Mahama Begins Vote-Buying Campaign - Rush For Yours!

President John Dramani Mahama yesterday officially began his 2016 vote-buying campaign in the Western region, with many ‘freebies’ accompanying him, and being doled out to the electorate, all in a desperate move to win back the support of the people who feel disillusioned by his poor management of the affairs of the country.

Under the guise of organizing a national fisheries durbar, fishermen from several coastal areas of the country were brought together and given various ‘freebies’, including outboard motors, tricycles, fishing nets, silver pans among others. Government officials claim the fishermen are paying GHC6, 000 for the outboard motors which cost GHC13, 000 each.

Information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that the less than four months ahead of the December polls is going to witness another reckless spending by President Mahama, as was seen in the last three months of the 2012 elections.

The spending will be seen in the form of distribution of freebies such as fertilizers and other farming inputs, textiles, roofing sheets, tricycles, cash, mobile phones, soaps, gas stoves, cylinders, lanterns, motorbikes, bicycles, sewing machines, rice and many more.

Ghanaians have not forgotten the fact that the last three months to the 2012 election witnessed an unusually shocking disbursement of huge sums of state funds under very bizarre circumstances. The funds which were siphoned through some organizations, using phantom programmes, eventually ended up in the coffers of the NDC to execute the vote buying scheme.

A chunk of the money was disbursed in November from the Ministry of Finance for unbudgeted expenditure, including payments to rlg for distribution of laptops embossed with President Mahama’s campaign pictures. The other organisations that were used for this unprecedented vote-buying spree included LESDEP, SADA, NADMO, Zoomlion and GYEEDA.

Also, truck load of motorbikes, bicycles, outboard motors, sewing machines, rice, cloth, and phones followed NDC campaign vehicles as the governing party invaded communities in target areas buying votes.

Many people fear the GHS1.8 billion additional amount recently approved by Parliament for the Mahama government will eventually end up being channeled through vote-buying schemes.

Already, the government is eagerly putting in place many vote-buying schemes under the auspices of the Youth Enterprise Agency.

Akin to what was seen in the last quarter of 2012, under GYEEDA, the YEA is now in the process of awarding contracts to organizations for the execution of the schemes, which many fear will see diversion of state funds to prosecute the campaign for the re-election of President Mahama.

The modules include Youth in Community Improvement Programme, Youth in Sanitation and Coastal Sanitation Module, Youth in Agriculture and Afforestation Module, Youth in Trade and Vacation Module, Youth in Information Communication Technology, and Youth in Community Service and Security Module.

The rest are Community and Health Assistant Module, Apparel and Textiles Module, Community Teaching Module, Industrial Attachment Module, Youth in Entrepreneurial Module and Out-of-School Adolescents Training Module.

This is taking place at a time President Mahama and his NDC government stand accused of using GYEEDA as a conduit to siphon state funds to prosecute their 2012 electioneering campaign.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report, GYEEDA in 2012 spent close to GHC200 million, even though it had budgeted to spend only GHC20 million. Most of the expenditures were done without proper documentation covering them.

The payments that accounted for the chunk of the reckless spending went to companies, including Zeera Group, Asontagba Cottage Industries, Better Ghana Management Services and Craft Pro.

Member of Parliament for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng fears all the amount of GHC100 million set aside for disbursement by the YEA will end up being used for the campaign activities of President Mahama.

“I see the GHC100 million set aside for youth employment generation through the Youth Employment Agency as an attempt to siphon money for their campaign as they did with the GYEEDA overspending. I am worried and I wonder why President Mahama and his functionaries can’t be mindful of the damage they doing to the economy,” he told the Daily Statesman in a recent interview.

The MP cautioned Ghanaians to be vigilant in the upcoming election and resist any form of vote buying by President Mahama and the NDC government, cautioning that their woes would be made worse if they should get another term to mismanage the affairs of the country.