A Referendum on Free SHS in Ghana

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Created on Thursday, 06 December 2012 00:00

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A Referendum on Free SHS in Ghana

On Friday, 07 December 2012, Ghanaians will be going to the polls to elect a new president and some 275 parliamentarians to take care of the political and socio-economic affairs of the country for another four years which, if all things being well as planned, begins on 07 January 2013. The prayers here are that the elections must go on peacefully and fairly.

The stakes here are indeed high for all the leaders of the seven political party contestants, including an independent candidate as each of them, sees himself as a winner in this race.

Yesterday, the lead political parties in these presidential and parliamentary race- the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), held their final rally at the Ghana Trade Fair Site and the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, in Accra, respectively.

There is no doubt many intended policy directions such as employment, housing, justice and the fight against perceptions of corruption in the Ghanaian societies; continue to be highlighted by the various political leaders in their exciting electioneering campaigns tours, what stands out in the heap of perhaps weeks or months of uncollected flying refuse and chocking gutters and car parks of Adenta-Medina and other parts of Accra is whether or not the main opposition New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) much taunted free Seniour High School (SHS) promise, is feasible.

In the text messages randomly received through MTN mobile phone network- the Vote John Mahama Campaign Directorate, argued among others that in the four (4) years the National Democratic Congress (NDC) out-performed the New Patriotic Party’s eight (8) years on infrastructure, jobs, education, health, food, energy, roads, peace and the economy.

In its electronic campaigns, the NDC Campaign Team quotes President John Mahama as saying that the National Democratic Congress(NDC) Government will complete its program of a public university in every region by building a public university in the Eastern Region.

At the NDC final rally, the president reiterated his party’s commitment to providing progressive and qualitative free education to  the Ghanaian child, alluding that the country’s electorate must not be misled by his main challenger’s desperate political free SHS promise which as he seemed to suggest, is not ripe at this time of the country’s mounting problems.

But Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo- the presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), vehemently disagrees, suggesting that Ghanaians are not born poor but rich because the country is endowed with all the enabling human and natural resources and that Ghana’s problem is that of bad leadership.

Such kind of leadership as Dr Bawumia- the NPP’s vice-presidential candidate, sought to suggest in his speech at the NPP’s final mammoth rally at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, is the award and payment of undeserved judgement debts totalling some billions of the old Ghanaian Cedis, where there had been no binding contract.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor on his part expressed confidence in Nana Akufo-Addo, stating that the NPP’s current presidential candidate had been part and parcel of his government in the formulation of good policies such as the National Youth Employment, National Health Insurance and the free school feeding program and therefore, Nana Addo was well positioned in turning around the fortunes of Ghana which Dr Bawumia states are now being Woyomized.

Ex-President John Kufuor talked and indeed highlighted Nana Akufo-Addo’s contribution to the removal of the criminal libel law, which he argues greatly enhanced Ghana’s democracy. With the HIPC initiative, it is said: “We turned the economy around. Banks were even chasing their customers for loans." Dr Bawumia argues among others that in the Mills-Mahama Administration, Ghanaians have had to live with two cedis being equal to one dollar, whilst in the NPP administration, the Ghanaian saw one cedi equaling one dollar.

At the flanks of this sorry state of affairs is the argument being advanced by the immediate-past Governor of Bank of Ghana and current Vice-President- Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, who states that the Kufuor administration borrowed money to celebrate Ghana @ 50 which probably failed to yield positive results and the NDC government, had to pay the debt.

“The [NDC] government inherited very weak macro-economy from its predecessor, the NPP, with the largest fiscal deficit in the nation’s post independent economic history but the current government had been able to stabilise the economy and generated substantial economic growth,” he said.

In the words of the vice-president, Ghana’s inflation has been reduced from 20 per cent to a single digit, and the country’s reserve which was then about two billion dollars has increased to five billion with a growth rate of more than seven per cent. This apart, Vice-President Amissa-Arthur states that the people of the Central Region had expressed satisfaction at the performance of the NDC and would massively vote for NDC at the polls.

This is in contrast to the position of Dr Bawumia- the NPP’s vice-preesidential candidate and former Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana who feels that the said economic breakthroughs are not true reflection of the living standards of the Ghanaian and accordingly, promises that the main opposition NPP if given the political mandate on 07 December 2012, would work to create a strong cedi which he states unlike during the Kufuor-Led NPP administration is now struggling under the major currencies.

“We would build an industrial, value adding economy, which would in effect create more jobs for the unemployed," he said.

It might be of interest to readers to note that Paa Kwesi Nduom(Progress Peoples’s Party), Jacob Osei Yeboah (Independent, Hassan Ayariga(People’s National Convention), -Addo(New Patriotic Party), Dr Abu Sakara(Convention People’s Party), Dr Henry Lartey(Great Consolidated Popular Party), Kwasi Addai (United Front Party), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo and John Dramani Mahama(NDC), are contesting for the presidential slot.

But to be more realistic, JusticeGhana can state that the race to the Jubilee House or the Castle and to the larger extension the Parliament, is between the ruling NDC and the NPP. Many advertising campaigns- being it on the radio or on the television networks, point to this fact.

Although the smaller political parties such as the CPP, PNC, PPP, NDP, UFP and the GCPP; seem to be battling to remain in the contest, a foot-work in the streets of central suburbs of Accra projects that one of the leading political parties will emerge as the winner.

Both President John Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo are predicting victory for themselves and their parties, come 07 December 2012. President Mahama had said at the final rally that the Mills-Mahama Better Agenda is on track and that the necessary economic foundation had been laid for accelerated progress. This means that conventionally, the NDC ought to be renewed its mandate at the polls as it had been done to Rawlings-Kufuor.

Nana Akufo-Addo reminded his teeming supporters and the Ghanaians at large at the NPP’s final convocation that constitutionally, there is nothing like automatic renewal of the mandate of an incumbent government and that this hinges on satisfactory governance that addresses the plight of the people- something he finds it difficult to see in the NDC’s fast 4-years rule.

Abu Jinapor- the spokesperson of Nana Akufo-Addo, who says he hails from the same town with President John Mahama, thinks that the president has hands in the Alfred Agbesi Woyome’s unresolved judgement debt saga and castigated the president as being a judgement debt manager.

Notwithstanding the NPP’s mistrust about NDC and its leadership, President Mahama has re-echoed that government had discharged its duties towards the elections by providing necessary logistics for the Electoral Commission and by equipping the security services to execute their duties before, during and after the elections. And that Ghanaians ought to choose a humble and peaceful leader who radiates the symbol of national unity.

Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo including a host of NPP distinguished speakers at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park; which included among others, Nana Yaw Osafo-Marfo, Kennedy Ohene-Agyapong, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Mrs Samira Bawumia, told the Ghanaian electorate, especially the youth that by voting Nana Akufo-Addo as president come Friday, 07 December 2012, they make history for themselves as being one those who brought free SHS and transformational economy that finally, bids farewell to the Guguisberg’s economy.

From all psychological and objective analysis and hindsight, JusticeGhana can authoritatively report that the race to the Castle or the Jubilee House, has gone far beyond the personalities and the personal achievements of John Mahama and Nana Akufo-Addo to John Agyekum Kufuor and Evans Atta-Mills as their respective presidential accomplishments or should we say, lots, are being thrown to cast on various television stations for comparison.

On this score, it could be accepted that the battle is indeed of the Lord and not the divided hearts and minds of the people to decide on who is best suited to win these elections to put Ghana ahead of parochial politics.

JusticeGhana