Former president, John Dramani Mahama says the critical social interventions and economic reforms Ghana is currently reaping benefits from were introduced under the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and National Democratic Congress administrations.
He made the remark when he addressed a conference organised by the NDC Professionals Forum in Accra on Thursday, April 29, 2021.
“In the period from the PNDC to the NDC period, you’ll find that most of the critical social policies and economic reforms that were undertaken in this country were undertaken by this administration. If you look at the economic recovery programme that restructured our economy and the structural adjustment programme that went with it and brought Ghana back onto the path of growth, from a command economy into a growth economy, it was also initiated under the PNDC. If you look at the new investment policies for opening up private and foreign investments in this country, it was also done by this administration.”
“If you look at the District Assembly Concept, it was the mass party concept that brought it into being, and it proved to be one of the best decentralization instruments that we have in Africa. Many people have come to learn from us about our District Assembly Concept. If you look at the national electrification programme and the rural electrification programme, it was all the policy thinking and intellectual thoughts of a mass party like the NDC,” he said.
‘List your social intervention programmes’
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) had, in the past, challenged the NDC, which describes itself as a social-democratic party, to list the social intervention programmes it introduced during its tenure in office.
Officials of the NPP including Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia had insisted that most transformative social intervention programmes in Ghana including the free Senior High School policy and the One district, One factory programme, among others were introduced by the NPP government, a centre-right and liberal-conservative political party.
While speaking at the conference, Mr. Mahama used the opportunity to debunk such claims by the NPP.
‘We have the men’
He also insisted that the NDC has intellectuals contrary to notions that the NDC does not appeal to such persons.
“The perception has always been that mass parties do not have intellectuals and academic firepower. I mean just a fraction of the members of the pro forum in this auditorium and the self-introductions that you made clearly shows that pound for pound, we have on the side of the NDC, sufficient intellectual and academic power to take on any party in this world, and we have proved it over the years.”
