Former deputy Finance Minister, Fiifi Kwetey, has expressed surprise at the desire of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to have a record consecutive third term.
According to him, the NPP in its sixth year in charge has only managed to plunge the country into an economic mess.
He said it was shocking to him that there are people within the party who are competing in order to secure the mandate to lead it into the 2024 elections.
Mr. Kwetey believes that the NPP should rather be apologizing to Ghanaians rather than thinking it can deceive citizens to retain them in power.
He made the observation on Pan African TV on August 20 while commenting on Hopeson Adorye’s assertions that Dombos - one of three major traditions - in the NPP have always been running mates to Danquahs and Busias.
“You preside over this abysmal failure. You preside over this crisis. Crisis of what we call seismic proportion that we have never seen and you still have no shame. You are thinking about succeeding yourselves instead of apologizing to the people of Ghana and declaring that what you have done is the greatest calamity that has been seen.
"You are busy competing amongst yourselves thinking the people of Ghana will be naïve enough to even trust any of you. That for me is the biggest shocker. It simply tells you we are dealing with a people who are incorrigible. They are not capable of realising the problem that they have,” he said.
The former Ketu South Member of Parliament dismissing praise for Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen as someone who has achieved a lot for his ministry, indicated he was also part of the failure and has played an ‘integral part of the shame’ of the NPP government.
He said the country was still heavily import dependent even though the government says it has initiated a programme christened “One District One Factory”.
On Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Mr. Kwettey labeled him a ‘calamity’ adding that he and Alan Kyerematen are both of the same value.
“A country that has become what we call a nation of importation and you are joking that you are transforming this country by industrialisation. What industrialisation?
"Basic things that every single government has done, which is using support system to stimulate production ...Supporting the pharmaceutical sector, actually setting up real industries not going to put billboards on people's companies that has been in existence from Kwame Nkrumah till today.
“Using EXIMBANK setup by the previous NDC whose money now is available and you are using now to distribute for people for political purposes to deceive people that you are doing something about industry and you are boasting about Alan? He is an integral part of the shame and the abysmal failure. He’s no different.
“Don’t even create the impression that he is better than the calamity of Vice President Bawumia. They are both the same. There’s no difference between them.
"They are all an integral part of the gross failure and all of them should actually have no moral authority to think about leadership of this country not to think about the others who are even thinking about it,” he stated.
NPP is expected to elect a flagbearer next year to lead it into the 2024 elections in which it is hoping to become the first party to have a three consecutive term in office under the Fourth Republic.
According to some political watchers, the flagbearership contest will be a two-horse race between Alan Kyerematen and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia even though both are yet to publicly indicate their interest in the position.
Other political scientists and economists have also stated that NPP faces a herculean task to ‘break the 8’ owing to current economic downturn.
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DS/SARA
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (left) and Alan Kyerematen (right)