PNC Parliamentary Caucus Statement

PRESS STATEMENT ON ENDORSEMENT OF NANA AKUFO-ADDO,MP, NPP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR THE DEC 28 RUN-OFF BY PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS OF THE PNC Alisa Hotel, Wednesday, 17th Dec

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the media, and thank you for honouring our invitation as such short notice. Our mission today is simple. We called you here to inform the general public through you of the decision that, we of the Parliamentary Caucus of the People’s National Convention, have taken with regards to our position ahead of the presidential election run-off between Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party and Prof John Atta-Mills of the National Democratic Congress.

As the nation is aware, our great party, the PNC, met yesterday with the hope of fashioning out a common position to endorse one of the two presidential candidates in the December 28th run-off. This was not a new situation for our party. In fact in 1979, at the onset of the short-lived Third Republic, our founding father, Dr Hilla Limann of most blessed memory found himself in a similar run-off position after leading in the first round of presidential election but just failing to cross the 50 percent constitutional mark to be declared the out-and-out winner. Then, in the run-off, Dr Limann managed to not only maintain his lead but drew enough votes from the supporters of the other minority parties to have a clear victory in the run-off.

Unfortunately, that hard-won victory, freely given by the majority of the good people of Ghana, was selfishly and wickedly snatched away by the barrel of the gun in the middle of the 31st December 1981 night by Flt Ltd (rtd) Jerry John Rawlings and his PNDC. This led to 11 years of a culture of silence under dictatorship until the people of Ghana finally won back the freedom and multi-party democracy that they demanded and deserved.

Again, in the third elections of the Fourth Republic, the 7 December 2000 presidential poll gave the NPP candidate John Agyekum Kufuor the lead, but he did not quite cross the 50 percent mark. For the run-off, the PNC, led by Dr Edward Nasigiri Mahama, took a unanimous decision to join the other opposition parties and throw our collective weight behind the NPP candidate, Mr Kufuor. We took this decision because we were convinced that the NPP’s promise of ‘Positive Change’ represented the best platform for Ghana’s future.

This year’s presidential election has thrown up another opportunity for a similar alliance of opposition forces, heightened by the fact that during our respective political campaigns, all the opposition parties were calling for ‘Change’, with the PNC campaigning for ‘Real Change.’ The question that should now occupy the minds of the voters of Ghana is this: how is it that in Election ’08, the opposition parties have not been able to collectively throw their respective weights behind the opposition party that has managed to make it to the run-off to challenge the incumbent party?

Yes, we all in our own messages called for change. Yes, we all believed that our individual policies could serve the nation best. However, we have not been able to agree that the change we all identified to be in Ghana’s best interests would be the change delivered by the NDC. We simply have not been convinced that the NDC offers the kind of change that will fast forward Ghana’s development.

We have studied the visions of the two men contesting for the presidency. We have compared the performance records in government of the two parties in the run-off. We have looked at the historical relationship between the two parties and our party.

We recall how in 1979, President Limann inherited a collapsed economy. His government was accused unfairly by Flt Lt (rtd) J J Rawlings of corruption and harsh economic policies. But as the democrat and human rights activist that he was, Dr Limann tolerated the effusions and unjust criticisms. And when the coup occurred, the PNDC had no choice but to continue with the very economic reforms of the PNP that they had cited as one of the reasons for overthrowing a government that had been given a four-year democratic mandate to govern by the majority of Ghanaians.

We recall how, although not a single case of corruption was found against President Limann or against any of his ministers of state, his passport was seized for the 11 years of (P)NDC rule and he was even denied permission to seek vital medical treatment abroad. So harsh was the ill-treatment meted out to Dr Limann that he was reduced to using a used Baptist Church pick-up vehicle. But despite all the abuse he suffered, in the true spirit of reconciliation Dr Limann said at the dawn of the Fourth Republic that he had forgiven those who sinned against not only him but the democratic rights and freedoms of all Ghanaians.

Yet, we of the PNC parliamentary caucus have not forgotten that after 19 years in office, the (P)NDC left behind in 2000 an economy that had seen little noticeable improvement since they had overthrown Dr Limann – making Ghana a highly indebted poor country.

The PNC believes in policies that cater for the social and economic welfare of the people. When the PNDC violently overthrew Dr Limann in 1981, a gallon of premium petrol sold at ¢8.50. By the year 2000, it had shot up by over 54,000% to ¢6,400, whilst salaries and wages were kept so low as to make this an extreme burden on ordinary Ghanaians. The price of kerosene fared even worse, increasing from ¢5 in 1982 to ¢5,963 in 2000 – a rise of nearly 120,000%. Whilst allowing these prices to sky rocket, over nearly two decades in power, the PNDC had a pitiful record on reducing poverty in Ghana. In 1993, 46% of Ghanaians were living under $1 a day. By 2000, the NDC only managed to reduce that population of extreme poverty to only 42%. The latest figures from last year show that the war against poverty has intensified and finally started to be won in the first eight years of NPP government, going down to 28%. So in seven years the NPP has achieved a 14 percentage point reduction in poverty – compared to just a 4% reduction in seven years of NDC rule. This is by no means enough, but the evidence is there to prove that the country has moved forward.

We have all been witnesses to the Emergency Social Relief Programme of the NPP; the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme, which is changing lives in the three northern regions especially; the free medical care for pregnant women; the microfinance and small loans scheme; the free Metro Bus ride for school children; the Capitation Grant; the school feeding programme; and National Youth Employment Programme.

We have seen how the size of the Ghanaian economy has expanded and what it means for the capacity of the economy to create more jobs. We have seen greater investments in security, on roads, water supply, rural electrification, health and education. In 1979, when the PNP took office, less than 3 out of 10 Ghanaians had access to potable water. By the time the NDC handed over after 19 years in government it had only increased marginally to 4 in 10 Ghanaians. Today, for the first time a majority of Ghanaians - 6 out of 10 - have access to safe, drinkable water.

We have seen how the quality of freedom of the press and of the people has significantly improved over the last eight years.

And we have also heard the threatening words from politicians such as former President Rawlings. He has been reported as saying at a recent Japanese National Day event that a vote for Prof Mills would mean a return to office of President Rawlings. This can only mean that the change that the NDC seeks is a change that will take Ghana back to Rawlings’ kind of vindictive politics. We have heard him say on campaign platforms that he regrets handing over power in 2000. He said the same thing against Dr Limann between 1979 and 1981 and we painfully remember what that meant.

We of the Parliamentary Caucus of the PNC recognise that the Kufuor administration has been far from perfect. But Ghanaians are now left with a straight choice. Whether to keep faith with the NPP or endorse a change that will return the NDC to office. The PNC has refused to endorse the NDC’s kind of change. This is a profound, carefully considered decision based on what we believe is best for all Ghanaians. Looking at the comparison of records alone, we believe the NPP offers a far greater chance of pushing Ghana’s development forward than the NDC. We simply cannot trust the NDC to deliver on a project that they failed to deliver in 19 years.

We have also studied the contribution of the two presidential candidates to Ghana’s democracy and development. We have worked with Nana Akufo-Addo in the Parliament of the Republic and so from our first-hand experience we are very confident that, with the kind of competitive legislature that the next government will face, Nana Akufo-Addo’s parliamentary experience, his diplomatic skills and his 31 years of experience in bringing people of diverse political and ethnic background together to work in the national interest, will mean he is by far the best positioned candidate to lead a nation confronted with an almost evenly divided Parliament.

As things stand now, we are also very confident that in the event of winning the presidential run-off, the NPP will have a working majority in Parliament, however slim, to govern the country from January 7, 2009.

We have also looked at the respective visions of the two presidential candidates for the run-off and we are utterly and entirely convinced that Nana Akufo-Addo offers the most promising programme to accelerate Ghana’s development, from North to South, East to West, and, equally importantly, within an atmosphere of enhanced freedom.

We are especially excited by Nana Akufo-Addo’s deep and heartfelt commitment to take bold decisive steps to close the development gap between the north and south of Ghana. This was a dream of our pre-colonial leaders, which began in 1953. Yet, no government had been able to articulate such a clear, exceptional programme for the development of the north as Nana Akufo-Addo has done and which he will put into action if elected President.

The $1 billion Northern Development Fund, to be managed by a Northern Development Authority, which he will set up within the first six months of his government, is welcome news for the people of the north. We are ready to give that vision our total support and we will do our utmost to help him make this vision a reality. The first step that is within our hands today is to elect Nana Akufo-Addo as President, God willing. The PNC will then devote itself to providing the critical, objective support to ensure that he delivers on this promise and overcomes any hurdles in the way.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen of the mass media, we the Parliamentarians of the PNC have been most impressed with Nana Akufo-Addo’s discipline to maintain an issues-based campaign, in spite of all the provocations that have been thrown his way. We believe he has shown strong moral character and mature political leadership. We are ready to offer him all the critical and objective support that he will need to push forward his bold vision to bring back the ‘can-do’ spirit of the Ghanaian and finally see us make a serious attempt to moving from our third world status to first world status. That dream of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah; that dream of Dr Hilla Limann can be realised within a generation with the right leadership driving and supporting the talent and abilities of the Ghanaian peoples.

Based on this, we, of the PNC Parliamentary Caucus, do hereby publicly announce that we are endorsing the candidature of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the December 28 presidential run-off.

May God bless the PNC, God bless Ghana God bless us all. Thank you.

Signed by

Hon. Bayirga Haruna, MP Hon. David Appasera, MP, Sissala West, National Organiser Bolgatanga, National Tresurer

Hon. Moses Dani Baah, MP Sisala West