Prez debate

Four presidential candidates of political parties with representation in Parliament last Wednesday staked their claim as to why their party has the best ideas and quality leadership to lead the nation to prosperity.
The four presidential candidates, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP); Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom of the Convention People’s Party (CPP); Prof John Evans Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Dr Edward Mahama of the People’s National Convention (PNC) debated at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) platform in Accra at the Kofi Annan ICT Centre.
Individually, they contended that the country was at the cross-roads and that a vote for them would be a vote for prosperity but anything short of that would lead Ghana to a state of quagmire.
This was during a three and a half hour questions and answers bordering on education, health, energy, women and children rights, regional integration and security of the state.
Nana Akufo-Addo said the NPP had proven that it had the capability and capacity to manage the economy in the best manner because “we stand on the brink of unprecedented prosperity and that we should stay the course and continue the progress made in these last seven years”.
He said in 2000 when crude oil prices in the world market hit $37 per barrel, inflation was at 40 per cent, interest rate pegged at 52 per cent with the cedi depreciating on a daily basis with its serious repercussions on the economy.
He said, however, through prudent economic management, the NPP administration within seven year had managed the economy to the extent that at $147 per barrel of crude oil, inflation was at 18 per cent with the cedi relatively stable.
“We are dealing with a party that can do it, a party in whose hands you can safely entrust the management of the economy into”, Nana Akufo-Addo.
He said he was in politics to use his knowledge and experience to help in the development of the country and that it was for that reason that for over thirty years he had been at the forefront of the struggle for democracy in Ghana “to see a Ghana where human rights is respected, rule of law not only a slogan but a reality”.
“I want Ghanaians to know that a vote for the CPP this time is a vote that would put another CPP president into the Flagstaff House” Dr Nduon said.
He explained that as part of the membership drive embarked upon by the CPP ten months ago had started yielding results culminating in the recruitment of 300,000 card bearing members for the CPP.
He said that was the reason why the CPP was currently regarded as the party not of the aged but of the youth who would provide the party with the links to win the elections massively and form the next government.
Dr Nduom said Ghana needed a president who would get things done with a sense of urgency and move away from the old ways of doing things which had not moved the nation to the required development stages over the past 14 years.
“All am humbly asking for is that there is an alternative, that alternative is the CPP and that is why wherever we go in Ghana people say “Edwumawura” ”yere sesa mu”, he added.
Prof Mills said he wanted an opportunity to serve the people of Ghana for them to have a better Ghana where the government would invest in the people to get jobs, quality education and better health.”
He said the country was polarised with some people marginalised to the brink and this had resulted in the country moving towards the wrong direction.
He said throughout his nation-wide tour, many people in the country were calling for change because they were in distress and added that “I support this move for change because the NDC believes in social democracy, paying special attention to the marginalised, the vulnerable”.
Prof Mills called on the electorate to vote for a leader who was honest, sincere, transparent and believed that there could always be improvement and said that “there is no need to describe ones self in absolute terms as the best, there are better people”.
He said he would not be a president for only NDC but for every Ghanaian and called on all to see themselves as one people and also urged the leaders of the nations to always tell the people the truth because “sometimes, we think that repeating an untruth become the truth but it doesn’t. Changing the label of the bottle it does not necessary change the content of the bottle.”
He said it was God who made kings and that Ghanaians should abide by the rules of the game and ensure that the December polls were not tainted with the loss of life because “if we that, the power would be tainted and with this God is not going to bless us.”
Dr Mahama said Ghanaians have only two choices, either to go the way of destruction and violence or prosperity and development and suggested that the best way was to vote massively for the PNC to lead Ghanaians to the way of prosperity and progress.
He promised he would develop the nation through of honest, sincere leadership and “not do as I say and not as I do. Am offering you real change with real hope”.
He said things had worsened to the extent that Ghanaians were leaving in droves to seek greener pastures at other countries, in most cases at the peril of the lives and added that the PNC government would do something about the youth unemployment and the welfare of the aged.
Dr Mahama described Ghana as a rich nation but the level of poverty did not commensurate with its numerous resources and added that “ because I believe in myself and in you the Ghanaians that you can be self reliant and independent and do a lot more for yourself. We can get up collectively get the prosperity for ourselves.