The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, has explained that his much touted 24-hour economy policy would be the panacea to the dwindling economic fortunes of the country.
To Mr Mahama, the implementation of the policy would lead Ghana to achieve significant expansion of our national economy and disentangle the country from its current economic quagmire.
The former president made this known when he delivered a closing remark at a two-day LAB Policy Dialogue held by the NDC, which came to a close on Friday, at Aburi, in the Eastern Region.
He explained that: “The 24-hour economy remains the surest way to achieve significant economic expansion, boost productivity, meet demand, curb unbridled imports and their attendant adverse effect on our economy”.
The policy, which he explicated, has offered hope to the increasingly restless and despondent population, would also sustain the local currency and above all, generate well-paying jobs for the millions of people without employment.
He reiterated that his proposed 24-hour economy policy has found resonance with most Ghanaians, especially the youth, as confirmed by both data-based and anecdotal evidence.
He emphasised that he was encouraged by the positive feedback and inputs the party continued to receive on the proposal from compatriots in organised labour, academia, business and industry.
This, he said, was due to the fact that it fitted in perfectly with the consultative approach the party has adopted in its policy formulation and revealed that the completion of a policy/strategy document on the proposal would soon be shared with Ghanaians.
NPP’s attack of the policy
According to the ex-president, the NPP’s campaign has been on tailspin to frantically subject the 24-hour economy policy to vicious calumny due to its widespread acceptance.
In effect, the party, he alleged, has desperately resorted to an aggressive disinformation strategy to disingenuously discredit the proposed 24-hour economy policy, which he described as the game changer.
In view of the wanton attack on his proposed policy, he said “We are fortified in the knowledge that the days when the NPP assumed that they could use falsehood to hoodwink Ghanaians for electoral advantage are over”.
Quick counter attack
Mr Mahama also launched a rapid counter attack on the ruling government, saying driver Akufo Addo and his mate, Bawumia, have recklessly plunged the country into suffering, following their mismanagement of the economy.
He blamed Dr Bawumia and his boss for being responsible for the “worsening living conditions, unbearable hardships, a spiralling cost of living, high inflation and rising inequality”
He also accused them of being accountable for the widened gap between the haves and the have-nots, a steep erosion of the purchasing power of Ghanaians, an unsustainable public debt among others, which illustrated catastrophic economic meltdown.
According to Mr Mahama, the NPP government has compounded the miserable circumstances of Ghanaians with astonishing levels of governmental corruption and plain thievery of country’s resources.
The government, he lamented, has also severely weakened and heavily politicised governance institutions to the extent that they served the NPP rather than the national interest and more importantly, the insufferable arrogance of power.
Worsening unemployment situation
Last week, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reported a disturbing rising phenomenon about Ghana’s unemployment rate which stood at a staggering 14.7%.
This meant that approximately 1.4 million young people aged 15 to 35 were unemployed in the first three quarters of 2023 alone, a situation that threatened the country’s security.
Touching on this, Mr Mahama described the situation as very traumatic saying; “This is, by every account, a very harrowing situation… This is not the Ghana we subscribed to”.
Without a doubt, he said, the current iteration of the country required urgent rebuilding anchored on our collective aspirations with workable, progressive, and sustainable policies.
NDC to the rescue
Mr Mahama told the gathering that following the party’s track record, many Ghanaians have already reposed their trust and confidence in the NDC to rescue the country with high hopes and expectations.
These high expectations in the next NDC Government, he said, reflected their unwavering belief in the party’s ability to deliver the country from the grips of its worst socio-economic crisis in several decades.
The NDC, he said, had a carefully crafted plan and strategy that would be triggered to restore the country’s economy and national life into a much better state when the party is voted back into power.
The proposed policies, he indicated, would not only seek to address the current Akufo-Addo/Bawumia – created twin challenges – but would also directly respond to most of the thorny issues raised by Ghanaians.
Mahama’s experience
According to Mr Mahama, he has better measurable performance record in both his role as Vice President and Head of the Economic Management Team and later as President, than his main contender.
“I also have a record of taking responsibility,” he said, and indicated that same could not be said of his main contender from the ruling party, who has distanced himself from the messy economy because he was a mate.
He explicated; “You cannot make grandiose promises about the economy in 2016 only to be put in charge, run it down, push all of us into suffering and hardships and turn around to say you were only the mate of a reckless driver”.
He, therefore, reiterated the NDC’s commitment to building the Ghana Ghanaians desired together with all Ghanaians to collectively reap the outcomes for a commonly shared prosperity.
NDC’s LAB Policy Dialogue
The LAB dialogue was birthed to provide critical thinking and ideation around policy options and services, as well as to rethink about the party’s approach to governance and how to better the socio-economic conditions of Ghanaians.
It is also meant to further proof the party’s desire to subject their policy proposals to scrutiny and synthesise various views to enable the party to refine and fine-tune them to meet the expectations of the Ghanaian electorate.
Additionally, it marked another phase of the NDC’s policy development process and gave the clearest indication of how far the party has come and its readiness for the elections of 2024.
It would be expected to provide a seamless continuation and flow of work, leading to the timely finalisation of the 2024 Manifesto and its eventual launch as members formed the majority of the membership of the Manifesto and sector committees.
