Ghana's state of affairs is terrible - Adjoa Safo

Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adjoa Safo, has described the present state of the economy as “terrible” to the extent that the ordinary Ghanaian cannot afford to buy basic food produces like tomatoes and onions.

She said nothing seems to be working under the moribund administration of President John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as initiatives in the areas of National Health Insurance Scheme, School Feeding, Capitation Grant, among many others, put up by Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are all collapsing.

According to the legislator, there is no hope in sight for a turnaround of the economy under President Mahama's watch looking at the rate at which corruption is being perpetrated and state funds misappropriated, citing testimonies of the ongoing Commission of Enquiry into the Brazil fiasco to buttress her point.

The Procurement expert asserted that the only hope for Ghanaians for improved living conditions was to return the NPP to power by voting massively for Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, come 2016.

But to achieve this mile, she urged delegates who would be voting in the party's presidential primary scheduled for October 18, 2014, to come out in droves and vote for Nana Addo.

Ms. Safo made this observation recently when she addressed hundreds of NPP faithful in Virginia, USA, at a colourful ceremony to launch 'Friends of Nana Akufo-Addo'.

Commenting further, she said President Mahama and the NDC have failed since none of their policies has helped to improve on the living conditions of Ghanaians.

“They have failed in delivering on their promise of a better Ghana. They have failed on delivering good health care for Ghanaians. The one time Premium of the NHIS is a sham. The NDC promised the people of Ghana a clean Ghana but what we rather see is a Ghana that is filled with filth and dirt; a Ghana which is dying of cholera on daily basis,” she noted.

According to Ms. Safo, the once vibrant Ghanaian economy managed by the NPP under Mr. Kufour has totally collapsed, living everybody in the state of despair where strike actions have become the order of the day as a result of non-payment of salaries.

Notwithstanding this, Students' Loan has not been released, District and MP's Common Fund in arrears, contractors hoping against hope for the release of funds for work done as well as non-payment of fees for students on scholarships abroad.

“The economy has been badly managed that government keeps increasing its deficits since 2012”, she argued.

She said what has even become pathetic was the government taking delight in borrowing and failing to address corruption which is crippling the nation.

Ms. Safo told her audience that bad procurement practices and contract management has also become the hallmark of the NDC where dubious contracts are awarded to party faithful, friends and families through sole sourcing.

“Instead of buying and awarding contracts based on open tendering and execution of contracts, the Ministries have taken delight in sole sourcing where contracts are awarded to party faithful, friends, and families or to companies in which they have a business relationship.

“These procurement malpractices have led to contracts being awarded to unqualified contractors who usually do a shoddy job. They are always behind schedule, causing undue delays in the completion of the contract, hence, attracting additional cost”, the procurement expert bemoaned.