Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (left) and John Dramani Mahama
The two major political parties have both launched their manifestos for the
upcoming December 7, 2024 general elections. The political season is thereby
here upon us. It is therefore apt to analyse the trajectory and path each of
these two parties intends to embark on in order to solve the problems facing this country and achieve national development.
While the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its flagbearer are advocating for a “reset” of the current state of the nation, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is on the other hand advocating for advocacy.
System Reset is a feature in Microsoft Windows that allows the user to revert
their computer's state to that of a previous point in time, which can be used to
recover from system malfunctions or other problems.
According to Barrientos et al., (2011), social upgrading is “the process of
improvement in the rights and entitlements of workers as social actors and
enhancement of the quality of their employment”.
Upgrade is necessary when the system is good but requires improvement to
further enhance its efficiency; on the other hand, “reset” becomes imperative
where the system is malfunctioning and the benefits gained are eroded by
someone’s actions or inactions. When this happens, a reset will then be
required to take us back to a restore point in order to find the best trajectory.
When a man loses direction to his house, ordinarily he would like to get back
to a point of familiarisation to reassess his next line of action, he will not continue wandering around without an obvious target that will lead him to his desired destination.
Looking at the current state of this country, it suffices to say that the system of this country is malfunctioning, after what the country has been subjected
through the past seven and half years, the only thing that is required in the
short-term is to reset the system of this country to where it was before the
2016 general elections, to address the malfunctioning. All the gains
made from 1992 to 2017 have been eroded by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led government.
The sad but unavoidable truth that must be told is that this country has retrogressed three decades back under this Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government. As a result of the actions and selfishness of the government and its appointees patriotism among the populace has plummeted, Civil Servants are cowed into silence, confidence in the country is at its lowest ebb, and the youth are leaving the country through dangerous and perilous routes. Sadly, the culprits and perpetrators of this unforgivable crime are adamant and bent on hanging onto power in order to be able to conceal the rot they perpetrated between 2017 and to date.
This country is akin to a patient in an intensive care unit of a hospital, the only way to save him or her is to try and stabilize their situation before any
treatment commences. Ghana needs an urgent change of direction; it cannot
afford to continue on the current trajectory. What exactly can we upgrade, is it the depreciation of the currency, the worsening cost of living, the ballooning national debt, the high rate of inflation and unemployment, or the wanton state capture? There is nothing to upgrade, however there is a lot to reset or restore.
Ghana's current challenges require a different type of leadership that is
willing to take unconventional approaches, a leadership that is open to
divergent views, and willing to listen and engage with all stakeholders. In the
current state we are in, we need a government that will do things
differently including sacrificing personal comforts to achieve a Ghana of shared
prosperity for all of us and not just a few. The upcoming December 7, 2024
elections will be critical for Ghana's future.
The decision we make on December 7, 2024, will determine whether Ghana can overcome its current challenges, there is, therefore, the need to make logical decisions devoid of love or hatred for the NDC or the NPP, the important thing in our minds should be how to save the life of a patient called Ghana currently in need of swift and decisive action to stay alive.
We cannot have the same people who have arrogantly and incompetently brought us to where we are to continue beyond 2024, in the highly unlikely event that this happens, Ghana will be hell for Ghanaians more than the current unbearable situation. In the past seven and half years, we have witnessed the highest rate of inflation, the highest currency depreciation, the highest national debt, and the highest level of unemployment since 1992.
The 2024 elections present an opportunity to vote for a leadership who will
reset the affairs of the country and instill confidence, hope, and a renewed
sense of patriotism among Ghanaians which will lead to national development.
A leadership that will lead us to build a Ghana that can sustain itself, uphold
the rule of law, foster shared prosperity, safeguard democracy, protect citizens
from abuse, and ensure access to essential life necessities for all, and that
leadership is former President John Dramani Mahama and Prof Naana Jane
Opoku-Agyemang.
Yes, I choose reset over upgrading.
