The NPP is assured that the 7th December 2020 Elections was won fair and square. Indeed, the evidence presented by the NDC has only reassured the people of Ghana that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won the elections. The fact of transparency of the General Elections was also resoundingly affirmed by the myriad of local and international observers that participated in the electoral process.

It is quite curious that John Dramani Mahama, the NDC flagbearer and Petitioner, who grounds his Petition on supposed errors made by the Electoral Commission, has himself submitted a Petition fraught with errors, including requesting a run-off between himself and the Electoral Commission. It is also unfortunate that even after filing the Petition in court, the NDC led by John Dramani Mahama continues to incite supporters to pour onto the streets to cause chaos and anarchy.

The NPP wishes to assure its supporters and the People of Ghana that the Legal Team of H.E. the President is ready to expose the emptiness of John Mahama’s Petition and the NDC’s denial of the electoral truth that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo indeed won this election without any iota of doubt.
Our response will show that the NDC has presented no material evidence of value in Court to support its blatantly false claims regarding the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. They lied to their supporters that they had won and started referring to John Dramani Mahama falsely as the President-Elect. Now they have backtracked, settling futilely for a run-off which they themselves know will not happen. They have attempted and continue to use lies, threats, violence, and intimidation to seek forlornly to overrule the manifest will of the people as freely expressed on 7th December, 2020. We are absolutely confident that the facts and figures as presented in court, even by the NDC, will very easily, in a transparent and indisputable manner, reaffirm the expressed will of the voting public that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo won the 2020 Presidential Election “one touch” and convincingly so.

It must, however, be stressed that it is quite worrying that John Dramani Mahama, through his social media handles, continues to incite violence even as he invokes his right to use the court process to settle his grievance. He posted on his Facebook page and Twitter handle as follows;
“While in court, the NDC will continue all legitimate actions, including protests, to demand the enforcement of the rule of law and protection of life and property of the good people of Ghana.”

This is rather unfortunate and unbefitting of a former President of the Republic. It is obvious that the Petitioner himself has very little confidence in the Petition he is presenting and is still resorting to intimidation to overturn the express will of the people of Ghana. In his latest Press Conference, he explained he is going to court only “to remove doubt.” Does he need the Supreme Court to remove his doubts about losing the elections?

The several attempts to use lies, threats, violence and intimidation to overrule the will of the People is disappointingly undemocratic of the NDC and its leader, John Dramani Mahama.
By calling on his supporters to continue going on the streets, John Dramani Mahama has not only flagrantly flouted but also abused the Peace Pact signed on the 4th of December 2020 where he undertook amongst others, in the presence of witnesses and on National Television, “to accept the results of the elections and concede to the winner accordingly and to use judicial resolution of election disputes, where necessary.”

We call on John Dramani Mahama to immediately retract his inciteful statements to his supporters. It is highly irresponsible of John Dramani Mahama to commence the judicial process yet still admonish his supporters to continue with the violent protests that have threatened the security and peace of Ghanaians and caused Ghanaians to live in unnecessary fear and panic over the past few weeks. The good people of Ghana hold John Dramani Mahama accountable to his sacred undertaking to comply with the Peace Pact, just as H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo did in 2012 and 2016.

Indeed, when NPP filed a Petition in 2012, we notably admonished our supporters not to hit the streets and they did not hit the streets. In fact, this was acknowledged by John Dramani Mahama’s Foreign Minister then, Hannah Tetteh, who said to investors in Dubai on May 2, 2013:
“Our elections have been challenged but they are being challenged in court, they are not being challenged in the streets and whatever is the outcome of the court’s decision, we will all go along with it as political parties.”

The NPP is greatly confident that due process will prevail, and the Supreme Court will deal with the Petition in accordance with the rule of law.
May God bless our homeland Ghana and make her great and strong!

…SIGNED…

Yaw Buaben Asamoa

(Communications Director)

The NPP wishes to bring to the attention of all stakeholders and the general public that the party’s national steering committee, at its meeting on Monday, January 13, 2020, considered and approved the following Rules and Regulations for the conduct of the party’s parliamentary primaries in constituencies where the party has sitting Members of Parliament as well as Rules and Regulations for the party’s Presidential Primaries ahead of the 2020 general elections.

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PARLIAMENTARY PRIMARIES:

DELEGATES TO THE CONFERENCE

1) Pursuant to Article 7 (27), (28), (31) and (32) of the Party’s Constitution, each Constituency shall convene an Extraordinary Constituency Delegates’ Conference to be attended by the following delegates:

a. All Members of the Constituency Executive Committee;
b. All Electoral Area Coordinators;
c. All Polling Station Executives at all Polling Stations in the Constituency;
d. Five (5) members of the Constituency Council of Elders;
e. Five (5) Constituency Patrons; and,
f. Any Founding Member from the Constituency, who is a signatory to the registration documents of the Party at the Electoral Commission.

2) The presence of at least one-third (1/3) of the delegates of the Constituency shall be necessary to constitute a quorum of the Conference.

RELEVANT DATES AND FILING DETAILS

3) The NPP shall hold parliamentary primaries on SATURDAY APRIL 25, 2020 in all the 169 constituencies where the party has sitting Members of Parliament with the exception of the Ayawaso West Wougon constituency. This is because, the party, at a joint National Council and National Executive Committee meeting held on October 21, 2019, unanimously resolved that the current MP for the constituency, Hon Lydia Seyram Alhassan, who was recently elected as the party’s Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency by-election be made to stand as the party’s candidate for election 2020. 

On the basis of this, the council passed a resolution that whoever is elected/selected as the party’s candidate in a by-election less than two years to a general election shall be maintained as the party’s Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency in the ensuing general election except where the candidate decides otherwise.

4) Nominations shall open on Monday, January 20, 2020, and close on Thursday, February 20, 2020

5) An Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate (APC) shall procure Nomination Forms after the payment of the non-refundable application fee of GHC2,000 in Bankers Draft in favor of the NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, ACCRA.

6) To successfully file his/her nomination, an APC shall pay a nonrefundable filing fee of Twenty Thousand Ghana cedis (GHC20,000.00) in Bankers Draft in favor of the NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, ACCRA.

7) All Aspiring Parliamentary Candidates other than the sitting Members of Parliament shall pay a Party Development Fee of Thirty Thousand Ghana cedis (GHC30,000).

8) However, Women, Youth and Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) will enjoy a rebate of 50% on the filing fees and Development Levy. By this, they will be required to pay a nonrefundable fee of Twenty-seven Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC 27,000)

9) All payments shall be made by Banker’s Draft to the account of the New Patriotic Party Headquarters

10) No APC shall be denied access to purchase Nomination Forms

11) In the event that a prospective aspiring candidate is denied access to purchase Nomination Forms at the Constituency Level, he/she may do so either at the Regional Secretariat or at National Secretariat through an appeal.

CONSTITUENCY PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS COMMITTEE (CPEC)

12) A Constituency Parliamentary Elections Committee (CPEC) shall be established comprising:
a. Chairperson of the Constituency Council of Elders as Chair;
b. Constituency Chairperson;
c. Constituency Secretary who shall be Secretary to the Committee;
d. An Elderly Woman in the Constituency; and,
e. Constituency Research and Elections officer.

13) Members of the Constituency Parliamentary Elections Committee shall not be eligible to contest in the parliamentary primaries.

14) The Constituency Parliamentary Elections Committee (CPEC) shall sell the Nominations Forms only to Aspiring Parliamentary Candidates 

15) Persons holding the following positions are estopped from contesting to become Parliamentary Candidates: National Chairman, General Secretary, National Treasurer, Regional Chairman, Regional Secretary, Regional Treasurer, Constituency Chairman, Constituency Secretary, Constituency Treasurer, and MMDCEs.

16) Subject to Rule 15 above, persons holding positions as national, regional or constituency executives who wish to contest in the primaries shall recuse themselves from their current positions throughout the selection/election process until the parliamentary primaries are over. Accordingly, such persons shall not attend the vetting session as observers. However, they retain their delegate status.

17) Should an APC suffer any obstruction in the final filing process at the Constituency Level, he/she may file at the Regional Secretariat or National Secretariat at the office of the General Secretary.

18) The CPEC shall, at the close of nomination, submit all Nomination Forms to the Constituency Secretariat for endorsement by the CEC members and thereafter, the Constituency Secretariat shall submit the certified Forms to the Regional Secretariat for further endorsement and certification by members of REC.

19) The Constituency Secretary shall publish, at the close of nomination, list of all applicants who have successfully filed their nominations to contest in the primaries.

20) The Regional Secretariat shall be required to submit all Nomination Forms to the National Secretariat for final endorsement and certification by the General Secretary not later than Wednesday, February 26, 2020.

21) A National Parliamentary Vetting Committee (NPVC) shall be constituted for the purpose of vetting Aspiring Parliamentary Candidates (APCs) who intend to compete for selection/election as the party’s parliamentary candidate in a particular constituency.

a. Three (3) representatives appointed by the National Executive Committee (NEC), one of whom shall be the Chairperson;

b. Regional Chairperson,

c. Regional Secretary, who shall be the Secretary to the NPVC,

d. The Regional Research and Elections officer,

e. All Five (5) members of the Constituency Parliamentary Elections Committee (CPEC)
f. The Constituency Executive Committee and Regional Executive Committee members are observers during the vetting session.

NATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY VETTING COMMITTEE (NPVC)

22) It shall be the duty of the NPVC to determine the venue for the Constituency primaries; ensure level playing field for all APCs in the constituency; organize security and program of activities for the polling day.

23) For purposes of these primaries and in particular reference to the vetting exercise, the 15 regions of the country where the primaries would hold, have been grouped into zones as follows:

ZONE 1: Ashanti Region
ZONE 2: Ahafo, Bono, & Bono East Regions
ZONE 3: Eastern, Greater Accra, & Oti Regions
ZONE 4: Central, Western, & Western North Regions
ZONE 5: Northern, North East, Savanna, Upper East, & Upper West Regions

24) The National Executives Committee, through the National Steering Committee, has appointed the following persons as NEC representatives for the various zones:

ZONE 1: ASHANTI (44 CONSTITUENCIES)
 John Boadu Chairperson
 Abdul Aziz Futah Member
 Gary Nimako Member

ZONE 2: AHAFO, BONO, & BONO EAST (20 CONSTITUENCIES)
 Rita Talata Asobayire  Chairperson
 Nii Laryea Squire Member
 Henry Nana Boakye Member

ZONE 3: EASTERN, GREATER ACCRA, & OTI (48 CONSTITUENCIES)
 Nana Obiri Boahen   Chairman
 R.O Solomon Member
 Kate Gyamfua Member

ZONE 4: CENTRAL, WESTERN, & WESTERN NORTH (35 CONSTITUENCIES)
 F.F Anto  Chairman
 Ofori Asiamah Member
 Frank Davies Member

ZONE 5: NORTHERN, NORTH-EAST, SAVANNA, UPPER EAST, & UPPER WEST (21 CONSTITUENCIES)
 Omari Wadie  Chairman
 Sammi Awuku Member
 Joseph Kwayaja Member

25) Vetting of aspiring parliamentary candidates shall be held from February 28, 2020, to March 8, 2020, and the list of all Recommended Candidates shall be published at the Regional and Constituency secretariats of the party not later than Wednesday, March 11, 2020.

26) The Vetting Report shall be submitted to NEC through the General Secretary not later than March 14, 2020.

NATIONAL PARLIAMENTARY APPEALS COMMITTEE (NPAC)
27) The National Executive Committee (NEC) has duly constituted a nine (9) member National Parliamentary Appeals Committee (NPAC) which shall receive petitions from all disqualified aspiring candidates from March 13 – 14, 2020.

28) The National Parliamentary Appeals Committee comprises the following members:

i. Hon. Peter Mac Manu  – Chairperson.
ii. Evans Nimako  – Secretary.
iii. Madam Elizabeth Ohene  – Member.
iv. Hon. S.K. Boafo  – Member
v. Hon. Dr. Kwame Addo Kufour  – Member
vi. Hon. Cecelia Abena Dapaah  – Member.
vii. Lawyer Emmanuel Darko  – Member.
viii. Lawyer Gary Nimako  – Member
ix. Obaa Yaa Amponsah Frimpong – Member

29) The National Parliamentary Appeals Committee shall have the capacity to resolve petitions that may be submitted by disqualified aspirant(s).

30) The decision of the National Parliamentary Appeals Committee on the petition so submitted to it shall be communicated to the National Executive Committee through the General Secretary. The decision of the National Executive Committee on the matter shall be final.

31) Notice of polls shall be published not later than Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

32) For the avoidance of doubt, no APC shall proceed to Court in respect of any matter regarding this election unless and until he/she has fully exhausted the internal redress procedures and mechanisms for resolving disputes in accordance with Article 4(8)(4) of the party’s constitution.

33) An Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate (APC) shall be made to sign a contractual undertaking with the party, committing himself/herself to support whoever is eventually elected/selected as the party’s parliamentary candidate after the election/selection process in the event that he/she is not elected/selected. He/she shall also undertake not to contest as an Independent Parliamentary Candidate or as a Parliamentary Candidate on the ticket of any other political party, and that, the NPP reserves the right to restrain him/her should he/she decide otherwise.

34) The photo Album/Register which was used to elect the Constituency Executives in February 2018, shall be the same album that will be made available to the NPVC and the Electoral Commission of Ghana for the conduct of the parliamentary primaries.

35) Any delegate, who appoints a proxy, shall apply to the National Secretariat 3 weeks before the conduct of the parliamentary primaries. However, persons appointed as proxies must be delegates to the conference.

SCHEDULES

a) Monday, January 20, 2020 – Opening of Nominations (sale of Nomination Forms)
b) Thursday, February 20, 2020 – Close of nomination and submission of the Nomination Forms to the Constituency Secretariat
c) Friday, February 21, 2020 –  Constituency Secretariat completes endorsement
d) Monday, February 24, 2020 –  Regional Secretariat completes endorsement
e) Wednesday, February 26, 2020 –  Submission of Forms to the National Secretariat through the General Secretary.

f) Friday, Feb. 28 – Sunday, March 8, 2020 –  Vetting of prospective Parliamentary
Aspirants
g) Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2020 –  Publishing list of recommended Aspirants at the Constituency and Regional Secretariats

h) Thursday, March 12, 2020 –  NPVC submits Report to NEC through GS

i) Saturday, March 13-14, 2020  – Submission and close of Petition(s) to the GS

j) Monday, March 16– Friday, March 21, 2020 – National Parliamentary Appeals Committee’s Sittings

k) Monday, March 23, 202 –  NPAC submits its report to National Secretariat

l) Saturday, April 25, 2020 –  Constituency Annual Delegates Conference

RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES

Pursuant to Article 13(2)(6) of the NPP Constitution, as amended, the following are the Rules and Regulations that shall govern the conduct of the 2020 Presidential primaries of the party:

1) The Party’s Presidential Candidate shall be elected by the following delegates:
i. All Members of the National Council;
ii. All voting members of the National Executive Committee;
iii. All voting members of the Regional Executive Committees;
iv. All voting members of the Constituency Executive Committees;
v. Electoral Area Coordinators;
vi. The five (5) Polling Station Executives in each Polling Station;
vii. Fifteen (15) Members of the National Council of Elders to be elected from amongst themselves;
viii. Fifteen (15) Patrons to be elected from amongst themselves;
ix. All NPP Members of Parliament;
x. Past National Officers;
xi. Three (3) representatives of each of the special organs of the Party;
xii. Twelve (12) delegates from every external branch;
xiii. Founding Members who are signatories to the registration documents of the Party at the Electoral Commission;
xiv. One TESCON representative from each recognized tertiary institution;
xv. All-Party card bearing Ministers and Deputy Ministers; and,
xvi.  All MMDCEs.

2) The NPP shall hold Presidential Primaries on SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020 to elect the party’s Presidential Candidate for the 2020 General Elections

3) Nominations shall open on Monday, January 20, 2020, and close on Thursday, February 20, 2020.

4) An Aspiring Presidential Candidate (APC) shall procure Nomination Forms after the payment of a non-refundable application fee of Twenty Thousand Ghana cedis only (GHC20,000) in Bankers Draft in favor of the NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, ACCRA.

5) To successfully file his/her nomination filing nomination, an APC shall pay a nonrefundable filing fee of Two Hundred Thousand Ghana cedis (GHC200,000) in Bankers Draft in favor of the NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS, ACCRA.

6) All payments shall be made by Banker’s Draft to the account of the New Patriotic Party Headquarters.

7) The Presidential Nominations Forms shall be procured at the General Secretary’s office.

8) A Presidential Vetting Committee (PVC) shall be established to examine and vet the candidature of every aspirant for the presidential nomination of the party to ensure that such person qualifies to contest for the office of the President of the Republic;

9) The Presidential Vetting Committee shall consist of;

a. Mr. Peter Mac Manu – Chairperson.
b. Lawyer Frank Davies –  Member.
c. Mr Sekyere Abankwa – Member
d. Madam Rita Asobayire.
e. Hon. Yaw Baah
f. Madam Elizabeth Ohene
g. Hon Hackman Owusu Agyemang
h. Hon. Cecelia Abena Dapaah
i. Hon. Oboshie Sai Coffie

10)   The Vetting Committee shall disallow the candidature of any aspirant when it finds that such aspirant does not qualify to be a Presidential Candidate. It shall submit such findings in writing to the National Executive Committee, with a copy to the aspirant.

11) It shall be the obligation of the Member, seeking nomination as the Party’s Presidential Candidate, to satisfy the Presidential Vetting Committee that the conditions stipulated in Article 13 (7) have been fulfilled, and any application, which does not comply with these conditions shall be rejected.

12) An aspirant, who is dissatisfied with such findings, may appeal against it to the National Executive Committee within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of notice of the findings, by filing an appeal in writing with the General Secretary.

13) Where there are more than five contestants for nomination as the Party’s Presidential Candidate, a Special Electoral College shall cast their votes by secret ballot for the first five contestants to be short-listed.

14) Where there is only one contestant for nomination as the Party’s Presidential Candidate, the National Congress shall acclaim his/her nomination as the Party’s Presidential Candidate

15) Where a contestant obtains more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast, he or she shall be the Party’s Presidential Candidate.

16) Where, however, no candidate obtains more than 50% of the vote cast, there shall be a run-off between the first two contestants and the contestant with a simple majority shall be the Party’s Presidential Candidate.

17) In the event of a tie between the two contestants, the run-off will continue until one contestant obtains a simple majority.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the party wishes to stress that any aspiring presidential or parliamentary candidate who flouts any of the above guidelines and modalities or conducts him/herself in a manner that brings the party’s name into disrepute shall be deemed to have breached Article 4(7) of the NPP constitution and will, accordingly, be sanctioned including being disqualified from contesting in the primaries.

Finally, while wishing all prospective aspiring candidates the best of luck in the parliamentary primaries, the party hopes and anticipates these prospective aspiring candidates, together with their supporters, would adhere strictly to these rules of engagements in their own interest and in the supreme interest of the party.

…Signed…

John Boadu
General Secretary

PRESS CONFERENCE DELIVERED BY HENRY NANA BOAKYE (NANA B)

Introduction

Good morning, friends in the media fraternity and the Ghanaian youth.
The National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party is pleased to have you here upon this short notice. This media engagement forms part of activities being carried out by the National Youth Wing of the NPP on the wheels of the Youth Must Know series, initiated a few weeks ago.
We have invited you here to update you on issues pertaining to the implementation of government’s flagship program, Free SHS and the recent dishonest utterances made by former President Mahama and same being intimated subsequently by the NDC as a party.

The Deception in Mahama’s Comment on Free SHS
—————————————————-
Reference to former President John Dramani Mahama’s dishonest U-turn on the Free SHS Policy, the National Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wishes to bring clarity to the matter, lay the facts bare, and expose the mischief and contempt therein.

It would be recalled that Mr. Mahama speaking at the 27th Annual Residential Delegate Congress organized by the Ghana National Union of Technical University Students in Kumasi stated that “Free SHS is here to stay”, an assertion that contradicts the moldy entrenched hostility exhibited by the NDC against the Free SHS Policy since 2008.
For the avoidance of doubt and in the spirit of making it known to the youth of Ghana, the NPP youth wing, without a shred of equivocation, asserts that the seeming endorsement given to Free SHS policy by former president Mahama is driven by ill-faith, deception and opportunism borne out of former president Mahama and the NDC’s innate tendencies to subtly associate themselves with good things and to benefit from same.

Evidence abounds that former president Mahama and the NDC have opposed and worked negatively to obstruct, destruct and hobble the implementation of the Free SHS policy since 2008.

The Youth Wing of the NPP can boldly state that former President Mahama and the NDC if given another opportunity to lead this nation, will deliberately collapse the free SHS policy and re-direct the funds into dubious contracts that will directly put money into their pockets than benefit the millions of Ghanaians.

1. It is on record that former President Mahama and the NDC in 2012 sponsored over 46 radio and television adverts against the Free SHS policy. Their vicious advances against the policy assumed fearsome crescendo when in the lead up to the 2012 elections, a tape purported to have the voice of the respected Man of God, Pastor Mensah Otabil was doctored and thrown into the airwaves in furtherance to their vile attempt to discredit the policy.
2. Again, there were Notable utterances by high ranking members of the NDC against the Policy as cataloged below:

• Former President Mahama on November 23, 2012, told the people of Okere in the Eastern Region that “Free SHS will collapse the education system of Ghana”.

• Former President Mahama at UCC in 2016 said, ”The Free Senior High School by the NPP is a political gimmick

• Former President Mahama at the NDC’s Tarkwa unity walk strongly rejected the Free SHS policy stating that it is unwise to implement it.

• Former President Mahama on November 25, 2017, stated that “Lalasulala Free SHS will fail”.

•Former President Mahama on his presidential primaries tour said to Akufo-Addo’s ”Free SHS is not working”

• Former President Mahama again on October 1, 2018, reiterated his aversion to Free SHS stating that it will undergo a review and hinted on the possibility of the policy being scrapped because to him it is unthinkable to spend 2 billion Ghana cedis in free SHS and that it is seriously constricting government’s budget.

•The then Minister of Education, Lee Ocran, on 10th September 2012 said ”Free SHS can only be possible in 2032, in 20 years time”.

• Mahama Ayariga, on September 26, 2016, said ”Choose Mahama’s education policy, it is better than Akufo-Addo’s Free SHS.

• Hajia Joyce Zeinabu, then National Women Organizer of the NDC in 2016, November 20, had this to say, ”Free SHS will breed teenage pregnancies”

• 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: “Double Track system is causing teenage pregnancy”.

• NDC MP for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza, on June 19, 2018, said ”Over concentration on Free SHS stifling funds meant for flood prevention”

• Adam Mutawakilu, NDC MP for Damango said ”Blame the mysterious deaths at KUMACA to overcrowding as a result of Free SHS”.

• Felix Kwakye Ofosu on May 14, 2018, had this warning for the government ”You can’t use oil money to fund Free SHS”

• Joshua Akamba to Tempane SHS students ‘‘Reject Akufo-Addo for implementing such a shambolic education system”.

Constitutional Provision
————————————————
It does appear that deliberately, former president Mahama, over time, has been breaking his neck to hoodwink Ghanaians with the notion that Free SHS is a constitutionally mandated policy and not the idea of H.E. Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo for which the NPP must be commended for implementing same.

The fallacy and intellectual poverty inherent in this line of argument does not only make Mr. Mahama look ridiculous but also demonstrates that the NDC as a party has been very wasteful and extremely disappointing in their performance when they were in power and for that matter should never be allowed, for even a day, to run this country.

It’s been 28 years since the promulgation of the 1992 constitution out of which the NDC has had 16 years to govern this country. It is therefore humiliating that the NDC, albeit the more years they have had to rule this country than any other party, has failed woefully to implement the supposedly constitutionally mandated Free SHS policy. Is it not interesting that it has taken President Akufo-Addo, less than one year to do what the NDC couldn’t do in 16 years.

These two narratives point to one conclusion, that the NDC are bad managers of the economy and lack the requisite skills set and competence to accelerate sustainable economic growth and development whilst the NPP exudes the competence to put on a spurt massive life-saving and transformational pro-poor policies for enhanced living standards and shared prosperity.

Double Track System
—————————————————

Again, the NDC has sought to bastardize the Double Track System due to their lack of understanding of how it operates. The government introduced the double-track system following the commencement of the Free Senior High School policy as a temporal measure to contain the overwhelming number of students amidst limited infrastructure.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education indicate that in 2017 and 2018 alone, about 270,000 Ghanaian Children who but for the timely intervention of Free SHS would have been thrown out unto the streets, have been enrolled into the various senior high schools across the country.

What the Government sought to do with the Double Track System was to bring closure to the age-long narrative where pupils who qualify and are willing to access Senior High School are denied because of limited space.
It is important to underscore that the Double Track System has not only allowed for the maximum use of infrastructure but has reduced class size and increased contact hours.

This arrangement, in no doubt, will lead to an increase in the quality of our SHS education, culminating into the churning out of an army of smart and intelligent young SHS graduates to help in the building of a great country.

It is on this premise that the astute and respected Ghanaian educationist, entrepreneur and Founder of Ashesi University, Mr. Patrick Awuah commended the government stating that “the double-track system is a cleaver idea” and that the “idea has the potential of not only helping Ghana really solve the problem of access but become a model for the rest of the continent”.

However, as characteristic of former president Mahama and the NDC, they have been persistent in their dishonest conduct of criticizing the Double Track System without providing alternative ideas. The open ridicule and deliberate distortions of the facts by the NDC relative to the Double Track System only reaffirm the belief of many Ghanaians that the NDC lacks the requisite knowledge and competence to contribute to nation-building.

To prove their worth, former president Mahama and the NDC should, with alacrity, disclose to Ghanaians their alternative comprehensive and detailed plan for Free SHS. The irresponsible name-calling and careless use of semantics like “review” as their action plan only expose the poverty in their understanding of the policy and uncertainty about what they intend to do about the policy.

For the former President Mahama to say in his speech he will assemble all stakeholders to provide him with solutions on the Free SHS policy demonstrate clearly he does not have any meaningful contribution to the free SHS policy, but he is only desperate to associate himself with the success chocked by the policy.

Unprecedented Infrastructure Projects in SHSs
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The Youth wing is happy to report to the youth of Ghana that the well calculated attempt by the government to expand access to senior high schools and eliminate the Double Track system is yielding positive results as new projects have reached final stages of completion.

At least some 804 facilities which started in 2017 under the Senior High School Intervention Projects (SHSIPs) are expected to be ready for use by the start of the 2019/2020 academic year.

The projects consist of the construction of new classroom, administration and dormitory blocks, as well as assembly halls, science laboratories and toilet facilities.
This massive infrastructure expansion in existing SHSs delivered in a short period is unprecedented.

You would recall that the NDC said it will take 20 years to put up such massive infrastructure projects to permit the implementation of the Free SHS policy.

It is therefore refreshing to underscore that, within 3 years President Akufo-Addo has achieved what would have taken Mr. Mahama and the NDC 20 years to realize.

Provision of Learning Materials
—————————————————-

For the first time in 10years, learning materials like core textbooks, supplementary readers, uniforms, house-cloths, house-dress, technical drawing equipment, PE kits, notebooks and exercise books were supplied for free.

Jobs on the Wheels of Free SHS
————————————————-

In 2018, a total of 8,000 additional Teachers were employed to take care of the additional number of students resulting from the successful implementation of the Free SHS Policy.
This recruitment is independent of the regular recruitments that have been done by government since 2017 that have resulted in the posting of over 59,000 newly recruited teachers.

The NDC has no shame that by virtue of Free SHS, several thousands of young people who were unemployed for years due to the bad economic management of the incompetent and corrupt Mahama government are now gainfully employed.

Motivating Teachers to Enhance Performance
————————————————-

Until the assumption office by HE Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, pupils in SHS were billed an amount of money as Teacher Motivation fee. This arrangement largely brought undue financial burden to parents and much inconveniences to students who defaulted in payment as they were made to leave class and sometimes examination halls.

Evil Plot against Free SHS and other Education Policies
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We have picked up intelligence about a grand scheme being orchestrated by the NDC to run down the Free SHS Policy and other smart educational policies being implemented by the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service (GES).

We are reliably informed that in the coming days, a group of retired educationists and members of the academia, as well as former leaders of Teacher Unions with allegiance to the NDC, would be part of the sinister game, which is to be coordinated by some known opposition politicians.
The general public is admonished to be on the lookout for such unpatriotic and callous members of the society and as they have done in time past, treat their acts with the utmost contempt. We entreat Ghanaians to remain steadfast in their support to the government on the many policies being implemented.

Conclusion
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A critical analysis of the utterances of former President Mahama and other NDC functionaries relative to the Free SHS policy and double track system gives an obvious conclusion that they have been confused and bereft of ideas since they were in charge of government for 8 years to date.
Mr. Mahama’s sudden U-turn on the Free SHS policy is very deceptive and shrouded in treachery. We are informed by reliable sources close to the NDC that Mr. Mahama had to be compelled to backtrack on his decade hostilities against the policy when the NDC realized that:

1. They have failed in their diverse plots to dishonestly demonize the Free SHS policy for Ghanaians to be demoralized about the same.
2. Free SHS will heavily influence voters in deciding on which party to vote for in the upcoming 2020 general elections judging from the massive numbers of young people who turn out to register.

Ghanaians, especially the Youth can and should never trust former president Mahama to sustain the implementation of the Free SHS policy. If not for anything, we are aware that Mr. Mahama and the NDC:

Canceled Teacher Trainees allowance
Canceled Nursing Trainees allowance.
Froze the Employment of newly trained health professionals for over 4 years.

It is instructive to note that the Nana Addo led NPP Government do not need the incompetent former president Mahama to remind us that Free SHS is working and has come to stay.

The massive endorsement from religious and traditional leaders and the testimonies about the Free SHS policy from parents and well-meaning Ghanaians, provide enough grounds for Ghanaians to vote for the NPP to prevent the NDC from destroying these transformative and progressive policies in future.

The youth of Ghana is grateful to the President, HE Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh and his team for their visionary leadership that in September 2019, will see over 1.2 million Ghanaians access second cycle education, free of charge.
Thank you