NDC majority is undermining mahama’s local content policy

OTIKO AFISAH DJABA-NPP WOMEN’S ORGANISER

National Women’s Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Madam Otiko Afisah Djaba has accused the majority NDC in Parliament of acting to undermine their Party leader, and President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama.

According to her, Parliament’s recent importation of over Gh?20million worth of tables and chairs from China to furnish the august house, instead of resorting to local carpenters, flew in the face of President Mahama’s promise to shore up patronage for made-in-Ghana goods.

Speaking to the issue on Adom FM’s morning current affairs programme, Dwaso Nsem, Madam Otiko Djaba explained that since assuming office, President Mahama had been calling for increased patronage of Made-in-Ghana goods. She recalled how President Mahama in his recent State of the Nation address to Parliament, displayed his home-made “Horseman shoes” and three-piece Agbada as a way of encouraging Ghanaians to do same. “Yet when the first major opportunity came for our Parliamentarians, led by the NDC majority to support President Mahama’s call with action, they chose to slap him in the face, by going to China for their tables and chairs” she said.

She expressed disappointment at the leadership of Parliament, led by its Speaker, Rt. Hon. Doe Adjaho for failing to ensure that such a huge contract was awarded to Ghanaian carpenters.

According to her, a contract worth 0ver Gh?20million would have had a significant impact on the local furniture manufacturing industry. “Even if Gh?2million each had been given to a group of carpenters in each of the ten regions in this country to manufacture tables and chairs for our august house, there is no telling how many jobs would have been created, and the monies would have stayed in the country”, she said.

Madam Otiko Djaba debunked the assertion by NDC MP for Asawase, and Majority Chief Whip Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, that the period for delivery on the contract was too short for local carpenters to meet, explaining that the decision to increase the seats in Parliament from 230 to 275 was taken way back in 2012. As such, the leadership of the House was aware of the need for the expansion and provision of additional furniture long ago. “The issue of limited time to deliver on the contract can therefore not arise here”, she said.

By failing to award the over Gh?20million contract to local carpenters, the NPP National Women’s Organiser said President Mahama and his majority in Parliament had failed to appreciate the high unemployment rate coupled with its dire poverty that has engulfed the country. “As people who profess to be Social Democrats, President Mahama and his NDC must be seen to be creating jobs and wealth to grow the economy by investing in local businesses. They had this unique opportunity to translate their call to patronize made-in-Ghana goods to reality, but instead they went to China” she said.

She described as untenable; the NDC’s feeble attempt to rope in the NPP minority, in what according to her is an NDC coup against President Mahama’s local content policy, stating, that while the Minority in Parliament will have their say on the matter, it will always be the NDC majority which will have its way.

Madam Otiko Djaba challenged President John Dramani Mahama to take charge of the leadership of the Party in government by ensuring that policies touted by the Executive branch of government are supported in practice by the legislature of which his Party, the NDC has a majority; “otherwise, if this continues, President Mahama and his Party’s majority in Parliament, could be seen to be at loggerheads with each other and this can be recipe for political instability. Already, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Doe Adjaho is playing tricks with the Presidential oath”, she warned.