Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has charged members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to discard assertions the party has no message to drive its campaign for the 2024 elections.
According to him, though the NPP since assuming office in 2017, has achieved significant successes in its policies and projects, there is a lot more to do in the future.
Dr Bawumia was speaking at an International Women’s Conference of the NPP in the United Kingdom.
He outlined over 100 challenges and problems Ghanaians faced, which have been resolved following the rollout of some policies and programmes, including the digitisation agenda he spearheaded.
“Let nobody tell you that we don’t have a message for 2024! I must hasten to add that this does not mean we have done everything we intended to do or ought to have done. There is clearly a lot more to do and we will work hard to do more.
As Vice President, I have had the honour and privilege, thanks to the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to be given the opportunity to initiate and or oversee the implementation of many of these problem-solving policy initiatives I have mentioned,” he said.
Dr Bawumia outlined several initiatives undertaken under his hand as Vice President including the GhanaCard, Mobile Money Interoperability, Zipline, E-Pharmacy, Digital address system, Agenda 111, Zongo Development Fund amongst others.
These initiatives he added have positively impacted the Ghanaian economy positively and enabled improved and convenient access to products and services.
“It is important to note that many of the transformational policy initiatives that we have introduced since 2017 are being done for the first time since independence and most have benefited women! What is interesting is that because many of them have not been done before, many people shackled by a mindset of impossibility have argued that they are not possible, but we made them possible,” he added.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia further noted that Agric GDP grew by average of 6% between 2017- 2022 as compared to a paltry 2.9% between 2013-2016.
The implementation of the Planting for Food and Jobs Programme, associated with subsidies for seeds and fertilizer significantly increased yields.
“Maize production increased from 1.8 MT/HA in 2016 to 4.0 MT/HA. Similar for rice (from 2.7MT to 4.5MT) soybean, sorghum and vegetables. Notwithstanding the global economic crisis from COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, agricultural growth under our government is stronger than it was under Mahama”.
He intimated that the New Patriotic Party government inherited a myriad of problems which have been resolved through thoughtful and innovative ideas.