The National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on Ghanaians to ignore former President John Dramani Mahama, flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 7 polls, as a vote for him will collapse the free Senior High School (SHS) policy the country is enjoying currently.
According to the NPP Youth Wing, former President Mahama does not believe in the free SHS policy, therefore, for anybody to think that when elected into office, come December 2020, he will continue from where the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has reached would be a huge deception.
This was contained in a press statement, dated 9th August, 2020, and signed by Henry Nana Boakye, National Youth Organiser of the NPP, and released in Accra yesterday.
Mr. Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B’s call on Ghanaians follows a statement made by former President Mahama, aka JDM, when he paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of Dagbon, Yaa-Naa Abukari II, on Saturday, 8th August, 2020.
“Free Senior High School education has come to stay. If anybody tells you that I, John Dramani Mahama, will abolish Free SHS when I come into power, tell the person he is a bloody liar,” the former President noted.
It is this statement the NPP youth are reacting to, saying that the NDC flagbearer, his running mate, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman, and other high ranking officials of the party, had, in the last decade, opposed and worked against the implementation of the free SHS policy.
The youth catalogued instances and statements JDM had made to indicate that when given the mandate, he would supervise the collapse of the policy.
“Mr. Mahama and the NDC, in 2012, sponsored over 46 radio and television adverts against the Free SHS policy.
“Mr. Mahama, on November 23, 2012, told the people of Okere in the Eastern Region that “Free SHS will collapse the education system of Ghana.
“Mr. Mahama, on October 1, 2018, reiterated his aversion to Free SHS, stating that it is unthinkable to spend 2 billion Ghana cedis on free SHS and that it is seriously constricting government’s budget, and, therefore, when he becomes President, it will undergo a review.
“Mr. Mahama, on November 25, 2017, stated that “Lalasulala Free SHS will fail.”
“Mr. Mahama, at the NDC’s Tarkwa unity walk, strongly rejected the Free SHS policy, stating that it is unwise to implement it.
“Mahama, on his presidential primaries tour, said to Akufo-Addo; Free SHS is not working.”
Also, the NPP youth placed on record what JDM’s running mate and other officials of the NDC had commented about the free SHS policy.
“On October 16. 2018, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang said free SHS is not working and that Ghanaians are complaining.
“The General Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketiah is on record to have said on October 1, 2018 that Free SHS is shambolic, and that it will have to be scrapped.
“The National Chairman of the NDC, Elder Ofosu Ampofo, also, on 18th December, 2018, said free SHS is bogus because the Double Track system is causing teenage pregnancy.
“The then Minister of Education, Lee Ocran, on 10th September, 2012, said ‘Free SHS can only be possible in 2032, in 20 years’ time.
“NDC MP for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza, on June 19, 2018, said, ”Over concentration on Free SHS stifling funds meant for other sectors of the economy.
“Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on May 14, 2018, had this warning for the government: ”You can’t use oil money to fund Free SHS.
“Mahama Ayariga, on September 26, 2016, said, ”Choose Mahama’s education policy, it is better than Akufo-Addo’s Free SHS,” they indicated.
The youth continued that the seeming endorsement given to the free SHS policy by Mr. Mahama and his party faithful was driven by ill-faith, deception and opportunism, borne out of their “innate tendencies to subtly associate themselves with good things to benefit unduly from same.
“If Mr. Mahama couldn’t pay trainees’ allowances in that he had to insensitively cancel it, where would he get over GH¢2 billion to fund free SHS?
“Ghanaians should consider Mr. Mahama’s statement as comic relief, because he (Mahama) couldn’t find few millions of cedis to reimburse three (3) consecutive terms’ feeding grants to keep second cycle institutions in the northern part of Ghana opened.”
The NPP youth called on Ghanaians to vote massively for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the NPP to continue to provide free SHS to the youth of this country.
By Richard Kofi Attenkah
The post Don’t trust Mahama, he will collapse free SHS -Nana ‘B’ appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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