Prez Mahama Presented Untruths, Half-Truths And Embellished Truths

"The President presented palpable untruths, half-truths and embellished truths...It was a tragedy of a presentation" Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made the remark above while giving his take on President John Mahama's State of the Nation Address on Thursday, February 25, 2016. Addressing the media after the President’s three-hour address, the Minority leader said the President refused to paint the true state of the nation. According to him, “there are three measures of assessing any State of the Nation Address. First of all the president is obligated under Article 67 of our constitution to present to the people of this country through the House of Parliament the State of the Nation Address. Article 34(2) provides us with some window about what to expect in a State of a Nation Address. So, that is the first measure that one uses to assess the presentation...the second one is the health of the economy. The third one: the right to work and the right to employment. How many people are employed in this country? Of course, we do know that employment is predicated on agriculture and industry. What is the state of agriculture in this country? What is the state of industry, especially the manufacturing industry, in this country?" Economy On the economy, the minority leader said "by every yardstick our country is not doing well". This is contrary to President Mahama's assertion that the economy is back on a sound footing. “What is the state of the economy? He pushed it to the background because one thought that advancing the course of this country will be predicated on the economy: solid economy by every yard stick, GDP growth rate, interest rates, inflation, the strength of the currency" Hon Osei Kyei Mensa Bonsu added. Roads Speaking to roads and other developmental projects, the minority leader said the President decided to "dwell on development occasioned in his view by infrastructural development...he focused on road consturction on which he spent more minutes than the total kilometres he had been able to add...under President Mahama, he spent $1.9 billion to do only 740km of roads. That is a shame"

Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com

Ursula Owusu On Prez Mahama’s Greatest Achievement...

Ablekuma West MP Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has summed up President Mahama’s first term in office as characterised by ‘an institutionalization of mediocrity’. Moments before the President delivered his State of the Nation Address, the critical voice from the opposition party said key highlights of the President’s first term are based on the initiative of the former NPP administration. She told Joy FM Thursday, public transport company, Metro Mass Transit, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), NHIS, Capitation Grant were social intervention policies attributed formulated by President John Kufuor’s ‘far-sighted visionary government’. The MP explained the NHIS has collapsed. Hours later, President John Mahama during his State of the Nation Address contradicted this view by stating that usage of the health insurance scheme in 2015 was at about 11.2million – an “undeniable” statement of confidence in the NHIS. Ursula Owusu explained that the revelations of fraud uncovered at NHIS is evidence of a mismanaged scheme. . “If you talk about mediocrity, then they have done very, very well in that respect but if you talk about delivering development then there are huge question marks”. Although she acknowledged infrastructural development under John Mahama, she stressed that building roads, schools and hospitals are basic items on every government’s to-do lists. Popping champagne over the building of roads is a celebration of mediocrity, she suggested. According to Ursula Owusu, government has failed to address the utmost concerns of Ghanaian youth – employment. The Ablekuma West MP pointed out that there is a “sense of despair” among jobless youth which threatens the stability of the nation. “People have literally thrown up their hands in despair….You don’t know where the explosion is going to occur”, she said.

Source: myjoyonline