NPP flagbearer for the 2024 elections, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has acknowledged a series of missteps by the governing party that, in his view, contributed to discontent among party faithful and the wider Ghanaian public ahead of the 2024 general elections.
Speaking at theTakoradi Technical University auditorium over the weekend during the launch of his nationwide Thank You Tour, Dr. Bawumia provided a candid assessment of the NPP’s governance record, admitting that the leadership often failed to heed the concerns of its grassroots supporters.
According to the former Vice President programmes and policies including the National Cathedral Project, the e-levy, and the DDEP were key contributory factors to the party’s signicant loss in the last general elections.
“The Party members told us to conduct a reshuffle, but after eight years we didn’t listen. The party members told us they didn’t want E-levy and that would create problems, but we implemented it. Again, the Party members told us that the DDEP debt restricting would be problematic if we went ahead and implemented it because most of them are pensioners.”
“The President announced that there would be no haircuts and Ghanaians were happy about that announcement but when the DDEP started, there were haircuts,” he said.
Dr. Bawumia also highlighted the government’s financial struggles, which left several groups unpaid.
“Things were bad, and we were not able to pay NABCO, those employed under youth and afforestation, caterers and others were also not being paid,” he stated.
According to him, the internal challenges weakened the NPP’s unity heading into the 2024 elections and created vulnerabilities that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) exploited, even though, in his assessment, the NDC lacked a compelling campaign message.
“So, going into the 2024 general election, the NPP as a party was not fully united. The opposition at the time, the NDC, even though didn’t have a campaign message, was playing back our language against each other back to us. That is why it is important that as we go about with our campaign, you don’t bring down your opponent so that you can win,” he advised.
Recalling another critical misstep, Dr. Bawumia expressed his disbelief over a decision to increase fuel prices just days before the elections.
“Three days to the Elections, we had gone to increase the cost of fuel. When I heard it, I thought it was a lie. Three days to the Election Day, we increased the price of fuel; Eiiii did we want to win or we wanted to lose? The drivers were angry! Three days to the day of voting!” he exclaimed.
Dr. Bawumia also touched on the controversy surrounding the National Cathedral project, describing it as a source of significant public anger after millions of dollars were spent without the project’s completion.
He further noted that the NDC capitalized on internal criticisms voiced by NPP members, using them in media campaigns to erode public trust in the party.
“The NDC played back these words by our own members against us through a series of adverts in the media. They used the words against us, and if the attack is coming from your own members, you can imagine the effect,” Dr. Bawumia said.
The Thank You Tour launch also featured some presidential hopefuls of the NPP which contested the primaries which saw Dr. Bawumia won.
