New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo has said he is disturbed about the abysmal handling of the economy under the John Mahama administration.

“With every cedi that is stolen under the Mahama government a child is being denied education, a farmer being denied fertilizer, a driver not getting good roads, and the sick being left to die,” Akufo-Addo told a gathering of students at the University of Ghana.

“I fear for Ghana. I am frightened about the future the NDC is building for the young people of this country. It is a future of indebtedness; a future of hopelessness; it is a wretched future being needlessly created by a reckless government.

“The prospect of another four years of this scares me and so must it scare you, too. Twelve straight years of NDC would leave you, the young people of Ghana, with no future of note,” he said.

With Ghana being described as the poster boy of ‘Africa’s Rising’ narrative at the end of President Kufuor’s tenure, Nana Akufo-Addo asked “how come Bloomberg can, in an online publication, post a headline ‘Ghana’s success story goes dark?’”

The answer, he said, is the NDC that went wrong and took Ghana down with it.

“To you, the students of Ghana, I say, don’t lose hope. I have great news for you, though. There is something great coming. My message for you, our young people, is this: don’t see this tragedy as your destiny. There is a brighter future for you. You have the energy, you have the passion and you have the drive to make the change Ghana deserves happen.”

Mentioning a host of Ghanaian youth who are doing well in various fields of endeavour, ranging from business and entertainment, to sport, Nana Akufo-Addo stated that “I am encouraged in my thinking by the continuing creativity and sense of enterprise of several of Ghana’s young people. This reinforces my unshakeable belief in the prospects of our nation, the Black Star of Africa.”

To the packed auditorium at the Mensah Sarbah Hall, Nana Akufo-Addo assured that the NPP is seeking change to ensure that Ghana works again.

“Our solution will be principally four-fold: first, we will stabilise the economy and bring back the confidence the private sector needs to thrive. Second, we will come down heavily on corruption, instil fiscal discipline and invest the savings made in areas that can create jobs or open up the economy for greater vibrancy.

“We will do so by developing and expanding rapidly our public infrastructure, with value for money at the heart of its financial arrangements and the active support and participation of the private sector,” he noted.