Former President John Dramani Mahama has accused the Akufo-Addo administration of enabling corruption to flourish in Ghana.
As a result, he has urged Ghanaians not to accept corruption as the norm, as it has hampered progress on many fronts and denied chances to young people.
On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, Mr Mahama made the statements during a Facebook Live presentation.
He said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) leadership enabled corruption to pervade every element of society, which is why some Ghanaians today praise and justify it.
“President Akufo-Addo and his administration have failed to address the pressing challenges they have exerted on the people of our country. Misapplying our precious scarce resources and overspending instead of building the critical infrastructure this country needs for job creation and development. Their promises during their campaigns have not been fulfilled leaving the ordinary Ghanaian burdened with the consequences of their incompetence, cluelessness and shameless arrogance.”
“Today, some Ghanaians glorify and make excuses for corruption because the NPP government has allowed it to permeate every aspect of our society. This must not be accepted as the norm. It hinders progress on many fronts, denying our youth many opportunities that could come their way if state resources were meaningfully applied. We cannot allow this dire state of affairs to continue,” he stressed.
Mr Mahama called on Ghanaians to join the fight against corruption, and to demand accountability from their leaders.
“We must all join the fight against corruption, and demand accountability from our leaders. We must not allow corruption to continue to hold our country back,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mahama also called on Ghanaians who are 18 years and above but do not have voter ID cards to take part in the upcoming limited registration exercise to be organized by the Electoral Commission (EC).
He again added his voice to calls for the exercise to be held at the electoral areas instead of limiting it to the district offices of the Electoral Commission.
“The EC must reconsider its decision to restrict the exercise to its district offices only. Access to voter ID should be easy and not limited by location,” Mahama added.
Mahama’s comments come at a time when former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources is being investigated for allegedly possessing millions of money the Office of the Special Prosecutor believes is tainted.