The New Patriotic Party government was the object of ridicule at the maiden National Conference of Ex-MMDCES as former President Mahama threw jabs at the Akufo-Addo administration.
According to him, the NPP government appears to be ‘on autopilot’ with no one in charge. He claimed that the ministers in government sometimes act by their own prerogative. He chided government for its inconsistency with timelines; the President he says gives one timeline whilst his appointees give different ones.
“It’s like every minister in government has his own kingdom. And it is like the government is on autopilot, it does not seem to be someone in charge. So any minister gets up and says anything. I mean, look at the timelines for different things. National ID starts November, December, February. One District, One Factory is ready to start; 57 factories by end of 2017. Then somebody comes and says we are getting the money but the rate was not acceptable so we are going to look for money somewhere”, he said.
Mr. Mahama tagged President Akufo-Addo’s administration as a ‘governance as you go’ government with no policy to guide his initiatives. He alleged that only 30% of the money allocated to the Free SHS programme has been paid.
“The government is just as I said, governance as you go. Adhoc decisions. All the initiatives like Free SHS, no policy guidelines. And as at now, the information we have is, for the first year, only 30% of the money that should have been paid to the schools has been paid. 70% has not been paid”, the former President stated.
The Ministry of Education recently paid over GHC 8 million to cover the cost of utilities of all senior high schools nationwide under the Free SHS policy.
Utilities such as electricity and water were dealt with by government, with payments were made to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
Mr. Mahama also cited the dams and the factories the NPP promised Ghanaians before the 2016 polls as some amenities he said the Akufo-Addo government had failed to deliver more than 16 months into power.
Nduom lambastes Akufo-Addo over delay in election of MMDCEs
The Leader of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Paa Kwesi Nduom, slammed President Akufo-Addo for postponing the timeline for the election of Metropolitan and Municipal District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Prior to the 2016 elections, President Akufo-Addo assured Ghanaians that MMDCEs will be elected, with many expecting the implementation of this policy to take place during his first term in office. However, Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, hinted that the elections would come off 2021.
