By K. Badu

I must admit, though, it is somewhat of a cumbrous task to bank all hopes on individuals who do not keep their promises. Indeed, such individuals are not trustworthy, and can never be trusted on their future promises. Apparently, when promises are broken, the bonds of trust are breached, thus the watchword here is, be careful!

Take, for instance, the NDC Party promised wholeheartedly to make ‘dumsor’ a thing of the past, if voted into power. Back then, Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, boldly asserted: “If voted into power, the NDC government would have no excuse to keep Ghanaians in dumsor”. Ironically, the NDC Party clasped power; meanwhile, the dumsor has gotten worse as compared to former President Kufuor’s era.

So, the discerning Ghanaians rightly fretted thy souls with disappointments and curses, and, demanded answers as to why President Mahama has failed to bring the dumsor under control. President Mahama then cheekily retorted: you moaners, why don’t you put a stop to your needless squalling and baseless complaints.

“I have said over and over again that am not going to manage the dumsor as done by my short-sighted predecessors, but am actually going to fix it”.

However dispirited the discerning Ghanaians have become, President Mahama is yet to fix the dumsor. Meanwhile, the dumsor continues to cripple hundreds of businesses. The dumsor has indeed contributed to Ghana’s economic downslide.

Even though President Mahama and his NDC government pledged to implement one-time NHIS premium, they shockingly reneged on their promise. The good people of Ghana then rightly sought explanations. President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks retorted impertinently: one-time NHIS premium is not done anywhere on this planet of ours. How bizarre?

Bizarrely, after succeeding to shoot down Nana Akufo Addo and his NPP’s campaign promise of free SHS, President Mahama and his NDC Party hastily turned round and promised to implement free SHS policy. Unsurprisingly, though, they failed once again to fully implement the somewhat tentatively thought-through policy.

So, Ghanaians rightly sought answers from President Mahama. President Mahama and his clamorous communicators then replied Ghanaians rudely: ‘Is half a loaf not better than none?

In fact, President Mahama and his NDC Party were all over the place with their numerous campaign promises. Unsurprisingly, they promised the good people of Asante Akyem Agogo District that if voted into power in the 2012 general election, they were going to do everything in their power to stop the menace of the Fulani herdsmen.

However, President Mahama and his government did not keep their promise. The good people of Agogo demanded answers. President Mahama and his NDC apparatchiks then responded hastily and cheekily: we are all the same in the eyes of the Almighty God who created all of us in His own image, so let us try and tolerate each other.

It would also be recalled that the NDC Party told Ghanaians back in 2008 that the NPP government under President Kufuor had sunk the economy into the mire, so Ghanaians should give the NDC Party the opportunity to put the economy back on track.

Nevertheless, the available evidence suggests that the NDC government under President Mahama has rather managed to worsen the socio-economic standards of living.

Yes, there is an unobjectionable evidence of crass incompetence on the part of President Mahama and his NDC government. Take, for example, in the last seven and half years alone under this NDC government, Ghana’s total debt has ballooned from GH¢9.5 billion to a staggering GH¢112 billion by the end of October 2016.

This means that 90% (i.e. GHC102.5 billion) of Ghana’s total debt since independence has been accumulated under this NDC government.

Nevertheless, when the good people of Ghana decide to express their grievances over the never ending harsh economic conditions, President Mahama and his vociferous communicators would go berserk: aren’t we transforming lives by building roads, hospitals, schools, toilets, water facilities and many other social infrastructural projects?

Regrettably, however, most of the projects are not up to the required standards, albeit they are often overpriced. The Minister for Local Government, Collins Dauda would attest to such assertion. He has previously decried over the NDC’s poorly constructed and overpriced projects.

Amazingly, when ordinary people complained about the poorly constructed roads in Kumasi, President Mahama would angrily respond: ‘You ungrateful lots, you would never even be appreciative if I constructed your roads with gold’.

The fact of the matter is that President Mahama and his non-performing appointees are refusing to appreciate that exemplary governance is not all about putting up numerous infrastructural projects.

It is, however, worth stressing that excellence governance goes beyond the provision of social infrastructural and amenities. As a matter of fact, praiseworthy governance also involves continuous improvement of socio-economic standards of living.

Nevertheless, the good people of Ghana are experiencing economic hardships. Meanwhile, President Mahama has failed woefully to improve upon Ghana’s economic fortunes.

As a matter of fact and observation, President Mahama and his NDC government have fecklessly collapsed the hitherto thriving economy.

They have broken their earlier promises, thus the bonds of trust are infringed. So, discerning Ghanaians, be mindful of their future promises