Nana Storms Taifa
The entire community of Taifa, a suburb of Accra, and its surrounding areas came to a standstill yesterday when the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, with his able lieutenants, attended a mammoth rally by the local party people.
Nana Akufo-Addo joined members of the Dome-Kwabenya constituency to launch the campaign of the party’s Parliamentary Candidate for the area, Sarah Adwoa Safo.
The mammoth crowd went berserk when Nana Addo arrived at the venue amidst spontaneous cheers and chants of ‘Paapa o dende, Paapa o dende!”
Not even the intermittent downpour in the Taifa area where the rally took place could dissuade the party faithful from turning out in their numbers to grace the occasion, with some having to climb trees and roof tops to view proceedings.
Amazed at the turn-out of party faithful, he said, “I thought I was coming for a constituency rally but what I have seen has amazed me.”
When Nana Akufo-Addo took the microphone to speak, the adrenaline in him was almost visible as he took direct hits at the Mills administration’s mismanagement, rubbishing in particular, its unfulfilled promises to Ghanaians.
Better Ghana Agenda Under Attack
In his delivery, he described the Mills administration’s ‘Better Ghana’ mantra as a failure, noting, “The ‘Better Ghana Agenda’ is a failure; the Better Ghana Agenda has failed”, whilst stating that “the ‘I care for you’ slogan is now a cynical and cruel joke.”
This, he said, was because under President Mills and his ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the living conditions of Ghanaians kept degenerating from bad to worse, following astronomical increases in the cost of utilities and petroleum products.
He called on Ghanaians to vote for him and the NPP, so that together they could move the country forward.
Nana Addo re-stated his commitment to making jobs available for the youth when elected president, saying, “That would be my number one priority.”
Education, he noted, would receive a prominent position in his agenda under which he pointed at his free Senior High School module.
“This would prepare our country for the new economy and new era,” he said.
Teachers, he said, would have a new deal through enhanced conditions of service as a way of motivating them to give off their best.
He paid glowing tribute to former President Kufuor for the achievements he chalked during his term of office, saying, “Kufuor brought one of the greatest institutions to our country, the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to help the sick. Mills is spoiling it”.
He promised that an Akufo-Addo led government would rejuvenate the scheme to enable it to play its role in medical care delivery in the country.
Speaking about himself, he said, “I am not Mills” who makes unfeasible promises.
The Comparison
Unlike President Mills who promised to reduce prices of petroleum product, yet the prices kept skyrocketing, Nana Addo said he would keep to his promises.
Given the continuous increases in the price of cement, he said the youth would find it very difficult to put up buildings now that cement was selling at GH¢25 whilst recalling President Mills’ campaign promise to put money in people’s pockets.
“Have you had such monies put in your pockets? We have just returned from Kyebi and over there, there is nothing like that. What the people there have are holes in their pockets.”
In the face of challenges, he however stressed, “There is a bright future. What we need is a leadership that can turn things around.”
He told his audience that he was not seeking the presidency to amass wealth but to use his talents in the service of the nation.
He said doling out money in the name of judgment debts would not be part of his agenda.
He later introduced Adwoa Safo as the next MP for the Dome-Kwabenya constituency, to a rousing ovation.
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor did not also mince words when he took over the stage, reprimanding the Mills administration for authorizing payment of a whopping GH¢51.2million judgment debt to Alfred Agbesi Woyome, while in another breadth, claiming that the economy they inherited was in shambles.
Convictions
Given the conditions on the grounds in the country, the former president, whose address attracted loud cheers from the audience, said victory was staring NPP in the face.
He was of the firm conviction that when such victory was bestowed upon the NPP, the country would witness a steady progress in its affairs.
He rubbished the argument by members of the Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) that since he (Kufuor) and Rawlings were given two-terms each to serve as President, President John Evans Atta Mills should equally be given the same opportunity, noting with emphasis, “That is a lie. A good play starts early in the morning. Our first three years showed signs of promise.”
Had the Constitution demanded presidents to enjoy two straight terms, Mr Kufuor said that would have been specified clearly in the document.
“You get one term and when the people are satisfied with your work they give you another. That is the position of the Constitution,” he said.
On the occasional comparison between his first three years in office and that of his successor President Mills, he said the two were incomparable. “During our first three months in office we took the difficult decision to taking the country to HIPC and with this we had our debts cancelled,” he noted.
He recalled how lucky he was to have dedicated ministers such as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is leading the NPP into the 2012 elections and others with whom he steered the affairs of the country forward.
He was of the belief that when given the mandate to steer the affairs of the nation, Nana Akufo-Addo would not countenance the payment of bad judgment debts such as those doled out to Woyome, Messrs Construction Pioneers (CP) and others.
Instead, he indicated that the loans which during his tenure were given to women would be resuscitated when Nana Akufo becomes president.