NDC manifesto ‘same old stories’ – Obiri Boahen

President John Dramani Mahama only repeated the “same old stories” during his presentation of the highlights of his party’s manifesto ahead of the main launch in Sunyani on Saturday, Nana Obiri Boahen, Deputy General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said.

Mr Mahama, while speaking on Tuesday September 13 at the Banquet Hall, State House, in Accra on Tuesday, September 13, highlighted a number of activities his administration would undertake should he get a second term in office.

In addition, Mr Mahama enumerated the achievements of his government over the past four years.

Some of the thematic areas he touched on were health, education, roads.

In the health sector, for instance, Mr Mahama said: “In the next four years, my proposal is that a percentage of the annual budget funding amount that comes from petroleum revenues should be allocated to the National Health Insurance Scheme.”

He said this proposal would “provide the life for the scheme and make it more efficient”.

“We are taking out the fraud, we are introducing more computerisation, bringing in more claim centres and all that; and so it will make the scheme more efficient going into the future,” he added.

In education, Mr Mahama said he needed a second term so that he could complete building the 200 community day senior high schools in the country as he promised in 2012.

However, speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5 FM on Wednesday September 14, Mr Obiri Boahen said there was nothing new in what the president said.

“What new thing did the president say in the highlights of the NDC’s manifesto? The country under President Mahama is like a moving car with the driver either sleeping or drunk or the vehicle is in the hands of an inexperienced driver,” he expressed.

“Pregnant women pay for gloves at the Sunyani Hospital, patients pay for bedsheets at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Even in Bole Bamboi, the president’s own hometown, the National Health Insurance Scheme is not working because patients pay for drugs,” Nana Obiri Boahen said.

On education, Mr Obiri Boahen said: “My information is that each of the community day senior high schools costs GHS8.7 million. …With this money, any competent leader should be able to eradicate all schools under trees in the country, but as we speak there are several schools under trees in the country.

“He (President Mahama) talked about airport. You renovate just a runway at the Kumasi Airport to the tune of $23 million. In Ethiopia, a brand new airport is being built at $21 million and you come to say you should be given a second term. Second term to do what?”