Mahama to 'sweat' on Botchwey’s report

It looks all rosy for former President John Dramani Mahama to pick the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential nomination forms but as to whether he would have it easy at the national elections in December 2020 is a matter of concern to even his avowed followers.

There is the matter of the Kwesi Botchwey report, which scathing details have the potential of derailing his second ascension, to the highest office of the land.

Ironically that report was engineered by Mr Mahama himself contrary to a sectional view within the NDC that it was entirely a party decision, Today can state on authority.

One anti-Mahama 2020 campaigner teasingly made a bold declaration,” Mahama to die on own dagger.”

Asked why such doom prophesy, the said Mahama adversary explained that the Kwesi Botchwey report was likely to be used by some of the disgruntled candidates in the NDC presidential race as well as the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) against the 2020 presidential bid of former President Mahama.

According to the said campaigner, what seems to be irking these aspirants was the fact that the former president’s camp had hijacked the report.

But unbeknown to them, these irritated candidates have been able to secure copies and intend releasing its scathing content after the NDC presidential election which for now seems to be a sealed deal for Mr Mahama.

Aspects of the content of the Kwesi Botchwey’s report in possession of this paper talk about how Mr Mahama’s administrative style earned enemies for him, and the NDC as a whole.

The damning portion of the report is where the party’s grassroots made it categorically clear to Kwesi Botchwey and his team that Mr Mahama should not come back in 2020 to lead the NDC.

According to the report, Mr Mahama succeeded in making NDC unpalatable and unattractive to Ghanaian electorate, particularly the floating voters, hence his comeback will affect the party’s chances in the 2020 polls.

It also faulted former President Mahama for allowing his wife, Lordina Mahama, to run para-party activities during the electioneering campaign where the report said, Mrs Mahama gave monies meant for some constituencies to her cronies and friends for no work done.

The report further found Mr Mahama as a weak leader who could easily be influenced, especially when it comes to issues of women.

The report was also not charitable with his relationship with elders of the NDC as it chastised him for driving away most of the party’s elders whose wise counsel could have helped the party to retain power.

The grassroots of the NDC, according to the report, were not happy that Mr Mahama ignored the founder of the party, Mr Jerry John Rawlings.

In the case of the NPP, however, they intend going beyond the Kwesi Botchwey’s findings and zoom into the realm of how in their estimation, John Mahama is a complete misfit to occupy the Jubilee House in 2021 and for a possible term of four years.

Those allegations bother on how the former president was alleged to have engaged in many acts inimical to the economy of the country.

It would be recalled that the NDC after its humiliating defeat in the 2016 election instituted a 13-member committee chaired by the former Finance Minister under Rawlings regime, Professor Kwesi Botchwey, to find out from the party’s grassroots what caused their defeat.

The committee submitted its report to the party’s national executives six (6) moths later, but the full content of the report is yet to be made known to the NDC members.

Mr Mahama is among 11 flag-bearer aspirants who want to lead NDC in the 2020 polls.