Lives of Ghanaians have improved compared to Mahama's era – Dr. Bawumia

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has praised the strides made by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration, asserting that the quality of life for Ghanaians has significantly improved over the past seven years compared to the era of former President John Dramani Mahama.

Despite facing recent economic challenges, Bawumia emphasized that the current government has made considerable progress in enhancing living standards, a stark contrast to the hardships experienced under Mahama's term, which were marked by 'dumsor,' unemployment, and high tariffs.

He recalled the previous administration's struggles, including widespread power outages, the cancellation of educational allowances, and the near-collapse of healthcare services.

"There is no dispute about it. Why do I say so? Because the data says so! You would recall that during the previous government, we endured four years of power outages (which we called 'dumsor'), which collapsed many businesses and increased unemployment.

"There was no chalk in schools, and teacher and nursing training allowances were cancelled. There was a near-collapse of the National Health Insurance Scheme and the National Ambulance Service. There were increase in electricity tariffs by an average of 50% annually. And many parents could not afford the fees to send their children to senior high school," he stated.

Highlighting the government's efforts to mitigate hardships, Bawumia mentioned the lowest increase in electricity tariffs in three decades, the provision of free electricity to lifeline users, and the restoration of teacher and nursing training allowances.

He also listed policies that have purportedly resulted in more job creation than any previous administration.

"Since coming into office, we have implemented many policies to reduce the suffering of Ghanaians. The electricity tariffs over the last six years have seen the lowest increase (11%) for any seven-year period over the last 30 years!

"We also provided free electricity for lifeline users for a year and a 50% reduction in tariffs for all other consumers during COVID-19. We have restored the cancelled teacher and nursing training allowances. We have created more jobs than any other government," he claimed.

Bawumia also noted the substantial rise in Ghana's per capita income, from GH₵7,756 in 2016 to GH₵19,464 by the end of 2022, reflecting an increase from $1,978 to $2,353 in dollar terms.

Dr. Bawumia, who started a nationwide campaign tour last week, concluded the first phase of his campaign for the 2024 presidential election with visits to the Eastern, Western, and Western North Regions.

GA/SARA

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