Nduom: 'Ghana will do well with competent leaders'

Former PPP presidential candidate Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom has said "Ghana will benefit if we put more competent, experienced, and incorruptible leaders in national positions of authority."

Adding his voice to the recent discussion about the competency of President John Mahama, the 2012 presidential candidate of the Progressive People’s Party wrote the following on his Facebook page:

"Competence Defined!

“In recent days, the ‘competency’ of leaders in the public arena has been the subject of considerable discussion. Some have questioned the ‘competency’ of President John Dramani Mahama. President Mahama has also questioned the ‘competency’ of those questioning his ‘competency’.

“To enrich this public discourse, I wish to introduce some objectivity by contributing some definitions of the word, ‘com•pe•tence’.

“Suggestion: After careful consideration of these definitions, Ghana will benefit if we put more competent, experienced incorruptible leaders in national positions of authority.”

‘noun

‘the ability to do something successfully or efficiently.

‘the players displayed varying degrees of competence

‘synonyms: capability, ability, competency, proficiency, accomplishment, expertise, adeptness, skill, prowess, mastery, talent, More ‘an income large enough to live on, typically unearned.

‘he found himself with an ample competence and no obligations

‘3. Merriam-Webster

‘: a sufficiency of means for the necessities and conveniences of life 2. : the quality or state of being competent: as.

‘4. A cluster of related abilities, commitments, knowledge, and skills that enable a person (or an organization) to act effectively in a job or situation. ‘Competence indicates sufficiency of knowledge and skills that enable someone to act in a wide variety of situations. Because each level of responsibility has its own requirements, competence can occur in any period of a person's life or at any stage of his or her career.

‘2.Law: The capacity of a person to understand a situation and to act reasonably. Disputes regarding the competence of an individual are settled by a judge and not by a professional (such as a doctor or a psychiatrist) although the judge may seek expert opinion before delivering at a judgment. Also called legal capacity.”

Mr Mahama on Monday said Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate to the opposition New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, had no right to call him “incompetent” since he has no idea what it is like to be President.

“…You still hear Bawumia say ‘incompetent Mahama.’ You’ve never held any responsibility near the presidency before; you don’t know what it is like to be President.

“I’ll take that from Kufuor or from Rawlings because they’ve been there before. All of you guys [NPP critics] have never ever come near the presidency. [Do] you know what it takes to be a President? And you stand and say ‘incompetent Mahama administration,’ the President said at a rally at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra during the launch of his ‘Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana’ tour.

The President’s reply to Dr Bawumia follows the former Deputy Bank of Ghana Governor's recent assertions that "reckless" borrowing by the Mahama administration will saddle Ghana with a total debt stock of nearly GHC100 billion by the end of the year.

"We’ll reach GHC99 billion by the end of this year," the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana told journalists after Finance Minister Seth Terkper read the 2016 budget to Parliament on Friday.

"The interest on this debt alone is going to be six times Ghana’s oil revenue," Dr Bawumia said.

Dr Bawumia also accused the President of running a friends-and-family, as well as 'dumsor' and dead-goat economy.

In his response, however, President Mahama asked Dr Bawumia: "What do you know about competence?"

"All of them [NPP critics], in the offices they occupied, they should tell us what competence they displayed," Mr Mahama challenged.

"Anyway, my competence is not for them to judge, it’s for the people of Ghana to judge, and I know that come 7 November 2016, the people of Ghana will judge my competence and they’ll give me a second term in office and the NDC will win another victory by the grace of almighty God," he said.