Has Mahama really rejected Kwesi Botchwey Committee’s report findings?

If you may recall, following the NDC’s 2016 humiliating election defeat, the party hierarchy set up a 13-member committee, presided by former Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Professor Kwesi Botchwey, with the sole mandate of travelling to the length and breadth of the country to interact with the grassroot supporters and investigate the causes of the historic defeat and propound recommendations accordingly.

The credible sources however have it that the Botchwey Committee’s report indicted former President Mahama, the NDC’s 2016 flagbearer, as the main cause of NDC’s humiliating defeat.

The report is said to have put the blame at the doorsteps of former President Mahama for blatantly ignoring party structures and happily mingling with the likes of Madam Akua Donkor during the 2016 electioneering campaign.

The Kwesi Botchwey Committee’s report is thus alleged to have suggested that any future flagbearer of the party must, as a matter of principle, work collaboratively with the party structures, by bringing on board the national and regional executives, polling agents and those at the grassroots to assist in electioneering campaign.

Take, for instance, the report is said to have alluded to the fact that the abject snubbing of the grassroots, including some prominent members of the party during President Dramani Mahama’s reign largely contributed to the NDC’s election loss.

On the issue of corruption, the Botchwey Committee’s report is reported to have stressed that the then flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, who is the incumbent President, took advantage of his well-received incorruptible descriptive label to the disadvantage of NDC’s flagbearer, former President Mahama, who was perceived to have endorsed corruption in his government.”

Interestingly, however, some aggrieved party supporters have been insisting vehemently that former President Mahama flagrantly turned a blind eye to their concerns over his needless association with ‘electioneering campaign money grabbers’.

The concerned party loyalists have since been decrying the actions and inactions of the numerous fan clubs for Mahama 2016.

As a matter of fact, there were uncountable fan clubs for Mahama, among others, ‘Artists for Mahama, ‘Barbers for Mahama, Bricklayers for Mahama, Butchers for Mahama, Mahama Ladies, Akpeteshie Sellers for Mahama, Drunkards for Mahama, Macho Men for Mahama, etc.

The aggrieved diehard NDC supporters beef stems from the fact that although the vast majority of the Mahama fan clubs members were novices in electioneering campaign, they were entrusted with such a responsibility regardless.

Somehow, former President Mahama’s association with the novices and his apparent poor economic management incensed the vast majority of party faithful, who even threatened to boycott the 2016 general elections.

The NDC faithful however maintained that the straw that broke the camel’s back was when President Mahama strangely metamorphosed into ‘Father Christmas’ and unjustifiably gave away large portions of Ghana’s scarce resources to party apologists like Madam Akua Donkor of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), who received two four wheel drive cars and a luxury bungalow (estimated to cost a staggering $470,000) for no work done.

Consequently, leading to the 2016 general elections, there were numerous disturbing publications on the rebellious NDC supporters.

“NDC Supporters Threaten To Leave Party Over Preferential Treatment Given To John Dumelo, Mr Beautiful, Tracey Boakye and co” (ghanakasa.com).

“Angry residents of Gbulung and its surrounding communities in the Kumbungu District of the Northern Region have threatened to boycott the 2016 polls if government fails to fix their road”.

“About a thousand of them including sub and youth chiefs, opinion leaders and assembly members, joined a massive demonstration on Wednesday August 17, 2016 to express their anger”.

“They held placards some of which read, “John Mahama stop sleeping, “NDC since 92 why,” “JM it is going against us why,” “We are tired, no road no vote,” “John Mahama, remember where you are coming from” (cityfmonline.com).

“Ho residents in the Volta region, called the bluff of the Volta regional Minister, Madam Helen Notoso as they protested over the poor road networks in the municipality”. The aggrieved residents say they are tired of government’s failure to fix the bad roads in the area.

“The protestors ignored warnings from the Police and the regional minister not to demonstrate without police protection”.

“The poor turnout did not however prevent the protestors from presenting a petition to the president through the regional minister”.

“Some of the demonstrators speaking to Starr News said the bad nature of the roads is making life unbearable for residents”. “They warned the governing NDC they are likely to lose more votes in the region in the upcoming 2016 elections if the government does not pay attention to their needs” (starrfmonline.com; peacefmonline.com; ghanaweb.com; modernghana.com).

But despite the damning findings of Kwesi Botchwey’s report, we have been witnessing unbridled reactive emotional responses from the likes of Ex-President Mahama, who has rather been attributing the historic election defeat to several reasons.

Contrary to the Kwesi Botchwey Committee’s report findings, former President Mahama has unfairly been aiming accusing fingers at everyone and everything else for his humiliating 2016 election defeat, except himself.

If you may recall, during the NDC’s unity health walks across the country, Ex-President Mahama incessantly aimed accusing fingers at his opponents of promising the electorates the moon which led to his humiliating 2016 election defeat.

Ex-President Mahama somehow returned and told discerning Ghanaians that it was due to the wonderful work of God which resulted in the NDC government being booted out of government to give way to the NPP government so that Ghanaians can decipher between “water and alcohol”.

Former President Mahama shockingly came back shortly and told the whole nation that he lost the election because the NDC Executives diverted 2016 electioneering campaign funds.

While discerning Ghanaians were solemnly digesting over his previous reasons, Mahama astonishingly resurfaced umpteenth time and ventilated his arousing disgust over the alleged irregularities during the 2016 general elections which caused his humiliating defeat.

To be quite honest, discerning Ghanaians are struggling to get their heads around former President Mahama’s assigned reasons for his 2016 election loss.

Given the complexities of the delineated reasons, it would appear that former President Mahama is refusing to acknowledge the fact that his calamitous errors in judgement amid rampant corruption, untold economic hardships and business crippling dumsor largely contributed to his 2016 humiliating election defeat.

How can Mahama blame everyone else for his rejection by discerning Ghanaians, when his sibling Ibrahim Mahama revoltingly took advantage of his presidency and blatantly refused to pay import taxes to the tune of over GH12 million?

Why must Mahama blame innocent people for his historic defeat when he egregiously gave away 58% of Ghana’s bauxite to his sibling Ibrahim Mahama to the utter disgust of discerning Ghanaians?

How could former President Mahama fecklessly give apologists like Madam Akua Donkor of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) two four wheel drive cars and a luxury bungalow (estimated to cost a staggering $470,000) for no work done, and then turn around and blame others for his historic election defeat?

I bet, Ex-President Mahama thinks Ghanaians still suffer from chronic memory loss and can keep taking everyone else for granted.

K. Badu, UK.

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