Mahama’s social intervention record superior to Akufo-Addo’s - Sorogo to Bawumia

A former Member of Parliament for Madina, Aljahi Amadu Sorogo, has told Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia that former President John Mahama’s record in social interventions surpasses that of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, especially in the area of infrastructure.

Mr Sorogo said the current administration is benefiting from the numerous infrastructural projects undertaken by Mr Mahama, hence must be duly credited.

He dismissed claims by Dr Bawumia that the problem was internally-generated.

Dr Bawumia told former President John Mahama that the economy he superintended between 2012 and 2016 was so fragile that he could not even mitigate and cushion people from an internally-created problem like dumsor.

Mr Mahama, last week, claimed the economy, under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo, is weak and has been exposed in just one month by the coronavirus pandemic, which has affected several countries around the world.

But speaking to journalists at the Jubilee House on the sideline of a COVID-19 meeting on Monday, Dr Bawumia wondered how a former President whose administration and economy could not handle dumsor for four years would be making comparisons with a global pandemic like the Coronavirus.

“If you want to test the robustness of an economy, you test it in a time of crisis. Thankfully, we have had two crises. Under the NDC, it was an internally-generated crisis, which was dumsor. Under the Presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo, there has been an externally generated crisis, which has been the global Coronavirus pandemic.”

“I just want you to ask yourself, how have these two crises been managed? The dumsor crisis which crippled this economy for four years. What were the mitigating measures offered to businesses and individuals during the dumsor, an internally generated crisis?” the Vice-President asked.

“We saw that even during dumsor, electricity prices were being increased, fuel prices were being increased, teacher trainee allowances were being cancelled, and nursing trainee training allowances were being cancelled. All of that was happening during that particular crisis.”

Speaking on the Ghana Yensom show on Accra100.5FM on Tuesday, 5 May 2020, Mr Sorogo called on Dr Bawumia to focus on how to free the nation of the virus.

He noted that the government failed to act appropriately and timely, as far as the closure of the borders is concerned.

“It is very obvious that Mahama’s infrastructural projects are what the Akufo-Addo government is relying on. This government has not built a single hospital of infrastructure,” he said.

“Bawumia should tell us what they have done in the past years that they have been in office. All that I can remember them doing is just changing the names of projects undertaken by Mahama.”