‘Unlike Akufo-Addo, my govt will share national cake equally’ – Mahama

Former President John Mahama has assured Ghanaians his next administration will ensure that development projects are shared equally to all regions regardless of their political affinity.

Mr. Mahama, who is the 2020 flagbearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), observed that the sharing of the national cake under the administration of President Akufo-Addo was not being done fairly, pledging that the next NDC government will embark on development projects impartially when elected again in the upcoming December 7 polls.

Mr. Mahama made this remark at a mini-rally at the La Bawaleshie Presby School park in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency Tuesday night, as part of his tour of the Greater Accra Region.

He observed that President Akufo-Addo was wrong to have told the Paramount Chief of Kpone Katamanso, Nii Tetteh Otu II, that his people do not vote for the ruling NPP when the latter complained of the slow pace of development in the area.

“That speech from the President [Akufo-Addo] was very unfortunate. Whether the people vote for you or not you, as a leader of the country, have to cater for their needs because they are Ghanaians and part the country. You have to meet their demands regardless of their political affiliation,” Mr Mahama chastised while he urged the people to endorse his candidature during the elections next month.

He continued, ” We the NDC have been losing elections at Ayawaso West Wuogon but what projects did we not do here when we were in power? We don’t win elections in the Ashanti Region; whenever there are elections we [the NDC] lose in the region but the biggest market not only in Ghana but in West Africa is in Kumasi…So if you have to position a modern market to be a biggest market in Ghana, the only place you find it is in Kumasi but NDC we are not going to say because the people of Ashanti don’t vote for us we’re not going to build the market there.”

He said the NDC administration had to build the ultra-modern market because the NDC believes in sharing the national cake equally for all Ghanaians to benefit from such projects.

Making a strong case for the NDC which he described as a party for the masses, Mr Mahama emphasized that the NDC’s ‘People's Manifesto’ had captured the challenges of the poor and the rich, promising job creation policies that will positively affect the lower-income earners in the constituency to help bridge the gap between the poor and the rich.

“There are poor people here in this constituency but people have described the constituency as a rich one because we have East Legon here. ..We will bring on board policies that will create jobs for you people and we will do it because the NDC has done it before,” Mahama stated.

The NDC leader’s comment comes at a time that some political analysts have accused President Akufo-Addo of sending critical projects to his home region and his hometown, Kyebi, where a first-class Astroturf, Library, roads, and the upgrade of the town’s cemetery have stoked controversies in the country.