NPP have failed the nation - PNC Leader

The Leader of the People’s National Convention Party,Dr. Edward Mahama, has criticized the NPP government for their failure to bring peace to Yendi, after one year of ethnic clashes in the area.

Dr. Mahama hinted that the inability of the Kufuor government to give justice to the people of Yendi makes him feel ashamed as a Ghanaian.

Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle at the Party’s office in Accra on Friday, Dr. Mahama described government’s approach to the situation as being “inept” in dealing with the problem.

According to him, if the government had shown muscles and determination to bring justice and peace to the people of Dagbon, Ghanaians would have seen evidence that government was trying but “ so far as I can tell, they boxed it up. Shame! shame! shame!” he lamented.

The PNC leader said President Kufuor and his group should not expect to be credited for the decision to lift the curfew in four Districts in the North because that decision was not the expectation of the people.

Dr. Mahama said he was informed by some natives of the conflict area that the imposition of the curfew for all this while had even made the animals in the area better than they the human beings, making them feel treated inhumanly.

He warned that if proper measures demanded by the people in the area were not taken to solve the situation, nobody, including President Kufuor should dream of being elected as the next president of Ghana in the next election, a scenario he said would indicate a stalemate in the country and described it as a recipe for crisis.

Dr. Mahama, who has led the PNC for some time now in attempt to win power, was also critical of the Kufour government on its policies on health, education, monetary as well as security.

According to him, as a nation, if there were systems and institutions that worked for all its people, whatever one did would be interpreted as a means of generousity to the other, adding that, if the Green Street Report had been implemented in1992, Dr. Hilla Liman, former president of Ghana and Leader of the them PNC, would have died a better death.

He said Ghanaians ignored the constitution and its provisions until now that the nation is crying fowl.

Speaking on the passage of the Health Insurance Bill, Dr. Mahama was of the opinion that the government goofed in that direction simply because, it had not allowed any proper discusion on the policy but had managed to use incumbency to force the bill through.

According to him, it had always been the drum beat of the PNC to make the health insurance policy work but would had wished that time was taken to ensure its proper delivery. He, however, wished that the policy succeeded for the benefit of Ghanaians.

On education, the ex-while presidential candidate of the PNC in the 2000 elections, said the government was not performing well at all, since there were a number of brilliant but needy people still wasting their talents selling dog chains and chewing gum in the street. He also criticized government for hastly taking the country to join HIPC saying, it was the worst the government had performed, since they were given mandate some three years ago.

He said there was no evidence of performance under the HIPC policy and government should not deceive people of reaping HIPC benefit by labelling school blocks and writing on sign boards all over the country as if something was being achieved.

Dr. Mahama, however, praised the government for handling its security matters well internationally articulating,that it was possible the country could have been thrown into a serious upheaval, if the government had not handle things properly.

He citing the Liberia incident as a clear cut evidence and congratulated government for exhibiting such level of neighbuorliness, which had brought the situation under control.

He said the government should be credited for such performance most especially, for ensuring that Ghana did not follow suite to the Liberia conflict, despite various levels of tension within the country.