NDC presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama has criticized President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for deflecting responsibility for Ghana’s present economic difficulties.
He claimed that the President has never taken ownership of the situation.
Mr. Mahama, who is running for president in 2024, spoke to branch and constituency executives of the NDC on Tuesday in the Awutu Senya East and West Constituencies.
When you listen to them, they say it is not their fault. Are they saying it is the fault of Ghanaians? Who went for all those loans? It was them. Yet whenever you tune in to the news, they say it was Covid-19 that caused our problems. They say it was Russian-Ukraine that caused them.”
He expressed surprise that the president did not follow his example but continues to refuse to accept responsibility for the woeful state of the nation.
“When the President went to Parliament to deliver the State of the Nation Address, I thought he would accept responsibility the way I did when we had an energy crisis in this country. I did not cause it; it was caused by a lack of addition to our (power) generation for many years. So, it got to a time, our demand had exceeded our ability to generate power,” he explained.
“I went to Parliament. I did not say I did not cause it. I said you elected me to take responsibility, so I take responsibility for it, and I will fix it. That is what leadership is about. This is a President who cannot take responsibility and if you can’t take responsibility, you can’t fix anything,” he said to wild cheers.
“Nothing can be fixed if the leader cannot take responsibility”, he insisted.
According to him, accepting responsibility is a mark of good leadership, a quality that is lacking in President Akufo-Addo.
Meanwhile, John Mahama has been on a region tour fighting tooth and nail for a comeback as the primaries elections approach.