IDDI MUHAYU-DEEN’S FOLDER
Throughout
history and across generations, it is the deafening silence of the educated and
enlightened people in the face of wrongs; the inertia on the part of those who
should have acted; the conspicuous absence of the voice of justice when it mattered
most; the indifference of those who should have known better as well as the
hypocrisy and dishonesty of both officialdom and the governed THAT have allowed
injustices, hopelessness, maladministration, impoverishment, servitude, and all
other “evil enterprises” to triumph in society. Ghana, my beautiful country has
unfortunately, also had its fair share of this shameful spectacle deemed to be the
reality of life.
We
all see that our country is heading towards a wrong direction. We all see that there
is an almost total breakdown of our social welfare system. We all see that our
economy is collapsing. We all see that Agric and Industry are both growing in
the negatives. We all see that our future has been mortgaged for loans. In
fact, when you see a governing party promising you hope, instead of giving you
hope, then you know that things are indeed not adding up.
We
see and feel corruption and other rots that have engulfed our country but yet
WE KEEP QUIET. We fear that the “babies with sharp teeth” would attack us if we
dare speak against these ills. We fear that we may be tagged as NPP, as if it
is a crime to be associated with a political party and for that matter the NPP.
We have all been cowed into submission and are pretending not to see these
anomalies. We are all deceiving ourselves into thinking that all is well and
cozy with our country. Ultimately, we have all acceded to mediocrity. Why? “Anyansafo)
mo w) he?….”. Where are the courageous men and women who love their country?
We
all know that the governing party (NDC), which claims to subscribe to social
democratic ideals, has not been able to introduce any social intervention
programme to ameliorate our suffering for the past 8 years. Ironically, they are
in the stead, collapsing the existing social interventions they inherited from
the erstwhile NPP government, which is supposed to be a party with capitalist
inclination. We are all NOT happy about the ailing state of Kufour’s NHIS,
School Feeding Programme, LEAP system, MMT, Cocoa Mass Spraying, National Youth
Employment Programme, Free Maternity Health Care, Free Fertilizer Distribution
Scheme among several others.
It
is worthy of note that the erstwhile NPP government introduced all these aforementioned
pro-poor policies together with some major infrastructural projects including
thousands of kilometers of road, six fresh interchanges, built model SHSs in
all Districts, established 3 Universities (Ghana Telecom University, University
of Mines and Technology and the Ghana Maritime University) and put up major
infrastructural projects in all the public universities and polytechnics in the
country, upgraded all teacher training colleges into diploma awarding
institutions, built two brand new stadia (ie. Tamale and Takoradi) and drastically
renovated the Kumasi and Accra sports stadium. The list is endless…
\
Despite
all these burdensome financial commitments, the NPP government was still paying
NHIS service providers, they were paying caterers of the school feeding
programme, they were paying feeding grants for schools in the three northern
regions, they were paying teacher trainee allowance, they were paying nursing
trainee allowance, they were paying bursaries for postgraduate students, they were
employing the nation’s graduates and paying them their due, they were paying
subsidies for utility bills, they were paying government contractors and indeed
discharging all other statutory financial obligations. They did all these, with
ONLY GH¢20 billion, which is the total amount of money the NPP government
received in terms of loans, grants and taxes throughout their 8-year rule. Of
course, they did not benefit from oil revenue even though they discovered oil
for us.
This
NDC administration on the other hand, has in the past 8 years, received some GH¢245
billion in terms of loans, grants, oil revenue and taxes. This amount is twelve
times (12*) in excess of what the NPP received in their entire 8 years [which
stood at only GH¢20 billion]. We are talking about over 1,200% rise. Yet, the
NDC is not paying contractors, they are not paying teacher trainee allowance,
they are not paying nursing trainee allowance, they are not paying bursaries
for postgraduate students, they are not paying subsidies for utility bills,
they are not paying feeding grants for the secondary schools in the 3 regions
of the north (compelling the schools to close down occasionally), they are not
paying NHIS service providers, they are not paying caterers of the school
feeding programme and several others.
If
you think that the above narrative is bad, then I wonder how you would describe
their (the NDC’s) performance in respect of the management of the Ghanaian
economy, where they have performed even more disappointingly abysmal. As we
speak, almost all our economic indices are assuming a problematic outlook. For
instance, the Ghanaian cedi, which is the primary economic indicator or fulcrum
around which our entire economy revolves has witnessed its worst performance
under the NDC, having depreciated by some 250% [ie from GH¢1.2 in 2009 to GH¢3.9
as at date] in the past 8 years. Whereas in the entire 8 years of the NPP rule,
the cedi depreciated accumulatively by only 54% (ie from GH¢0.72 in 2000 to GH¢1.2
in 2008).
Again,
without the benefit of oil, the NPP significantly increased our economic growth
rate from the 3.7% it inherited in 2000 to 8.4% in 2008. And in the process,
expanded the size of Ghana’s economy from $5.1 billion to $28.5 billion which
provided more job opportunities, higher incomes and general improvement in
standards of living. The net effect of the NPP’s sterling performance in the
management of the Ghanaian economy is the fact that Ghana, by the end of 2008,
moved from a HIPC economy to Middle Income country. Of course, I do not have to
tell you that the current NPP Running Mate, Alhaji Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia was very
instrumental in the attainment of these enviable feats with his exploits at the
Bank of Ghana.
It is however regrettably worthy of
note that the NDC, after inheriting an economic growth rate of 8.4% from the
NPP (Note: this 8.4% is without oil growth) has succeeded in bringing it down
to as low as 3.4% even plus oil growth. It is not surprising that President
John Mahama has now handed over the management of Ghana’s economy to the IMF
for what he calls, bailout and POLICY CREDIBILITY. The IMF is essentially, the defector
government of Ghana because they dictate to the John Mahama government what to
do with our taxes and natural resources. They are behind the full deregulation
of our petroleum pricing regime, the freeze in public sector employment and the
massive downsizing or layoff of public sector workers in 2017, which was
revealed by Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia and corroborated by myjoyonline: http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2015/april-22nd/more-civil-servants-to-lose-jobs-in-2017-imf-confirms.php. As a public sector
worker, it would be “foolish” on my part to vote for a government (NDC government)
knowing very well that I may be sacked the following year.
I
know that my decision to fully endorse the NPP at this material time would be
met with some mixed reactions. Whilst I am going to make some new friends and
‘reconcile’ with some old friends of mine, I am not unaware of the fact that I
would also be losing some of my otherwise fine friends. But why should I even
be bothered? Why should I be afraid of losing them? In fact, I prefer losing
them once it is in pursuit of working to secure my future rather than having them
yet, with a bleak future.
In
any case, I am more than confident that with a promising and secured future, I
would surely get the best of friends in this World. After all, humans, by
nature, always want to be associated with good omens. So I have absolutely no
regret for my actions. In fact, I am not only endorsing the NPP, but would go a
step further to rigorously campaign for the party to ensure that the REGIME
CHANGE agenda is realized so that our country can work again. So that I would
have a bright future, likewise, my children, my country, my generation and the
unborn.
Obviously, our county is at a
crossroad and on December 7, we shall have the rare opportunity to decide
whether to continue on this path of hopelessness and mediocrity OR put Ghana
back on track for prosperity by VOTING FOR CHANGE. By voting for the NPP, you
are not only taking Nana Akuffo Addo and Alhaji Dr. Bawumia to the
Presidency... because the 2016 election is not really about these illustrious
men of our time. This election is not really about doing the NPP a favour. Rather,
this election is all about you and me. This
election is about the plight of 1000s of graduates from the nation's Schools of
Hygiene and Diploma Nurses, who have been UNEMPLOYED since 2011 and 2013
respectively even though you and I are still dying of Cholera.
This
election is about the plight of some 41,000 teacher trainees and 37,000 nursing
trainees, who are unwaveringly desirous of having their allowance reinstated to
help them realise their career dreams. This election is about the students of
Ghana who are being suffocated with draconian fees and are also being told to
pay their own utility bills. This election is about the plight of the 41,000
postgraduate students who are desirous of having their bursaries reinstated to
help them with their thesis and research works. This election is about the
plight of some 730,000 unemployed graduates who cannot find jobs because the
Mahama government has put a ban on public sector employment.
This election is about the several
lives that have been lost and businesses that have collapsed because of four
years of DUMSOR that we have suffered under this government. Ultimately, this
election is about the future of Ghana and we must get it right. I can go on and on and on. We also know that a vote for
NDC in the December polls means the dreams of all these people would be
shuttered for the next 4 years. Surely, eighth (8) years of NDC, under the
circumstances, is more than enough. And that is why you and I must VOTE FOR
CHANGE and by that, vote for the NPP, which, as I have factually demonstrated,
has proven to be a credible alternative with a superior track record of
delivery so that our country can work again.
#Mutashi
#AriseForChange
#SayNoToNDC
#SayNoMediocrity
#GhanaMustWorkAgain
Assalamu
alaikum
This
piece was compiled by a concerned Ghanaian in the business of OCCUPYING HEARTS
and MINDS for the love of God and country.
IDDI
MUHAYU-DEEN
Youth
Activist/Social Commentator
Former
NUGS Secretary
(0245335197)
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