The National Democratic Congress has responded to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's public lecture on the economy.
At a press conference in Accra Thursday afternoon, dubbed "Setting the records straight", Mr Fifi Kwetey, the Transport Minister who read the party's response disagreed with Dr Bawumia's labeling of government as "incompetent."
Below is a copy of the response
SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT
NPP Claims JM Is Incompetent?
Let’s Assist Them To Know The Real Definition of Incompetence
i. Incompetence is when a government sets a budget deficit target of 4% in 2008 but finishes the year at 15% deficit- thus missing the target by a massive 11%- and in the process recording the highest budget overrun since 1993.
ii. Incompetence is when a government sets out to build four major road projects (Gang of four) without even knowing where the finance is coming from.
iii. Incompetence is when a whole government gets scammed by a phantom “IFC” company and goes through the global humiliation of chasing a non-existent $1b all the way into a hairdressing saloon.
iv. Incompetence is when a government sets up a whole ministry for railways and still fail to deliver one centimeter of railway line but instead preside over the sale of some of old lines as scrap.
v. Incompetence is when you praise the macro economic performance during the period of President Mills while attacking President Mahama’s handling of the economy from 2013 to date without realizing that it was the same President Mahama, who as Vice President was the Chairman of the Economic Management team between 2009 and 2012.
vi. Incompetence is when a Flagbearer who is making claims of being able to transform Ghana, was unable to provide even basic potable water to his own constituency even though he was MP for 12 years and cabinet minister as 7 years.
vii. Incompetence is when a running mate goes round promising to remove taxes on pensions without even knowing no tax exists on pensions in Ghana.
viii. Incompetence is when a party fails to appreciate that one cannot simultaneously be opposed to increased taxation and increased borrowing while at the same time claim to be able to bring transformation and prosperity to Ghana.
ix. Incompetence is when a government is given the full details of the location of a cocaine carrying vessel but was still unable to prevent the vanishing of the cargo of cocaine when the vessel docked on our shores.
x. Incompetence is when a flagbearer at a presidential debate, says free SHS is the answer to the problem of maternal mortality.
xi. Incompetence is when a running mate, during the supreme court petition case is asked the following: “Between a figure written on a cheque and the amount written in words- when in doubt, which one should a banker rely on?” The shocking answer from him was: “when in doubt, one must rely on the figure”. He got wrong, something any elementary banker knows. The Bill of Exchange Act 7.2 states, “when in doubt, use amount in words. In fact one needs not be a banker to understand this. This is the man that calls the Mahama led NDC incompetent.
xii. Incompetence is when a government mismanages the economy so badly that it is compelled to sell a precious national asset like Ghana Telecom just so as to survive. At no time between 2009 and 2016 has the NDC ever had to resort to the sale of a national asset just to be able to stay afloat.
xiii. Incompetence is when a government spends 8 years in power- gets 11 times the revenue of a previous government and 4.3 times the loans of the previous government but cannot still not point to one regional hospital or public university or one completed affordable house.
xiv. Incompetence is when a government sleeps on the job and waits until there is energy crisis in 2006 before waking up to start thinking about adding to the nation’s power pool.
xv. Incompetence is when a government promises to reduce the import of rice by one third and in eight years rather preside over the increase of rice import from $100 million at the end of year 2000 to 500 million dollars by the close of 2008.
xvi. Incompetence is when a government in 2008 used precious resources to buy locomotives at a time when not even one centimeter of rail line had been constructed. One wonders where they expected the locomotives to ride upon? Maybe the back of the elephant.
xvii. Incompetence is when NPP increased the duration of SHS without corresponding increase in classrooms to cater for extra numbers of students coming on board and also provide for other key facilities that should have preceded the change, if quality was not to be jeopardized.
xviii. Incompetence is how the NPP pursued aggressively the attainment of single digit inflation and was to reach it for 8 long years except for one short month.
xix. Incompetence is when NPP in its first four years could not show evidence of any major road constructed in Ghana. In its publication highlighting its major achievements in first four years, NPP could not show one major road constructed.
xx. Incompetence is when NPP during all its eight years in office, allowed hajj pilgrims to continue to sleep on the tarmac at KIA at the mercy of mosquitoes.
xxi. Incompetence is when NPP claims that the patching of cracks on the Kumasi Airport runway in 2008 to allow for landing and take-off of light aircraft (maximum of 737 aircraft with limited load) during CAN 2008, is the equivalent of the complete runway overlay that the NDC has done. A rehabilitation that now enables the Kumasi airport to accommodate heavier aircraft and also handle night flights on full basis due to the installation of the Aeronautical ground lighting system.
xxii. Incompetence is when a running mate does not know and does not bother to verify that the previous sealing of cracks on the runway of the Tamale airport and the provision of basic equipment ahead of CAN 2008 is not same as the recent runway extension from 2,400 metres to 3,400 metres, the provision of new Aeronautical ground lighting systems and modern navigational equipment to ensure safe operations, coupled with the pavement reconstruction and strengthening to cater for wide bodied aircraft such as Boeing 747 – 700 which is capable of carrying 500 passengers at a time as demonstrated during the recent Hajj uplifts.
SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT
22 SEPTEMBER 2016
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