It’s been 4 years of nepotism, corruption, collapsing of businesses under Akufo-Addo - Mahama

Former President John Mahama has said the Akufo-Addo government has been a potpourri of ills and vices.

Speaking at a ceremony in Accra on Monday, 27 July 2020 to outdoor his running mate Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said: “My brothers and sisters, the 2020 election will be a referendum on the four years of Nana Akufo-Addo’s presidency – four years of nepotism, corruption, stagnation, deliberate abandoning of badly needed social infrastructure, dehumanisation, disenfranchising Ghanaians, stripping Ghanaians of their citizenship, deliberate collapse of indigenous Ghanaian businesses, massive job losses and the attendant socio-economic hardship”.

“This will be a referendum on the term of a president who has no real solutions for Ghana, a president, hell-bent on doing whatever it takes to stay in power – including, against sound advice, replacing the very voters register, which brought him into office," he said.

Mr Mahama said his “heart goes out to the many who have been affected by this Government’s unjustifiable collapse of Ghanaian-owned financial institutions”, adding: “It is heart-wrenching to hear government officials justify the huge amounts it is spending to manage the impact of the collapse, now put at 21 billion Ghana cedis”.

“I weep for the many who have lost their jobs, the many who have lost their businesses, the many who have lost their livelihood among others”, Mr Mahama said.

The former President pledged, “on behalf of the NDC that we shall pay, within one year, all who have funds locked up with the collapsed financial institutions. Within one year. I promise!”

“We shall not put up any long-term payment plans that will further worsen the living conditions of the victims.

“As has been introduced in other economies, the next NDC Administration will establish a Financial Services Authority that will be responsible for ensuring that consumer financial markets work for consumers, providers and the economy as a whole.”

The Authority, he noted, “will oversee all financial products and services that are offered to consumers, and will effectively and efficiently prevent and stop the challenges that have confronted customers of Menzgold, DKM among others”.

“We will restore Ghanaian indigenous investment in the banking and financial sector through a tiered banking structure in order to restore viable credit sources for Ghanaian SMEs. We will make amends for those whose businesses were collapsed due to political victimisation.

“We will send all contractors with valid contracts who have been sitting at home for 4 years without being paid for legitimate work done for government back to site.

“We will make immediate arrangements to pay them their hard-earned monies deliberately withheld by the Nana Addo administration due to politics”.