Poverty, hunger no respecter of tribe – Akufo-Addo

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is calling on all Ghanaians to vote for their future on December 7, stressing that the poverty and hunger that have engulfed the country under President Mahama are no respecter of tribe or ethnicity.

According to him, the impact of the mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy is being felt by every Ghanaian in the form of rising costs of living, high utility tariffs, record levels of unemployment, fuel price hikes, a weak currency, dwindling economic growth, low real wages, high interest rates, amongst others.

In spite of these, and with some 27 days to the holding of this year’s elections, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that opponents of the NPP are going about the country preaching the politics of ethnicity and division, all in the name of scoring cheap political points and in the bid to win this year’s elections.

Addressing residents of Dadiesoaba, in the Asutifi South constituency of the Brong Ahafo Region, on Thursday, November 10, 2016, at the commencement of his 4-day tour of the region, the NPP flagbearer noted that “for election purposes, some will come amongst you and say that the NPP does not like you, and when the NPP comes into office, we are going to drive you away from this land. All these are lies, with no iota of truth.”

Nana Akufo-Addo stated that “the hunger that is upon the land, under the leadership of President John Mahama, is no respecter of tribe, neither does it discriminate against any ethnic group. Will hunger bypass you all because you are a Kusasi, Dagarti or Northerner? No! It is affecting all of us.”

To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo urged residents, which include a large section of settlers of northern extraction, not to entertain the politics of division, urging all ethnic groups living in Dadiesoaba to live in unity, and, with one accord, push out the non-performing Mahama government on December 7.

He explained that with a good government at the helm of affairs in the country, coupled with the implementation of sound policies, Ghana will be returned onto the path of progress and prosperity. 

An Akufo-Addo, ‘God-willing’ from January 2017, the NPP flagbearer assured, will “revive the collapsed National Health Insurance Scheme, ensure the effective implementation of the Free SHS policy, and reallocate Ghana’s capital budget to ensure that every constituency receives the equivalent of $1 million a year to tackle issues relating to infrastructural development.”

On his ‘1-District-1-Factory policy’, Nana Akufo-Addo committed himself to the establishment of a ginger processing facility for residents of Dadiesoaba, whose mainstay is the cultivation of ginger, as well as cocoa.

“This processing facility will create jobs for the youth in Dadiesoaba, as well as put money in your pockets. These policies I am telling you about are not vote buying policies. I won’t come before the Ghanaian people and say things I know I cannot fulfil. I will never lie to Ghanaians. All these policies I have espoused are ones which have been well thought through. It can be done, that is why I am saying this to you, and asking you for your support,” the NPP flagbearer said.

He continued, “Ghanaians have become miserable under President John Mahama. We live on a rich land, and yet we are hungry. If God wills it, my government is coming into office to change all of this and return the country onto the path of progress and prosperity.”

With residents of Dadiesoaba and residents of communities in Asutifi South living in fear, as a result of atrocities and acts of intimidation being meted out to them by the MP for the constituency, Hon. Collins Dauda, Nana Akufo-Addo condemned these acts, explaining that they have no place in a burgeoning democracy.

“You (Collins Dauda) are contesting a woman, and you’re having to employ guns, harmful weapons and the use of macho men in order to win? It is a shame and a disgrace. 

What kind of a man are you then? You are employing all of these shameful tactics, not against a fellow man, but, against a woman. This is a disgrace,” he said.

Nana Akufo-Addo was confident that, regardless of these “shameful” tactics being employed by Hon. Collins Dauda, residents of Dadiesoaba and Asutifi South will vote out the NDC, in both presidential and parliamentary elections. 

“We won’t allow them any further stay in office. Everyone who, by law, is allowed to vote will cast his or her ballot must do so without any fear. The voting will go on peacefully and the results, at the end of the day, the rightful winner will be determined. Macho men will not determine the outcome of results in Asutifi South,” he stressed.

Nana Akufo-Addo, thus, urged the electorate in Asutifi South to vote massively for the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Cecilia Amoah, and also for him in the presidential election.