Former President and the flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has vowed to complete all unfinished projects, including those initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, should he be elected in 2024.
He said the NDC was a patriotic and well-meaning political party that believed in the spirit of continuity and was determined not to waste the resources of taxpaying citizens.
“I’m making a promise that when we come, we will continue all abandoned projects.
Even projects that this current NPP government does not finish, we will continue and finish because they are funded by taxpayers’ money, so when you abandon them, you’re wasting the money of Ghanaians,” he said.
The former President said this on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at the NDC Greater Accra Regional Zongo Caucus Stakeholders Forum in Accra.
The forum brought together representatives of various Zongo and Muslim sects and institutions within and outside the party to share their experiences and discuss topics of mutual interest to create social connections and a sense of community.
One notable personality at the forum was the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usmanu Nuhu Sharubutu.
Mr Mahama made the promise after accusing the current administration of neglecting landmark projects that his party started, particularly in Zongo communities, before leaving office in 2016.
“When we were sharing the E-Blocks, several of them were allocated to the Zongo and Muslim communities but many of those schools have been abandoned. We have done a lot in our Zongos but we are not the type who come with a paper and read. Our people can see for themselves the work the NDC did when we were in office,” he stressed.
Mr Mahama expressed his gratitude for the immense support his party had been enjoying from the Zongo communities and Islamic fraternity over the years and pledged to never take it for granted.
In this regard, he said the party would continue to collaborate and engage them periodically in order to capture grievances and concerns and work towards addressing them.
“We appreciate that support and that’s why anytime we come to power, we try to make sure that when we are sharing the National cake and development, the Zongos get their fair share,” the 2024 NDC flag bearer added.
He used the opportunity to urge all citizens who had come of age to participate in the ongoing limited voter registration and equally exhorted the officials in charge to desist from discriminatory practices against persons they perceived not to be Ghanaians mainly based on their names.
“Everybody came from somewhere and that is why Ghana is a strong nation.
We are united in our diversity and cultures so we must know that we are all Ghanaians and have equal rights to be recognised as such,” the former President said.
Goal
The NDC Greater Accra Regional Zongo Caucus Coordinator, Ismaila Ali Horoya, said the caucus organised the forum because it recognised the immense potential within the neighbourhoods and it was a collective responsibility of all members to harness that potential and provide opportunities for the Muslim youth.
The NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman, Emmanuel Nii Ashie Moore, called for greater unity within the party as it prepared for the upcoming elections and called on all to rally behind the regional chapter’s “Agenda 25” and added that “Greater Accra will strive to add 500,000 votes to the total votes.