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Mr Kofi Portuphy, NDC National Chairman, speaking at the press conference. Picture: Asembi Kingsley Winfred
Mr Kofi Portuphy, NDC National Chairman, speaking at the press conference. Picture: Asembi Kingsley Winfred

President Akufo-Addo has failed nation - NDC

The Leader and National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Kofi Portuphy, has stated that the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia-led government has woefully failed as managers of the affairs of the state.

He chided the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for not settling down to the serious business of solving the challenges facing Ghanaians six months after coming into office but skirting around its promises.

Mr Portuphy was speaking at a press conference in Accra yesterday to articulate the NDC’s position on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s media engagement on his six months in office which was held at the Flagstaff House last Tuesday.

Folkloric Kwaku Ananse attitude

Flanked by Mr Koku Anyidoho, a Deputy General Secretary, and Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, National  Vice-Chairman, Mr Portuphy likened the attitude of the President to that of the Ghanaian folklore icon called Kwaku Ananse “who always begins as the most intelligent and shrewd person but ends up scampering to hide his embarrassment in his web’’.

He expressed disappointment at the attitude of the government which, he said, campaigned on the wings of blatant untruths to demonise the NDC government and promised to swing the magic wand to turn the country into a paradise within 100 days but had woefully failed to deliver.

He sought from the President how his government was going to deliver on the free SHS, reduction in electricity tariffs, payment of money due customers of microfinance scam schemes, payment of arrears of contractors, the restoration of teacher and nursing trainee allowances, decent jobs for the youth, reduction in corporate tax, reduction of special import levy, the one-village, one-dam and the one-district, one-factory and other promises.

Legal alien

He said instead of staying at home to address the challenges, the President had been junketing and wining and dining all this time and described him as a ‘’legal alien because he spends more time abroad than at home, hence his inability to be on top of the governance issues, as he grossly exhibited’’.

Mr Portuphy described as sad people who were quick to refer to other persons as incompetent but who were, within a short period of six months, exhibiting a rare form of gross and gargantuan incompetence.

Worrying and unhealthy developments

He said the NPP government, under President Akufo-Addo, had perpetrated a number of worrying developments such as lawlessness, insecurity and government-backed terrorism, large numbers of ministerial appointments, nepotism and unbridled partisanship, lack of commitment to fight corruption and arrogance of power, lies and dishonesty which completely debased governance and threatened the well-being of the nation.

Referring to the recent activities of vigilante groups associated with the NPP and the recent spate of killing of security personnel, the NDC Chairman queried why the President could not use the media engagement to assuage the fears of Ghanaians that the country would not slide into lawlessness, a state of anarchy and chaos. 

He also called on the government to desist from politicising the public and the civil services and also stop the sacking of political office holders under the previous regimes.

Protection of public purse

Contrary to the NPP’s promise to protect the public purse, Mr Portuphy said the President had done the exact opposite by appointing as many as 110 ministers and asked for the justification for the creation of new ministries such as Business Development, Special Initiatives, Aviation, Regional Re-organisation, Monitoring, Evaluation and Planning.

He said  the allocation of GH¢1.5 billion to the Office of the President for this year alone was more than all the money received by the same office in the entire four years of former President John Dramani Mahama.

According to Mr Portuphy, at the time the Office of the President was receiving huge sums of money, the universities, the Ghana Health Service, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Blood Bank and othe vital agencies had been ordered to surrender all their internally generated funds, leaving them with nothing to operate with.

He said although the NPP government promised to fight corruption, the President was looking on with gaping helplessness unable to deal with the contaminated oil saga at the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited and the $2.25 billion bond issue. 

He gave an assurance that the NDC would continue to be very effective, responsible and constructive in drawing the attention of the already-failing NPP government to more of its failings.

He expressed the hope that Ghanaians, already suffering under the pressure of unfulfilled promises of the NPP, would be allowed to suffer in peace and not in turmoil.

Asked why the NDC had not taken to the streets to express its indignation at the government’s posture, Mr Portuphy said it was of the hope that the government would listen to the concerns of the party, but added that when pushed to the wall, the NDC would hit the streets.

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