There is no reset button in life. You can’t take anything back, and you can’t undo anything. All of your actions have consequences, and the things you say and do today will have a lasting impact on the rest of your life. You have to understand that, and be aware of it while making your decisions – Sampuita Marquez
The 2016 Ghanaian elections are over. A careful assessment of the process and what have transpired over the years since President Mahama assumed office showed the NDC and the Mahama led administration lost a very important election they could have won so easily. There were several factors that contributed to it. For instance they had much resource than the NPP. The NPP had also suspended three of their top national executives going into the elections.
I have always maintained that, President Mahama failed to crack the whip on issues of corruption. There were lots of scandals under the mahama led administration which the perpetrators where not brought to book or prosecuted. Examples , 15 million cedis SADA money spent on gunea fowls that could not be accounted for , DVLA deal of 3.6 million dollars with Foto X Which was highly inflated to 9.9 million dollars, 32,498,00 Ghana cedis was paid to ACICL to plant 5 million trees but only 700,000 were accounted for, the BNI in 2014 uncovered allowances paid 22,612 non existent service personnel’s, 4 million dollars was sent on a chattered flight to Brazil to the Black Stars players as their appearance fee that became an international ridicule, the GYEEDA scandal in 2013 and 1.1 billion Cedis was lost, overbilled bus branding of 1.9million to 3.6 million cedis, the controversial judgment dept. paid business man Alfred Agbesi Woyome and many others. Life is full of choices and it is those choices that will make the difference between a good or bad outcome, and President Mahama often times appeared unconcern.
During the heat of campaigns for the election, some of these issues came up. Many Ghanaians expected the President and his communicators to address them but on the other hand, many of government communicators like Omane Boamah, Kofi Adams and Felix Ofosu Kwakye, very intelligent guys, rather sort to defend most of these scandals. This posture also made many discerning Ghanaians feel insulted and could not succumb to the propaganda being peddled by this member of the NDC. I am so sure President Mahama had seen all this but fell death ears to it.
This Propaganda and lies by some top nation executive’s of the NDC started growing so it transcended to some members of their party. In an attempt to make those lies work, they lost the social media campaign. The door to door campaign that won them 2012 elections was ignored and not effective anymore because it was characterize with insults and character assignation of then candidate Nana Akufo-Addo. Monies also did not go down to the grassroots footsodiers for the campaign. This also annoyed most of them and did not even go out to vote at all for the NDC and others also voted the NPP.
Some the leaders were very selfish. Rumor also has it that, Dr. Omane Boamah may be seeking and nurturing his Presidential ambitions so directly or indirectly blocked colleague’s access to the President. Rumor also has it that the President on most occasions was not briefed about the truth on the grounds until realizing how miserably he lost an election he could have won.
There were no Jobs for the youth and many other NDC loyalists who sacrificed their time for the party to win power. Many of them felt neglected. Yet the president at some point in time on national television attributed the unemployment situation to the fact that Ghanaian students don’t choose the right courses in school. This I know didn’t go down well with some employed NDC friends I know and promised to vote him out.
Governments must have the interest of its people in mind by so doing ensure equal participation in the process. The NDC provided some social interventions but school fees were high, food, electricity bills, water etc. There were also several agitations, strikes from nurses, teachers and doctors on allowances, drivers on over hiked insurance fees. To some people the roads and hospitals are good but it won’t put food on their table. This informs their decision to vote.
Koku Anyidoho insulted almost everyone. Some national executives never visited their constituents again after 2012 elections. Others only sit’s in their V8’S and pass. Some party members who visited their MP’S for jobs had the shock of their lives when some of the MPs told them their offices are not labor office.
So cumulatively, the posture of some leaders of the party and President Mahama’s failure to crack the whip on corruption and some behaviors of his party members lead to his shocking loss of over one million votes, which if care is not taken can keep the NDC in opposition for a long time also with the growing Buwumia factor in the NPP and the nation at large.
Now the NDC seem disorganized because of the loss. They need to regroup and strategize for 2020 otherwise suffer another humiliation.
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