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Opinions of Friday, 18 September 2020

Columnist: Conduah Baba, GRADEC

John Dramani Mahama deserves a second term now

The campaign for December 2020 general elections is on a second gear as the leading parties have launched their manifestos. The first gear was the composition of campaign teams by the two major political parties in the country. The December 2020 elections will surely be a historic one as the former President John Dramani Mahama is seeking for a second term to rule. In that same vein, President Nana Addo wants to have a second term. This scenario coupled with other unforeseen activities will lighten the democratic dispensation of Ghana.

As the Electoral Commission has completed the compilation of controversial voter register, all is indeed set for the showdown. The multimillion-dollar question on the lips of the electorates is who deserves the second term. The records of accomplishment of the flagbearers of the two major parties in this December 2020 election give credence to their readiness to woo voters for power.

Over the years, economic issues have been a major determinant of who wins what election. For this year's elections, an achievement-driven factor has been placed on the electoral table to determine who worth the presidency. Evidence to this assertion is the availability of the ‘The Green Book’ and ‘The Delivery Tracker’ achievement records by the NDC and NPP respectively.
Besides party manifesto promise, state of nation address, media records, budget presentation, there has been also be the issue of who secure funds for a particular project as the basis for determining which government built what. For any rationale voter who wants to cast a vote of the efficient, time-worthy and prosperous driven economy by selecting between Akufo Addo and John Dramani Mahama, will surely go for the latter.

Although, the presidency of John Dramani Mahama experienced frequent power outage leading to the 2016 general election. The frequency and negative effect were capitalised on by the then opposition NPP for political expediency leading to conning the power outage as dumsor. The power outage or dumsor quivered the very foundation of the timed industrials hub of the past governments.

The mid-nineties witnessed former President Rawlings struggled with uncontrollable downwards flow of the water in the Akosombo Dam. The situation led to the established of Kpong Hydroelectric Plant by Jerry John Rawlings. The Kpong Hydroelectric Plant brought 160MW to the national grid. Again, the administration constructed the first-ever Thermal Energy Plant in the country. This Thermal Energy Plant which uses diesel as the source of power generation is situated at Sekondi-Takoradi. This project also brought 300MW of power to the national grid.
President John Agyekum era also experienced dumsor. However, through a private-public partnership initiative led to the construction of the Sunon Asogli Power Plant project. The Asogli Plant also helped Ghana to respond to the pressure on President Kufuor administration through generating 560MW. The dumsor in President Kufuor's regime was equally severe on the economy. Although there were some gymnastics in responding to dumsor where some of the Ministers of State with some pastors went to Akosombo Dam and prayed for rainfall to fill the dam. President John Dramani Mahama record on power generation is a remarkable one.

The former President John Dramani Mahama is the best president to rescue the negative effects of COVID-19 and the abysmal performance of the Nana Addo led government thereby building a better economy for human survival. As the first determinant for this 2020 general election is achievement-based, President John Dramani Mahama's achievement is incomparable to none. President Nana Addo and his Vice, Dr. Bawumia must have the courage for once to tell Ghanaians that they have failed.

The infrastructure tracker record in which Dr. Bawumia; reduced Doctorate Degree to zero by cataloguing KVIP, water poly tank, toilets among others as an achievement for which reason Ghanaians should give NPP another four years should be thrown into the garbage. Again, most of the projects outlined by Dr. Bawumia as achievement of NPP were stolen from the Mahama administration. Shameful enough, the President Nana Addo and his vice in an attempt to throw the dust into the eyes of Ghanaians keep saying projects of Mahama in the Green Book were not in existence yet had the moral courage to undertake their stolen achievement presentation in Mahama tangible deliverable being the Academy of Arts and Sciences Auditorium. What a shame? Why have the two gentlemen of our land deliberately deleted morality from our body politics?

Again, juxtaposing the manifestos of the two leading political parties for rescuing mission, it is obvious that President Nana Addo led New Patriotic Party lacks ideas in putting Ghana’s economy on the appropriate path for reviving our ailing industries. The effects of COVID-19 on the larger Ghanaian market require best ideas towards ensuring a prosperous destination for the people can only be found in President Mahama led National Democratic Congress peoples’ manifesto.

Former President Mahama deserves to be given another chance as it is evident that President Akufo Addo begging mantra on ‘test me’ has proven that he was only interested in self-aggrandizement and not serving the interest of Ghanaians. The endless liars by the Akyem Sakawa Boys unto Ghanaians are enough. Ghanaians need to take a retrospective analysis of their lifestyle under the current hollow and corrupt Akufo Addo government and then come out in their numbers to vote for the former President Mahama on December 7. Former President John Dramani Mahama deserves a second chance now.