NPP is a party of inclusiveness and diversity says Afenyo-Markin

The Majority Leader in Parliament Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin has pointed out that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a party of inclusiveness and diversity compared to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which believes in divide and rule as well as divisive tactics that end up polarising the country.

Addressing the media in Parliament on Friday, 19 April 2024, the Effutu lawmaker indicated that the NPP, through its flagship policies over the last seven and a half years, has ensured that every part of the country has seen some level of development and that all sectors of the economy have seen some appreciable investments.

Nothing new

In his statement, Afenyo-Markin observed that the presidential candidate of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, his running mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and all the current crop of NDC members constitute the very old team that was led by Mr Mahama from 7 January 2013 to 7 January 2017.

“We have the NDC candidate who has had the opportunity to serve as vice president and president. He’s been vice president for three and a half years before, and he’s been president for some four and half years. We know his track record. He is the same person with the same old team coming to tell us that they have something to offer, but we know their track record,” Afenyo-Markin said.

Education

Touch on several policies of the NPP government that have ensured inclusiveness and diversity in the country, Mr Afenyo-Markin said that free senior high school (Free SHS) has increased enrollment and has led to over 1.4 million Ghanaian children currently studying at the senior high school level, an unprecedented phenomenon in the country’s educational history.

He further indicated that 747 educational structures have been constructed throughout the country to support the implementation of the free SHS I to date. On the subject of the infamous “E-Blocks” started by the NDC of which they completed 29 before leaving office in January 2017, the NPP government has completed an additional 31, bringing the total of completed E-Blocks projects to 60.

The inclusiveness of the implementation of the free SHS program and the people-oriented approach to education in general, Mr Afenyo-Markin said has led to the country’s ability to produce excess nurses which has resulted in our ability to export well-trained nurses to other countries in the world, particularly, to the West.

Energy sector

On the energy sector, Mr Afenyo-Markin pointed out that Mr Mahama, when he served as President, is on record to have said that the cost of electricity has made it practically impossible for his administration to reduce electricity tariffs.

However, because of the NPP’s proactiveness, the Akufo-Addo government, upon assumption of office, undertook a major reduction of electricity tariffs and has continued to maintain competitive electricity tariffs for the last seven years.

Agenda 111

Agenda 111, a flagship initiative of the Akufo-Addo administration conceived after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to the Majority Leader, is continuing in earnest and he is confident that several of the projects will be commissioned before the term of office of the President Akufo-Addo elapses.

Industrial growth

Industrial growth driven by the private sector in Ghana, Mr Afenyo-Markin, said is the surest way to transform the nation’s economy. To this end, the majority leader noted that 143 “One District One Factory” (1D1F) companies are in operation in the country, and a further 126 companies are in different stages of completion.

He discredited the claims by the opposition NDC that a greater number of the operational 1D1F companies are already existing companies and not new initiatives by the government. He added that the 1D1F policy of the Akufo-Addo administration has given fresh breath and new direction to these companies that collapsed under the NDC regime and to that end, it is only right that they identify as having benefited from the forward-looking 1D1F policy.

Landing sites

In the year 2013, Mr Afenyo-Markin pointed out that the erstwhile Mahama Administration contracted a loan to build landing sites. However, due to the government’s inability to meet the disbursement obligation which further led to the government then being charged pre-disbursement penalties by the loaning party, the NDC government failed to construct any of the landing sites.

The NPP government led by President Akufo-Addo upon assuming office according to the Majority Leader, diligently developed a plan to build landing sites across that country in line with its inclusiveness outlook.

The Elmina landing site he said has To date, some 12 landing sites are under construction all over the country. Among the areas where landing sites are being built are Axim, Dixcove, Moore, Mumford, Winneba, Senya Beraku, Gomoa Fetteh, Teshie, Osu, Keta, Ekumfi, and Mfantisman.been completed and commissioned and is in full operation. The one under construction in Winneba, the capital of his constituency, Effutu, Mr Afenyo-Markin said is 95% complete and will soon be commissioned.

Election 2024

On the upcoming 2024 elections the Effutu legislator suggested that the NDC candidate, former President Mahama, is not bring anything new to the table beyond what all Ghanaians saw him do when he had the opportunity to serve as Vice President for three and half years ( 7 January 2009 to 24 July 2012) and as President for four and half years ( 24 July 2012 to 7 January 2017), adding that in the unlikely event that he wins the 2024 elections, his one term presidency will be full of chaotic happenings.

Ghana, Afenyo-Markin said, needs a stable government with a vision, and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the presidential candidate of the NPP who has everything at stake and has been very much a part of the Akufo-Addo administration, is the best person Ghanaians ought to hand over the executive powers of the country to instead of Mr Mahama.

Party communicators

Afenyo-Markin concluded his submission by admonishing party communicators of the NPP to be resolute in defending the record of the NPP during the 2024 general elections campaign period. He indicated that the NDC record comes nowhere near the achievements of the Akufo-Addo administration and they ought to be bold in going out there to proclaim it and defend it.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

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