Sir John: "... we cannot endure another one year of severe economic hardship"

Lawyer Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, aka Sir John, has descended heavily on President Mahama over the latter’s promise that Ghanaians will get money in their pockets if he (Mahama) is retained in power in 2017. He stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader’s promise is a cheap political talk, which is geared towards confusing the electorate in order for them to vote for the NDC, even though he (president) has failed to properly steer the affairs of the state, having been in political office for over seven years. “We cannot wait, and we cannot endure another one year of severe economic hardship before we get money in our pockets,” the NPP guru fumed, stating that if President Mahama and his government have anything better to do, they should do it now instead of waiting till 2017.

Sir John pointed out that President Mahama’s open promise that Ghanaians would get money in their pockets in 2017 is a clear admittance that indeed, the NDC administration has impoverished Ghanaians for the past seven years. The NPP former chief scribe, who was speaking with Kojo Marfo of Metro Fm, noted that extreme poverty and hardship had become the order of the day in Ghana now, attributing the unpleasant development to the poor and visionless leadership style of President Mahama.

 Sir John observed with pain that virtually all professionals and others in Ghana now, including teachers, medical doctors, nurses, commercial drivers, traders, businessmen and women, media practitioners and security personnel are wallowing in adverse poverty. He stated that instead of the president and his team of incompetent officials finding a lasting solution to the poverty that has hit the citizenry, the president has again started making promises which the NDC administration cannot fulfill – just to throw dust in the eyes of the people.

 “President Mahama promised to construct 200 schools at the various communities in the country before the last elections in 2012; now we are left with less than one year for his term to come to an end, and only four of the 200 schools have been delivered,” Mr Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie noted. He said the president had realized that the next presidential and parliamentary elections are drawing closer, so in his usual fashion of giving big promises, he has urged Ghanaians to vote for him for cash in their pockets in 2017. The NPP kingpin stated, “This time around Mr. President, you cannot give empty promises to get our votes. We shall vote you and your incompetent government out of political office."

Sir John said Ghanaians are fed-up with the lies, big and unrealistic promises of the NDC and its leader, and so the electorate would vote massively for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the NPP presidential candidate, in the November polls so that he comes to turn things around. Sir John, therefore, entreated the electorate, including even NDC members and all those who wish to see Ghana developed effectively, to cast their ballots for the NPP and its presidential and parliamentary candidates, stressing that the quandary confronting Ghana now would be a thing of the past under an NPP government. According to him, an NPP administration would stop corruption in government circle – which is a common practice under the present NDC administration – and make sure that state resources are used to better the lives of the citizenry.