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Oh yes, with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) set to suffer total annihilation in the polls, the NDC flagbearer launched the party's 2024 manifesto with a rallying call to the party.
"Ghana is headed in the wrong direction and must be rescued," John Dramani Mahama told cheering supporters in the Jophus Anamuah-Mensah Auditorium, University of Education-Winneba.
The main thrust of the manifesto is to give Ghana a different political choice: the choice between failed NPP policies, exhausted and divided in everything other than its desire to cling on to power, and a new and revitalised NDC that has been resolute in transforming itself into a party of the future.
And as expected, Mahama placed securing economic recovery and protecting
frontline public services, investment in youth-based careers, and infrastructural development as the main priorities in the manifesto.
The document states that an NDC Government will ensure macroeconomic stability.
restore fiscal and debt sustainability, scrap E-Levy, COVID-19 levy, and emissions levy, and apply Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy on fuel to cushion consumers - The manifesto also outlined plans to undertake a comprehensive reform of Ghana’s VAT regime to provide relief for households and businesses.
Additionally, the manifesto states that the NDC is committed to establishing a
special-purpose bank (Women’s Development Bank) run by women to support women-owned and women-led businesses with low-interest loans and other tailored financial services on very flexible terms, aimed at empowering women economically.
NDC’s manifesto proposals include some sensible and straightforward policy
directions like plans to implement Mo-Ne-Yo, a unique pension scheme for informal sector workers such as commercial drivers, commercial motorcyclists (Okada), small-scale miners, farmers, fishermen, traders, market women, creatives, and artisans to improve their livelihoods in retirement.
But more striking is the manifesto’s talk of the 24-hour economy. This comes with a bold commitment to encourage and support businesses and public organisations to operate 24/7 in three shifts of eight hours each to boost production, promote productivity, and generate well-paying jobs for the total transformation of Ghana into an import-substitution and export-led economy.
Free Primary Healthcare: -The Ghana Medical Care Trust (MahamaCares) also features in the top manifesto themes and is highlighted by a number of
commitments.
Other plans could include the establishment of a National Apprenticeship Program to generate self-employment by providing free technical and vocational training for young people in various crafts and the One "Million Coders Programme," where one million young Ghanaians will be trained in digital skills such as coding, WebApp development, and software engineering, among others, for jobs in the digital ecosystem.
Mahama also turned on the NPP as he made clear his government would launch an
‘Operation-Recover-All-Loot’ to investigate, prosecute, and recover the proceeds of corruption under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration.
There's also talk of rolling out a $10 billion ‘Big Push’ policy for rapid infrastructure development to continue NDC's legacy of massive infrastructure development for job creation and a No-Academic-Fee policy for all first-year
year students in public tertiary institutions under the ‘No-Fees-Stress’ initiative.
In a nutshell, Mahama’s vision for Ghana epitomises a belief in a society where we do not simply pursue our own individual aims but where we hold many aims in
common and work together to achieve them. It is also about how we build the
industry and employment opportunities of the future; how we tackle the division and inequality in our society; how we care for and enhance our environment and quality of life; how we develop modern education and health services; how we create communities that are safe and where mutual respect and tolerance are the order of the day.
Of course, with this manifesto, a more detailed policy has been produced by the
NDC than by any opposition in history. The party's direction and destination couldn't have been clearer. In each area of policy, a new and distinctive approach has been mapped out, one that differs from the failed policies of the NPP.
In fact, what Mahama wants is a Ghana that is one nation with shared values and purpose, where merit comes before privilege. He believes that Ghana can and must be better: better schools, better hospitals, better ways of tackling crime, building a modern welfare state, and equipping ourselves for a new world economy.
Essentially, Mahama wants to renew faith in politics through a government that will govern in the interest of the many and not just an elite at the top who is increasingly out of touch with the rest of us. He wants a country in which people get along, do well, and make the most of their lives. He wants a society in which ambition and compassion are seen as partners, not opposites, and where we value public service as well as social justice.
And he wants, above all, to govern in a way that brings our country together - His vision under this manifesto is to set Ghana's political life on a new course for the future - The vision here is one of national renewal, a country with drive, purpose, and energy—a Ghana equipped to prosper in a global economy of technological change, with a modern welfare state, its politics more accountable, and confidence in its place in the world.
These are things we must achieve together as a country, and that's exactly what
Mahama is offering.
Ghana does deserve better. And a rejuvenated NDC will be better for Ghana.
Dela is a communications advisor and researcher specialising in elections and voting systems.
