Mahama launches 2020 campaign with a promise to rescue Ghana
The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has launched his 2020 presidential campaign with a promise to rescue Ghana from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, the 2020 elections are a battle for Ghana's future since the Akufo-Addo-led administration was offering Ghanaians a “fake reality”.
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“Today marks the beginning of victory for the people of Ghana who are all desirous for a change in the political leadership because of the worsening living conditions which they find themselves in…We have the moral duty to help stop this fake reality. We have the moral duty to restore the truth because it is only the truth that can generate real prosperity for every Ghanaian,” Mr Mahama said at the launch of his campaign in Sefwi Wiawso in the Western North Region on Tuesday.
"This is our battle for Ghana’s future. Let’s embrace it like our very lives depend on it because Ghana deserves to be in a better place where everyone has the chance to thrive and prosper. We will rescue our country. feel it, believe it and let’s deliver it," he said.
Deepening vulnerabilities
Mr Mahama said his decision to re-run for the highest office of the land was born out of a sense of urgency “which gradually took over my heart after I began to contemplate more and more thoroughly of our vulnerabilities as a nation.”
According to him, the main vulnerability faced in Ghana was a weak social and economic infrastructure, which had been deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a nation we are weakened by multiple vulnerabilities. Some are temporary and easy to deal with, but others are more systemic. And today, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these vulnerabilities have deepened. We acquired a million income status a decade ago and since then we have fought hard to consolidate and improve our gains. We have come a long way in the last 10 years but we are today facing a clear risk of being stuck at this low level of development. This is our major vulnerability as a nation,” he said.
He also attributed the deepening vulnerabilities to a lack of investment in creativity and innovation on the part of the NPP government, saying, “This government has made no real effort to begin to create prosperity for our people.”
“There has been very little investments in creativity and innovation the main drivers of prosperity. We are still witnessing many cases of institutional failure… The advanced world is moving in one direction while we are still moving in the direction the world moved 20 or 30 years ago. If we keep moving in this direction, we’ll become less and less competitive on the global market and this will condemn us to perpetual stagnation and backwardness. This might happen because our main vulnerability is a weak social and economic infrastructure,” he added.
Electoral Commission
Mr Mahama also admonished the Electoral Commission to ensure that the will of Ghanaians in the 2020 elections was not subverted.
He added that his party would ensure that the choice of Ghanaians in the 2020 polls was respected and upheld.
“We are determined and the Electoral Commission and no institution and anybody can or should try to subvert the will of the Ghanaian people. We have had the concerns to draw the Commission’s attention to the many instances of infractions and actions that have not satisfied us,” he said.
“While we are expecting the Electoral Commission will live above reproach, I want to assure you all, that the NDC is very well-prepared, and we will police the ballots from all polling stations through the constituencies to the regional and finally to the national coalition centre,” Mr Mahama added.
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