Promises of Akufo-Addo that have caused stirs

The first gentleman of the country, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo believes that Ghana, with a population of 30 million people with it's natural resources could develop a self-sustaining economy without external support.

Hence, prior to becoming head of state, the then NPP presidential candidate made several promises to Ghanaians during the campaign season towards the 2016 polls.

Despite an enviable foresight to position the country to be at par with some first world countries, Akufo-Addo has not been spared as he has received a fair share of criticisms based on implementation modalities.

Below are a few utterances from the president which has attracted varied opinions.

Cut down on the use of convoy cars

President Akufo-Addo in 2018 caused a stir when he announced that he would cut short the number of cars that follow him on his nationwide tours.

The order was issued when he (President) was about visiting the Ashanti Region on a five-day working tour. It stated that all Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, Municipal and District Chief Executives who are mandated or wish to accompany the President on his tour will have to make themselves comfortable in an STC bus provided by the state.

With this new directive, government appointees, willing to follow the President on tours were not supposed to drive their V8 Landcruisers and Pickup trucks.

According to Akufo-Addo, the directive was in line with a new clampdown on extravagance on government appointees from the president.

The decision, however, generated mixed reactions on social media with some section applauding it as a means of government cutting cost, while others have labeled it as a populist move by the government to divert attention from the numerous scandals that have engulfed it.

However, the president has been reported flouting his own directive, after over 6 months. A recent case is that of his visit to Tsito in the Volta Region when he had about 50 vehicles in his convoy. Another was that of his visit to Jomoro District in the Western Region with about 75 vehicles in his convoy. Although the ruling party was quick to debunk the media reports, it became a huge debate for social media users.

‘I won’t spare corrupt government officials’

The president has on countless times touted his resolve to fight against corruption. Thus appointing Martin Amidu as the Special Prosecutor in charge of prosecuting public officials culpable of the act was one of the major steps he took.

In his promises to fight the loot and share scheme by some public officials, he also gave the security agencies a directive to investigate any official within his administration who will be accused of corruption.

Despite Martin Amidu’s appointment little to nothing has been done about officials who have been accused of corruptible behaviours. The opposition, citing countless scenarios, have leveraged on this to be a pain in the neck of the Akufo-Addo-led government.

He earned the nickname ‘Clearing Agent’ following the clearance of some government appointees allegedly involved in corrupt acts.

Pius Enam Hadzide, former Maritime boss Kwame Owusu and Presidential Staffer Charles Bissue are but a few who were cleared after being implicated in corruption scandals.

Ghanaians also seem to be disappointed in President Akufo-Addo’s promise to run an incorruptible government.

IDIF, Free SHS, Planting for food and jobs, Ghana Beyond Aid and NaBCo

As part of the government’s efforts to overturn the fortunes of the country, there was the introduction of the Free SHS, One District One Factory, Planting for Food and Agriculture, and the creation of jobs through the Nation Builders’ Corps.

Akufo-Addo said the policies and programmes being implemented by the government were aimed at building a self-sustaining economy without external support.

The policies were given a cold reception by the opposition with claims that most of the projects were started by the NDC.

An example was a statement by former Agric Minister, Kwesi Ahwoi who criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo for failing to acknowledge agricultural programs undertaken by the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) governments under Prof. Atta-Mills and John Mahama.

President Akufo-Addo while on a tour in the Western Region said the John Mahama government did nothing to boost cocoa production while in office.

He noted that the government of President Kufuor moved cocoa production from some 350,000 metric tonnes at the end of the year 2000 to 750,000 tonnes at the end of 2008, and had projected Ghana to hit the million metric tonnes by 2010, a feat which was realized under the late President Mills.

But according to Mr. Ahwoi, the government must acknowledge the NDC’s contributions in the Agric sector and work to continue them rather than claim that nothing was achieved by the previous government in the sector.

“The policies we followed is exactly the same policy the NPP is following today, they just change the name. Rearing for food and jobs, was Youth in Agric under President Mills. You go to Ejura, the place had been abandoned and we got thousands of youth to own lands there and grow crops there. All we need to do is to continue these policies, but don’t say nothing happened in the past."

Another instance is the banter on Free SHS policy where on one hand the NPP said Ghanaians will not entrust power into the hands of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 2020, because of their determination to cancel the Free Senior High School policy.

The NDC in a rebuttal maintained that it will correct the bottlenecks confronting the smooth implementation of the Free SHS programme.

In spite of the seeming lash backs on its administration, the Akufo-Addo-led government is determined to realize these policies for a better Ghana agenda.