help of God to see to the implementation of the Free SHS policy within the first year in office.

“Today, the NDC cannot sleep because what they thought was not possible to accomplish or their expectation about the implementation of the Free SHS policy has backfired and so they have nightmares,” he posited.