Source: Onuaonline.com
An independent presidential candidate in the 2024 presidential race, George Twum-Barimah-Adu, has said that the two major political parties that have taken turns to govern Ghana under the 4th Republic have produced political party-inclined presidents instead of national leaders.
He argues that the governments formed under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) always put the interest of their respective political parties above the common national interest which has slowed down the country’s development.
“The constitution says there shall be a President who shall be: Head of State, Head of Government and Commander-In- Chief of the Armed Forces of Ghana. These two parties since 1992 have replaced the Head of State with Head of Party” he pointed out.
Uncle George as affectionately called explained that the current illegal mining menace also known as ‘galamsey’ facing Ghana has not been successfully dealt with because of partisan politics.
“So, you see this galamsey that everybody is talking about, one party will say because they will lose votes they don’t want to say anything about it. That is the problem with the political party system.
“If we want an effective positive change, it can only be done from a non partisan approach which puts the national interest above anything else. That is why I want to be President as an independent candidate” George Twum-Barimah-Adu told Blakk Rasta on the 3FM Urban Blend show.
According to the independent presidential candidate, he will not govern as the ‘Head of Party’ but as the head of state. So he will “not look at whether you are from party A or B, but whether you are qualified for the job and can you do the job.”
“For the first time in history, Ghana will truly have a Head of State who will not say because you didn’t vote for me, I won’t give you water, or because I will lose votes, I won’t tackle an issue. Because it matters to Ghana and Ghanaians it shall be done. This is the main thing Ghanaians will get from my government,” he promised.
Uncle George has given the assurance that “the whole sector of the economy is going to be re-imagined, repurposed and redefined from Agriculture, to Energy to Health and to everywhere to ensure that it is in the interest of Ghana, it is benefiting Ghanaians, and going to improve the well-being and livelihood of the Ghanaian.”
He stated that his ‘Agric for Wealth’ policy is to bring wealth to every sector of the agriculture space, whether crop farming, fish farming, poultry, or animal husbandry by grouping farmers into cooperatives and reestablishing the Cooperative banks to offer loans as low as 5% interest to take off the finance cost for farmers. Also, every Cooperative would be assigned an extension officer to train the farmers on the best practices, and an additional commercial officer for agribusiness. It would be linked to school farming and to industry.
Unlike successive governments under the 4th Republic who largely pursued Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Mr. Twum-Barimah-Adu says he will pursue the policy of Domestic Direct Investment (DDI) where any industry, whether Ghanaian or non-Ghanaian, that uses at least 70 % of raw materials from the country to produce the end product shall receive the same benefits as an FDI company.
Source: www.onuaonline.com
