On Thursday, October 15, 2020, think tank, IMANI Centre for Policy and Education hosted Presidential Candidates of minor political parties in Ghana ahead of the elections on December 7.

Held in partnership with Multimedia Group, the second presidential debate featured questions on the vision of presidential aspirants, law and order, economy, corruption among others.

The event featured presidential candidates from five political parties: the All People’s Congress (APC) Mr Hasan Ayariga, Mr Ivor Greenstreet of the Conventions People’s Party (CPP), Mrs Bridgete Dzorgbenuku of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), and the People’s National Convention’s (PNC) Mr David Apasera and Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG).

Below are IMANI's selected notable quotes from the presidential candidate of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga, which were contained in his answers to the key issues facing the country during the debate.

Vision

“I believe Ghana is in a leadership crisis. Ghana is struggling not only because of NPP/NDC, but persons who are quiet. I call on you to join the APC to transform Ghana and restore hope.”

Law & Order

“There must be a minimum requirement for entry into Security Services. The police must also have a database with details about every Ghanaian to track down persons who commit crimes.”

Economic Recovery
“We need to change our consumption pattern to produce locally what we eat and eat what we produce.”

Unemployment & Job Creation

“We will link agriculture to industry and inculcate STEM into educational infrastructure so the youth become more creative and innovative and create jobs. We will also create job centres nationwide and link these job centres to industry to enhance access to job opportunities.”

National Debt

“We must increase production, cut down expenditure, raise funds by issuing bonds locally to finance projects and activities and begin to undertake debt repayment. We will also put in place an integrated national data system to monitor how individuals earn and spend monies to curtail expenditure and curb corruption.”

Improving Business Climate & Ghana’s Performance on Ease of Doing Business Index

“I will reduce taxes, encourage businesses to have the right enabling environment to grow, support businesses with start-up capital, ensure access to land and efficiency of labour for businesses to strive.”

Corruption “We will ensure that there is assets declaration by Senior Officers and institute a National Data System which will track down persons and give detailed background information about every Ghanaian. I will also spend my first night as President in jail to send the right signal to corrupt persons.”

Financial Crimes/Delisting of Ghana

“My Government will negotiate to know the terms of the contract that got Ghana to be blacklisted and deal with it accordingly. We will ensure that persons use Visa Cards, MasterCards, and other Cards for transactions both in and outside Ghana. There will be no more cash transactions – just online transactions to ensure there is a cashless economy.”

Natural Resource Management/Mining Revenues/Agyapa

“We will make sure we give mining licenses to local Ghanaians. We will not give concessions to foreigners anymore. No foreigner will mine in Ghana under my leadership. We will support Ghanaians with mining contracts with equipment so that royalties remain in Ghana and increase revenues to sustain Ghana and grow the economy.”

Energy

We will institute the more you consume the less you pay system, ensure mixed energy – generation of power through solar systems, energy through dams, and cheap electricity through turbines, and ensure that electricity is legally generated so that Energy does not go waste in Ghana.”

Flooding/Poor Sanitation “We will ensure education in schools and teach pupils on how to manage waste. We will also need to put up a proper sewage underground system and ensure clean gutters. We will establish a fund for bottled water and ensure that customers are paid for returning used water bottles to avoid choking in gutters.”

Housing

“We will reserve land by constructing high rise buildings for Ghanaians to make good use of land. We will reduce taxes on cement and other building materials, and have digitalised lands and properties to ensure two persons do not own lands in this country.”

Data Pricing Regime

“We will regulate the taxes on internet service providers to give them tax holidays for them to be able to provide wide and reduced coverage of internet services. We will also boost the internet system to promote wide coverage in villages and communities.”