The Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, has hit the Volta region with a storm of promises on what he intends to do if elected into office.
He has promised to tackle the Eastern Corridor Road network and other trunk roads, including the Ho-Aflao network, build a modern market at Aflao to rival the “Asigame” market in the Republic of Togo and upgrade the Ohawu Agricultural College to a University status.
At the same time, he has promised to pay monthly allowances of GH¢1,000 to all Assembly members in Ghana. According to him, the payment of the allowances would cost the nation an amount of GH¢80 million a year.
Mr Mahama speaking in Hohoe to climax his two-day “Building the Ghana we want together” tour to the Volta region, said government’s allocated budget would be reduced to cater for the allowances of the Assembly members.
“The office of the President’s budget alone is more than GH¢2 billion. We are going to reduce the President’s office expenditure to pay the Assembly members,” Mr. Mahama promised, but failed to state where he would fine resources to pay for the agencies that currently depend on that funding.
Mr Mahama said the next NDC-led government would also make teacher licensure examinations coincide with final exams to prevent them from writing separate exams. He said they would also substitute the teacher-trainee allowances with the student loan, while calling on the President and his Vice to pay the arrears owed trainees.
Mr Mahama said the GETFund had been collateralised hence all infrastructure in the education sector had been abandoned.
Earlier Mr Mahama, addressing the Regional House of Chiefs as part of his campaign tour of the Region, said as President, he would provide a compensation and settlement fund for the victims of the Akosombo spillage.
Others, he mentioned were the turning around of the Ho Teaching Hospital to deliver what he terms “Centre of Medical Tourism,” speed up oil exploration in the Voltain Basin, facilitate the establishment of an industrial park, expand irrigation facilities in the region to support agriculture and establish an ICT hub to deliver start-up projects.
Mr. Mahama was Vice President of Ghana from 2009 and later became President in 2012, and served to January 2017.
The flagbearer said the focus of the tour was to elicit input to update its 2020 Peoples Manifesto, which emanated from the people to shape the new one.
He said the collapse of the economy had plunged the country into unfettered hardship, leaving the masses in a hopeless situation, which is forcing the teeming youth to bank their last resort on the NDC for redemption.
Mr Mahama said the NDC would have an arduous task to resuscitate and transform the economy, create jobs for the youth by stimulating the private sector to expand to arrest the unemployment rates at 14 per cent compared to eight per cent when the NDC was in power.
He said the 24-Hour Economy Initiative was a game-changer as it would incentivise targeted segment of the economy on the pillars of security, reliable transport, provision of adequate electricity and preferential market to take of commodities to be produced.
He promised to deepen local governance principles in the country, create agriculture cooperatives, decentralise food procurement under the school system and construct affordable accommodation for teachers.
The flagbearer has interest in transcribing text books onto tablets for school children across the board to stem the lack of logistics in schools.
He pledged to operate a lean ministerial portfolio pegging it at 60, when given the nod.
Togbega Patamia Dzekle VII, the Vice President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, welcoming Mr Mahama, passionately thanked him for his generosity to the flood and tidal wave victims, resulting from the spillage and sea surges.
He mentioned Mr Ibrahim Mahama, his brother and Company, Engineer Planners, First Sky Group, Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli and other traditional leaders and the Volta River Authority for extending support to the victims.
He cautioned against the use of inflammatory language in the discourse of political campaigns, saying the younger ones were highly awake and these behaviours could influence them into the future.
Togbega Dzekle entreated Mr Mahama to tackle environmental concerns, including “Galamsey,” and mining in general like Lithium, corruption and give recognition to traditional leaders in his second coming.
Togbe Afede, in a remark, said all the laudable policies, programmes and projects Mr Mahama envisaged would only come to fruition when corruption was tamed and caged.
Mr Mahama answered questions and brought clarity to others in the almost three-hour engagement.
He’s two-day tour comes to an end at the St Francis College of Education in Hohoe after addressing a townhall meeting at the Ho Technical University.
