President Akufo-Addo interacting with Freddie Blay (2nd left), Chairman, NPP, while Vice-President Dr Bawumia looks on
PRESIDENT NANA Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the
volume of work and campaign promises he has fulfilled in his first term will secure
him another four-year term in office.
Speaking at the national annual delegates’
conference of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) held at the Trade Fair
site in Accra yesterday, the President said he considered the 2020 elections as
a straight fight between him and the opposition National Democratic Congress
(NDC) presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama.
Speaking under the theme: “We Have Performed
Better; 4 More To Do More”, President Akufo-Addo said even though he was not
complacent about the upcoming elections, he was sure of victory because
Ghanaians would compare the records of his administration which has registered
significant achievements for the economy such as low inflation rate,
stabilisation of the cedi against the world’s major trading currencies, low
interest rate and a host of other economic indices.
According to him, the erstwhile Mahama-led NDC
government and its abysmal performance literally sent the economy of Ghana on
its knees.
“Our opponents don’t have any record to come and
defend; Ghanaians have already rejected them. Let us stay together and work
hard. I am very confident that by
December 2020, the EC would declare the NPP victorious,” he said.
He, therefore, urged the rank and file of the
party to stay united, work hard and take the message of hope and development to
every Ghanaian in the country.
The President further urged party members to
stay united and eschew tendencies that would divide their ranks going into the
election of party parliamentary candidates next April.
He said there was the utmost need that that
contest was held in a peaceful, sensible and serene manner because the whole
country would be looking at the NPP.
Whilst he was certain that the April parliamentary
primaries would produce both winners and losers, he stressed the need for the
party and its members not to make it rancorous and bitter to divide the party, but
instead stay united with a common goal and ambition to keep the NDC in
opposition.
In all, more than 6,500 delegates drawn from
across the country attended the conference.
Vice-President
Message
Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also gave an
indication that the ruling NPP was ready to ensure a massive second term
victory for President Akufo-Addo.
The Vice-President indicated that available
records suggested that the NPP government had performed better than all previous
NDC administrations hence the need to ensure the party stayed in power for some
more years.
He stated that guided by the retrogressive state
the country witnessed, post the 2008 general elections, the NPP had no reason
to fail Ghanaians this time.
Listing some achievements of the party, the Vice-President
indicated that available data at the disposal of the government suggested that
the government, within its three years in government, had achieved 72 per cent
of its manifesto promises.
That, he stated, was unprecedented in the Fourth
Republic. He said the NPP, anytime it was in power, had proven to be better
managers of the economy than its opponents. He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to
give the President some “four more years to do more”.
He indicated that, for instance, on exchange
rate, the current government had performed better than all previous NDC
governments coming only second to the first term of the erstwhile Kufuor NPP
administration.
“The average exchange rate depreciation on a
yearly basis suggests that we have done 8.7 per cent as against the NDC’s 18
per cent. On the exchange rate, we have performed better,” the Vice-President
said.
He further stated that on electricity tariff,
the NPP government on the average had reduced tariff by about 10 per cent since
it took power, saying “the NDC must be joking to think that it can perform
better than us.”
He outlined other achievements of the government,
challenging the NDC members to point to a single social intervention policy
that they can boast of.
Conference
On Sunday, three major activities were held to
climax the conference.
A special Sunday church service in the morning,
and the main delegates’ conference before climaxing the whole conference with a
mega rally at the forecourt of the Trade Fair Centre.
A special report was read by former President
John Agyekum Kufuor on behalf of the party’s Council of Elders.
The Treasurer of the party, Abankwa Yeboah, also
read the party’s financial statement to the over 6,500 delegates that were
drawn from across all the 275 constituencies in Ghana, as well as the party’s
special branches and wings such as the external branches, students wing, youth
and women wing.
The party’s General Secretary, John Boadu, also used the occasion to give the annual report of the party per the dictates of the party’s constitution, highlighting some key achievements of the party for the past one year.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu & Nana Kwasi
