NDC has more to worry from Obama’s victory - Sir John

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Created on Friday, 09 November 2012 00:00

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NDC has more to worry from Obama’s victory - Sir John

08 November 2012

The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, Kwadwo “Sir John” Owusu-Afriyie, says no comparison can be drawn between the re-election of US President, Barack Obama, and the failed leadership of John Mahama translating into votes in the December polls in Ghana, as functionaries of the ruling National Democratic Congress are seeking to do.

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Sir John argues that the American people have voted wisely and rewarded Barack Obama for his hard work, for his “caring and effective leadership, that has saved jobs and brought relief to ordinary people.”

If the NDC was desperate to gain capital from Obama’s victory, Sir John has advised them to rather be worried about the fact that fewer people voted for the incumbent this time than in 2008.

“The NDC, which won the last election by some 40,000 votes, should take note that President Obama’s winning margin which stood at 9.8 million in 2008 dropped to some 2.3 million in 2012. Obama’s votes in fact went down by some 10 million. Again, in 2008 he won more states than this year, bagging some 303 Electoral College votes as against 365 in 2008.”

Sir John argues that if a “performing incumbent can drop this low then what about a non-performing one who even had a tiny margin of victory of some 0.46%?.”

The NDC, knowing too well that they have no record of value to fight this election on, was behaving like a “drowning pirate” looking for a straw to hold on to, but “it is wrong for NDC to seek electoral refuge under Obama,” the NPP General Secretary said.

If the NDC was desperate to gain capital from Obama’s victory, Sir John asked them to take a clue from the reduction in President Obama’s winning margin which stood at 9.8 million in 2008 to some 2.3 million in 2012.

“First of all,” he says, “John Mahama is not up for re-election as he has never been elected to the high office of President and so he cannot compare himself to President Obama who was up for re-election. John Mahama should rather compare himself to President Gerald Ford who finished the unexpired term of President Nixon only to lose his own election.”

According to Sir John, Barack Obama had to win because he positively affected the lives of the ordinary people of America with what President Kufuor did with the NHIS, his health insurance initiative for the American masses, popularly referred to as “Obamacare.”

“Nana Addo will win because his policies address the needs of the masses like free SHS which the NDC is opposing. Republicans opposed the Obamacare. Obama inherited a recession, whilst the NDC, on the other hand inherited a middle income economy growing at 8.4% and the new worth from oil.”

Sir John further noted that whilst the NDC promised but failed to put in place measures to relieve Ghanaians, President Obama passed a stimulus bill to spur economic growth during the recession which has subsequently recorded positive job growth numbers each month and a recovering economy due to the policies he put in place.

The NDC, on the other hand, according to Sir John, inherited a buoyant economy only to look after themselves and fail Ghanaians. An economy that is not creating jobs but creating corruption upon corruption.

“President Mahama and his administration have borrowed more money than all the previous governments from Nkrumah to Kufuor combined but we don’t know what they have done with all the cash. The value of the Cedi has been cut in half and the President has only been effective in making reckless or corrupt deals such as STX, Embraer Jet and GUMA and to lie to Ghanaians about the cost of training Ghanaian doctors in Cuba,” Sir John said.

He continued, “President Obama passed healthcare reform to cover millions of uninsured Americans similar to the action taken by former President Kufuor. After just four years the NHIS is in trouble because of incompetent management by President Mahama and his team.”

On the issue of providing education for all, Sir John said President Obama and Nana Akufo-Addo have something in common on that front. He noted that, realising the importance of education, President Obama created “Race to the Top” to provide the necessary funding to improve schools in the United States. Nana Akufo-Addo, he added, has made education his priority also and will bring free SHS to Ghana to transform Ghana.

“America has re-elected a President who has their best interest at heart; who knows that education, healthcare and good paying jobs are the way to move a country forward; and who knows America cannot afford more years of failed policies that endanger its economy.

“Ghanaians should elect a President who will do the same. A trustworthy President who will root out corruption and who will focus on education, good paying jobs and healthcare. We must elect Nana Akufo-Addo to move Ghana forward. We look forward to working with our American partners as Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP seek to transform the Ghanaian economy,” Sir John said.

From: NPP Communications Directorate