NPP: 'Misery, incompetence', hallmarks of Mahama Govt

The Mahama administration has been replete with "lies" and "pure incompetence", which have brought "misery" to the people of Ghana, acting Chairman of the biggest opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Freddie Blay has said.

"We’ll talk about his [President’s] incompetence," Mr Blay told journalists at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, adding: "It has been two terms of misery, two terms of lies, two terms of wasted opportunities, two terms of pure incompetence."

The NPP’s assessment of the government follows President John Mahama's recent questioning of former deputy Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s locus in questioning his (Mahama’s) competence in handling the economy.

"…You still hear Bawumia say incompetent Mahama. You’ve never held any responsibility anywhere near the presidency; you don’t know what it is like to be president.

"I’ll take that from Kufuor or from Rawlings because they’ve been there before. All of you guys [NPP critics] have never ever come near the presidency. [Do] you know what it takes to be a President? And you stand and say ‘incompetent Mahama administration,’” the President responded.

Mr Mahama’s response followed Dr Bawumia’s recent assertions that "reckless" borrowing by the Mahama administration will saddle Ghana with a total debt stock of nearly GHC100 billion by the end of the year.

"We’ll reach GHC99billion by the end of this year," the former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana told journalists after Finance Minister Seth Terkper read the 2016 budget to Parliament on Friday.

"The interest on this debt alone is going to be six times Ghana’s oil revenue," Dr Bawumia said.

Dr Bawumia also accused the President of running a friends-and-family, as well as 'dumsor' and dead-goat economy.

Launching his ‘changing lives, transforming Ghana’ tour in the Greater Accra Region, President Mahama answered Dr Bawumia by asking: "What do you know about competence?"

"All of them [NPP critics], in the offices they occupied, they should tell us what competence they displayed," Mr Mahama challenged.

"Anyway, my competence is not for them to judge, it’s for the people of Ghana to judge, and I know that come 7 November 2016, the people of Ghana will judge my competence, and they’ll give me a second term in office and the NDC will win another victory by the grace of almighty God," he said.

At Wednesday's press conference, Mr Blay said the NPP will not stop scrutinising Mr Mahama’s competence "whether he likes it or not."

The former Deputy Speaker of Parliament urged Ghanaians to juxtapose the two terms of former President John Kufuor with the terms of President John Mills (late) and President Mahama, to make their own judgement about which party is better placed to lead Ghana.

"The eight-year record of the NDC, put it beside the eight-year record of the NPP. Put our presidential candidate and his running mate against the President and his Vice-President and let the people of Ghana be the judges as to who is competent and can be trusted to lead this country," he said.