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A glance at NDC, NPP 2016 Manifestoes and other matters. . .

A glance at NDC, NPP 2016 Manifestoes and other matters. . .

At a glance, the 2016 manifestoes of some of the political parties that have so far launched their blueprints make interesting reading. I have looked at the Progressive People’s Party (PPP’s) 10-Point Agenda for Ghanaians, the online versions of the Independent People’s Party (IPP), the United Progressive Party’s (UPP), as well as that of the All People’s Congress (APC).

But the purpose of this article will focus on the manifestoes of the ruling party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP). This is because the flag bearers of these two political parties are among the four presidential candidates whose nomination forms have been accepted by the Electoral Commission (EC) to contest the 2016 presidential election. The rest are the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and an independent presidential candidate, Mr Jacob Osei Yeboah. However, among the four candidates, it is only the NDC and the NPP aspirants who have so far launched their manifestoes.

The two manifestoes have interesting policy initiatives and one wonders whether they will be able to execute half of those policies during their four-year tenure of office if Ghanaians give them the nod to rule. Indeed, if they are able to achieve the goals of those manifestoes, Ghana’s economy will grow in leaps and bounds.

Regrettably, both documents do not provide specific timelines for delivery of the policies for the well-being of Ghanaians. The policy initiatives are generally couched in a generic manner.

All that the two political parties are demanding of the Ghanaian electorate is to give them the mandate to implement their manifestoes.

NDC Manifesto

The 2016 NDC Manifesto, which is on “ Changing lives, transforming Ghana” lacks a table of content and the font size is quite small, which makes navigating through the document quite difficult. Some pages, especially those after page 23 and before page 28, are also not numbered. 

Nevertheless, the manifesto, which utilises right picture usage as point of illustrations, however, contains exciting rich policies which, if followed through to the letter, could indeed transform the country and change lives for the better.

The 78-page document, which is on four themes, has “A peaceful, secure and prosperous nation, providing sustainable jobs through industrialisation for transformation,” as its vision for Ghana.

The foreword by President John Dramani Mahama, the party’s presidential candidate for the 2016 election, states: “As my first term as the president of the Republic of Ghana comes to an end, I have come to appreciate even more the potential of Ghana to provide prosperity and security to all its citizens. “ The journey so far has been worth the effort. We have been confronted with challenges but have achieved major successes.”

The four thematic areas which the NDC intends to accomplish when given the opportunity to govern are to “put people first, build strong economy for jobs and transformation, build infrastructure for accelerated development and finally to implement transparent and accountable governance.

From the manifesto, the NDC seems to have achieved a lot within their four-year tenure in office and concludes its manifesto by urging Ghanaians to “stay with those you trust .Vote for the NDC!”

NPP Manifesto

For the NPP’s 177-page manifesto, it has a cover page titled, “Change an agenda for jobs. Creating prosperity and equal opportunity for all.” It also has a 50-page abridged version of the document for easy reading.

It utilises lots of pictures for illustration and the font size is big enough for easy reading.

The NPP tries to bring out the downside of the ruling NDC government in order to highlight their past achievement, and future plans.

It begins with a quote from Dr J. B Danquah and states the vision of its 2016 presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as: “My vision for Ghana is of an optimistic, self-confident and prosperous nation with a strong and thriving democratic society in which mutual trust and economic opportunities exist for all, irrespective of their background.” The document also has the remarks of the National Chairman (Ag.) Mr Freddie Blay, who insists “there is hope for Ghana” under the presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo.

The document has a contents page of 18 Chapters ranging from “A Strong Economy Matters”, “Trade and Industry”, “Energy and Petroleum”, “Agriculture and Rural Development” and “Growing Together.”

Others are on “Infrastructure”, “Natural Resources -Land, Forestry and Mining”, “:Science, Technology, Innovation and Environment”, “Education”, “Health”, “Social Development”, and “Governance, Corruption and Public Accountability”.

The rest are “Local Government”, “Security”, “Foreign Affairs”, “Youth and Sports,” “Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts”, and “:Chieftaincy, Religious Affairs and Civil Society.”

The NPP concludes its manifesto with a commitment to the people of Ghana that “the NPP will build in Ghana the most people-friendly and the most business-friendly economy in Africa, which will create prosperity for the great majority of our people, and thereby secure the stability of our society and the peace of the nation,” stating that “the plans we have set out are for the long-term sustainable development of the country.”

Is Ghana’s democracy growing institutions?

I cannot conclude this piece without asking whether Ghana’s democracy is growing its institutions since 1992 when the nation began its democratic journey under the Fourth Republican dispensation?

This is because, over the last week, the country has witnessed some eventful political times. Since the disqualification of 12 presidential aspirants by the EC, the political temperature keeps rising by the day. No day passes by without media reports of so-and-so wanted by the Ghana Police. Just yesterday, EOCO also waded into the political scene by inviting Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom of the PPP and Mr Hassan Ayariga of the APC  over campaign funds.

The timing of all these occurrences, even if prudent, raises a lot of eye brows and leaves room for gossip and speculations. My view is having organised six successful elections and going into the seventh, spanning more than 24 years, our democracy should not only bring material development to the citizenry but also grow and strengthen our institutions for the well-being of the ordinary citizen. 

This is where I will challenge our institutions, be it the media, security, election management bodies and governance institutions to always endeavour to work in the supreme interest of the nation as mandated by law.

 

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