Former NPP MP rubbishes Mahama's 'free fees' promise

Fuseini Issah, the former Member of Parliament for the Okaikwei North constituency, has questioned the genuineness and consistency of John Dramani Mahama’s promise that a future National Democratic Congress government will absolve the academic fees of entry-level students of all public universities in the country.

Speaking on Good Morning Ghana, Fuseini Issah noted that John Mahama’s latest promise is at variance with his views on policies and interventions alike.

He cited, for example, that John Mahama and the NDC waged a campaign against the Free SHS policy, which is similar to the intervention Mahama is promising.

He also drew a disparity between Mahama’s promise of extending the Free SHS program to private secondary institutions and limiting the ‘free fees’ program to only public universities.

He urged Ghanaians to be wary of Mahama’s antics and not fall for it, as it could have severe consequences on the future of the country.

“If I had not lived under his stewardship of this country, I’d have thought that I was speaking to the pope. Fortunately, I lived under his stewardship, and his legacy is there for all of us to see. This is a man promising to waive the academic fee for students of public universities when, in another breath, he is telling us that he is going to review Free SHS and private schools are going to be brought under the Free SHS. I’m not too sure about the consistency of the policy.

“I recollect President Mahama telling us that he was not going to do Free SHS on the whimsical promise of a desperate politician. This is the man who has the effrontery today to tell us that he is going to waive off fees for people who go to public universities. This is not a man we can trust. I wouldn’t vote for such a man.

“This is a man who told us that if he had GHC2 billion, he would not invest in Free SHS as the Akufo-Addo government has done. Today, the man and party who sponsored adverts against Free SHS are telling us that they are going to waive off academic fees for entry-level students of public universities,” he said on Metro TV.

At the launch of the NDC’s Youth Manifesto, John Mahama promised that his government would waive the academic fees for all entry-level students of public universities.

“We will implement a no-fees stress programme to alleviate the financial burden on parents and students in financing tertiary education.

“We will implement a no academic fees policy at the university for level 100 students,” he said.

EK

Meanwhile, GhanaWeb is set to premiere a documentary on playwright Uncle Ebo Whyte on Monday, August 19, 2024. Watch the trailer below: