'Driver’s mate' Bawumia can’t save Ghana – Julius Debrah

The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, has told the people in the three regions of the North to vote massively for President John Mahama - one of their own - to guarantee a sustained development of the area.

He said chiefs in the area, in particular, must weigh the consequences of choosing between Mahama, who is seeking re-election and what the largest opposition party, the NPP is offering.

Mr Debrah, who led a one week campaign in the Upper West region last week, targeted electorate at the grassroots level, explaining government’s achievements and policies intended to create enhanced opportunities.

“If the system is working we must keep it going to bring about the change we desire. Countries like Malaysia have achieved progress not because they changed governments but because they kept governments that were working,” the former local government minister stated to round off his campaign in the region.

The Chief of Staff whose campaign tour included cinema shows to let the people appreciate development projects in the health, roads, education, power and other sectors of the economy, further explained why Dr Bawumia cannot have the capacity Mahama has to change the lives of their people as claimed by the NPP.

“In every moving vehicle, there is someone behind the steer and a driver’s mate. The driver determines which direction the car is move. The mate may have a say, but the driver takes the ultimate decision.

“In this simple analogy, President John Mahama is the driver. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia a Vice Presidential candidate will be the diver’s mate should Nana Addo win and cannot have the ultimate power. If he proposes something for you and Nana Addo says later, there is nothing he can do,” Mr. Debrah told the chiefs and people of Kaleo.

He added: “When President Rawlings was President, all Ghanaians voted for him. They gave him eight years and he did what he could. During President Kufuor’s regime, all Ghanaians again voted for him so he served two terms also eight years. The late President Atta Mills would also have had that opportunity. Now one of your own, President John Mahama has done only two years and some people want him out. Is that fair? We are not saying just vote for him but at least let’s give him the opportunity to also serve eight years then we can compare all three. But I bet you. By the end of President Mahama’s second term, Ghana will see massive transformational change.”

The Chief of Staff’s campaign to the Upper West region was intended to close the vacuum that might have been left during the absence of the President who was in New York to attend the 71st UN General Assembly.

He also used the opportunity to explain the NDC 2016 manifesto and assured the people and the nation at large of more projects with focus on job creation.