Mr. Kufuor made this comment during the 2nd Liberty lecture held at the International Conference Centre on Thursday under the auspices of the Danquah Institute.
In what seemed to be an apparent reaction to the call by individuals such as President Mahama for the country to be united ahead of the elections, former President Kufuor said the call for unity can “turn out to be non-sustainable and crumble at the least sign of pressure. The component parts of the whole should be equal shareholders and must feel they have a stake in the success of the nation. That is the view of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia people.”
He said Ghanaians are united “in their quest for greater opportunities, peace, liberty and prosperity. The competition between political parties is about the best way to achieve these goals, the most responsible way to use our national resources and which leader and party have the most credible proposition to move Ghana forward together.”
Mr Kufuor intimated that the “debate now should be about the quality of our democracy; how to strengthen institutions of governance, how to increase participatory democracy at the grassroots level, and how to ensure we get value for money on negotiations done on behalf of Ghana, whether it is for loan agreements, public procurements, allocation of oil blocks, building contracts, or the payment of judgment debts.”
He said the UP tradition, over the years, has shown the most potent sense of leadership and that despite all the years that other parties had to govern the country, “it is during the periods of our governments, the Progress Party and New Patriotic Party, that the nation had some of the strongest periods of growth and advancement in our history, the most progressive social welfare programmes in health and education and brought about a golden age for the private sector.”
He stated that during his tenure as president, he had to take some tough economic decisions, including taking Ghana to HIPC, as well as using very sound economic management policies even though he did not have the luxury of the oil find.
The Game of Comparison and ‘Hwe w’asetena mu’
President Kufuor indicated that the NPP has the most formidable programme for moving Ghana forward and that the December polls will be based on the how the National Democratic Congress government has managed affairs.
“This election is the verdict of Ghanaians on the last four years; it is a referendum on the future of this country; it is about the future of all Ghanaians. It is about which of the candidates has the best team and capacity, vision, programmes, competence and commitment to deliver for our nation and all of us individuals,” he averred.
He admonished Ghanaians to consider “the records; what has been achieved in the past; look at the promises; look at the leadership profiles and look at the value of the cedi and the cost of living of our people and vote wisely.”
According to former President Kufuor, “in 2000 the slogan of the NPP was ‘hwe w’asetena mu, na to aba pa.” To wits ‘vote based on your present living condition,’ adding “I believe that it was relevant then and is relevant today in 2012.”
“I appeal to all Ghanaians to revisit the conditions of life today to decide on their vote for this year’s elections,” he implored.
Akufo-Addo and the Mobile Phone Market
Touching on the competencies of the flagbearer of the NPP, former President Kufuor said Nana Akufo-Addo is the “most rounded and experienced in the field” who has at his disposal competent shadow ministers who worked under him (Kufuor) during his tenure.
“I have no doubt the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo Addo, is the most rounded and experienced in the field and also has the tried and tested team of would-be ministers and government officials. Most of them worked with me in government and l vouch for them,” former President Kufuor asserted.
He added that Nana Akufo-Addo was the “man who was the driving force behind the introduction to Ghana of mobile phones in the early 1990s, the instrument that has been responsible for the biggest socio-economic transformation of our country over the last two decades.”
“As a corporate lawyer in the early 90s, he managed to convince a group of foreign investors that Africa, specifically Ghana, was ready to embrace the mobile phone. That is how Millicom, operators of Mobitel ended up in Ghana. This is transformational leadership – the vision to see where things need to go and the ability to get us there.”
He therefore appealed that, ahead of the election, what Ghanaians should be preoccupied with is which of the flagbearers and parties offer the “likeliest efficient and effective government to tackle and overcome the socio-economic problems afflicting the people.”
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