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Press Release
NPP
Friday, March 4, 2016
Part One
Part Two
SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT ON ASEIDU
NKETIAH’S HOLLOW REPRESENTATIONS ON 2ND MARCH, 2016
SOCIAL INTERVENTIONS
Mr. Asiedu Nketia and President Mahama, banking on their
hope that Ghanaians have a short memory quickly highlight a
growth in leap beneficiaries as a mark that they have
succeeded in delivering a better Ghana.
LEAP was developed as a flagship programme of the National
Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) developed by the Kufuor
government in 2008, to address the needs of people who are
at the bottom end of the extremely poor in the population.
This is the program that the NDC led by their Vice
Presidential candidate Mahama opposed and lampooned in 2008
as meaning President Kufuor had failed and was giving
handouts to people to placate them. He condemned the
pro-poor scheme as evidence of a failed NPP government.
In the June 7, 2008 copy of the Daily Graphic, President
John Mahama was reported as saying: “LEAP was a show of a
lack of ideas by the NPP government in alleviating poverty.
He stressed that we would use subsidies to alleviate poverty
and we will not use handout.”
“The best way to bring people out of poverty is to empower
and improve their ability to earn an income. It is when you
fail that you dole out direct cash to people”.
“The introduction of LEAP therefore signals a failure on the
part of the NPP”
Today he claims an increase in leap beneficiaries as a medal
of success and his agents go around the country telling new
beneficiaries that this is direct money from President
Mahama and that it will be cancelled if they don’t vote for
NDC in the upcoming election. It appears the NDC has no
shame or principle.
The implementation of LEAP started in 2008. The National
Social Protection Strategy developed at the time had a
section that dealt fully with the roll out plan of LEAP of
five years.
It is important to note that the implementation plan of LEAP
programme plan was to reach a total of 164, 370 household by
2012,and representing 20% of people in extreme poor
category.
After seven years of implementation, NDC has still not
reached this important target. They have only now reached
144,000 households in 2016 and are proud of it.
HEALTH
The General Secretary of the NDC, symptomatic of their
propaganda, lies and not detailed to facts and figures made
reference to GHANA DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY 2014 but
with wrong figures.
The NDC led by Asiedu Nketia said and I quote“According to
the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, there has been a
drastic decrease in the rate of infant mortality and
under-five mortality which were alarmingly-pervasive under
the NPP. Under-five mortality has dropped from 111 to 60 per
1,000 live births. Infant mortality also dropped by almost
30% from 64 to 41 per 1,000 live births during the same
period.
What is strange is that, they quote from a document and get
it wrong. Page 19 of the GDHS report says “….. The infant
mortality rate decline from 64 per 1000 for five-year period
preceding the 2003 GDHS to 41 per 1000 during the same
period prior to the 2014 GDHS. Similarly, the under-five
mortality rate decreased from 111 to 60 per 1000 for the
five year period preceding the 2003 GDHS to 60 per 1000
during the same period to the 2014 GDHS”.
What this means is that, the under-five mortality rate
decreased from 111 to 60 per 1000 live birth and infant
mortality drop by from 64 to 41 though true, the figure is
for 1998.
The 30% drop in the infant mortality rate is for the period
between 2008 to 2014. It is worth mentioning that period
between 2003 to 2008 was 21.8% whilst that of 2008 to 2014
is 18.1%.
The facts are as follows:
MORTALITY RATES
A. CHILD MORTALITY PER 1000 LIVE BIRTHS
1998 2003 2008 2014
54 50 31 19
Note the difference from 2003 to 2008. This was the period
NPP introduced NHIS and free maternal care. Hence most
pregnant women had access to health care and their children
were also covered by the NHIS for free. Child mortality
reduced by 38% in less than 5 years.
The situation is said to be improving when the number per
1000 births reduces.
Asiedu Nketia claimed the situation was bad under the NPP
government and appeared to ascribe such assertion to the
GHANA DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY 2014. The document under
reference (page 19) said Under-five mortality has dropped
from 111 to 60 per 1,000 live births within the five year
period preceding the year 2003. Note that the period under
reference begins in 1998, hence it cannot be said that this
was under the NPP regime.
B. INFANT MORTALITY
1998 2003 2008 2014
57 64 50 41
Same reasons above explains the situation. Child mortality
reduced by 21.8% during the NPP regime.
C. ANTENATAL (ANC) SERVICE
Ante Natal Service is very important to monitor pregnancy;
it is for the health of the pregnant woman as well as that
of the baby. This reduces the possibility of infection and
other conditions that may threaten both mother and child
life. Access to ANC during NPP Regime increased more than
ever. The table below shows the percentage of pregnant women
accessing ante natal services in the country.
1998 2003 2008 Thus from 88% to 95%, one cannot say that
this a poor performance. Major fact to this success under
the NPP Regime was the NHIS and the free maternal care
programme.
88% 92% 95%
In 2014 the percentage of women accessing ANC is 97% but
with the poor performance of the NHIA, it might have dropped
but no study is conducted yet to find out.
D. PERCENTAGE OF BIRTHS OCCURING IN HEALTH FACILITIES
1998 2003 2008 2014
43 46 57 73
Here again the increase under the NPP regime was very
significant. The subsequent increase in 2014 could still be
attributed to access to free maternal health care under the
NHIS introduced by the NPP
As said by Asiedu Nketiah, ‘Children and their mothers are
now surviving birth more than ever before as a result of
better antenatal, delivery services and postnatal care’
(paragraph 4 of his speech).
LIFE EXPECTANCY IN GHANA
The Life expectancy of a population can never change in 3
years. It therefore can never be true that the Mahama
administration has changed the Life expectancy of Ghanaians.
One of the most effective factors that have been referred to
mostly to have influenced Life Expectancy in Ghana is the
introduction of NHIS.
This has improved access to health care. Almost all studies
conducted (including NHIS reports) found out that Out
Patient utilization has increased whilst IN-PATIENT
utilization has dropped. The reason given is that since most
people have NHIS they attend hospitals quickly and avoid
getting into a bad situation that may require hospital
admissions. For the same reason they get well from disease
that would otherwise kill them if they had delayed further.
Thanks to NHIS.
NHIS COLLAPSING /FAILLING
Asiedu Nketiah and NDC members do not want to accept the
fact that the NHIS has failed.
NDC is quick to refer to number of enrolment. It should be
noted that NHIS was not set up just to enroll members into
the scheme. It is not the National Population Council nor
statistical service.
In assessing the performance of any project we consider the
objective for which such project or intervention was
introduced.
The objective of the NHIS is to remove financial barrier and
create financial access to health care to all people living
in Ghana (MOH 2002).
To achieve this the NHIS will ensure that members of the
Scheme do not pay money at the point of receiving health
care and that the NHIS will reimburse healthcare providers.
For the past 5 years the NHIS has been struggling to meet
this objective. As of now, the NHIS owes providers as far
back as MAY /JUNE 2015.
Members of the Scheme are being required to pay cash at the
point of receiving healthcare (cash and carry). How can we
say the NHIS is meeting its objective?
Hence let’s accept that the NHIS has failed and almost
collapsed.
HOSPITALS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
Asiedu Nketia said the NDC government is putting up a number
of new district and regional hospitals.
Most of these are just those enumerated in their party
manifesto but has not been effected whilst the rest are
existing hospitals.
For example, Upper East Regional Hospital; the site is yet
to be cleared. No new construction is going on as of now.
Tamale Teaching hospital is not new, it has been existence
for many years.
Ridge hospital as we all know is an old facility and has
always been designated as the Greater Accra Regional
Hospital. Perhaps because the NDC Government is adding new
structures they call it ‘building new regional hospital’ but
it is not true.
He claims the total number of hospital beds in Ghana is
11,689 and his government is adding 6000 beds to the figure.
This according to Asiedu Nketia will bring up to a total of
28,632 beds! Once again this is not true. Assuming the
number of beds they claim they will add is true, when you
add 6000 to 11,689 the result is not 28, 632. It will be 17,
689.
WATER
Asiedu Nketia is characteristically using unverifiable
percentages to becloud the exaggerated figures and
half-truths he churns out.
Let me begin by listing projects completed during our term
of office:
1. Cape Coast Water Project
2. Koforidua Water Project
3. Tamale Water Project
4. Ada/Sege Water Project
5. Winneba Water Project
6. Kwanyaku Water Project
7. Barekese Water Project
8. Weija Plant Expansion
9. Accra East-West Interconnection
10. Baafikrom/Mankessim Water Project
11. Konongo/Kumawu/Kwahu Water Project
12. Accra Rural Water Project
In addition a number of Small Town Water projects and
boreholes were constructed under the CWSA
Turning to their purported 77.5 MGD, note that the biggest
project is Kpong with a designed capacity of 40MGD but which
is producing only 20MGD because there are no transmission
and distribution lines to carry them. That immediately takes
off 20 MGD off his figure.
The following are still under construction
1. 3.3MGD Wa Water Project
2. 1.63MGD Nsawam project is currently idle and waiting for
the rains
3. 6.58MGD Oda/Akwatia Project is still under construction.
4. The further expansion of the Winneba Supply and the
SekyereHeman Project are still under construction.
5. Works on the expansion on the Essakyir Water Project is
yet to commence
6. Supposed works on the 52 Small Town Water Projects
started under the NPP are still supposedly under
construction after having been abandoned for years.
As to whether our interventions listed above constitute only
2% increase in coverage can only come from Nketia's own
mathematics
The Kyebi Water plant is no more tenable due to excessive
turbidity. The Ghana water Company is treating the water
with an unacceptable level
of chemicals unsuitable for human consumption, all for
propaganda. This my lastclaim require independent scientific
verification since officials
won’t speak to the issue.
CORRUPTION
As this government drowns in its own sea of corrupt scandals
that have cost the Tax Payer Hundreds of Millions of Dollars
while Family and Friends of President Mahama enjoy, it now
seeks to invite Nana Akufo-Addo, a man proven to be
incorruptible over the years to join in the list of the
corruptly tainted by citing him for improper conduct in the
drill ship saga.
President Mahama then releases his Hatchet men like Asiedu
Nketia and his communicators to repeat this claim hoping it
will stick.
But if indeed you are not just doing political propaganda,
why don’t you arrest Nana Addo and prosecute him? After all
you control the Police and the Office of the Attorney
General. So don’t waste our ears with propaganda when you
know you can’t back your claim with facts. It is just
hogwash.
To the Contrary, the court Proven and self-admitted NDC
apparatchiks who have looted or allowed a looting and
sharing of Ghana’s monies like Woyome, SMARTYS, Roland
Agambire, Betty MouldIddrisu and the likes are the ones that
President Mahama and his henchmen should go after if they
want to prove to Ghanaians that they too are incorruptible
and committed to the fight against corruption.
ELECTION 2016
The 2016 General elections are due November which is just
months away but several critical issues bordering on the
conduct of this crucial election remain unresolved. This
state of uncertainty the New Patriotic Party, like many
Ghanaians, finds unacceptable and demands immediate
attention from the Electoral Commission to forestall any
problems as we inch towards the November polls.
Time is of the essence.
VOTER REGISTER
A credible voter register is at the center of credible
elections in November. All parties, --the EC, and political
parties -- agree that the register is very bloated, in
addition to other flaws.
The NPP (and other parties) have petitioned for a new
register as the best way of securing a credible register.
The NDC, and other parties, have advocated for some auditing
process, as adequate to clean up the register.
The EC has indicated its decision in favor of cleaning the
register through the current challenge and auditing process
already provided in C1 72. The auditing process announced by
the EC is a combination of public exhibition to allow public
participation in the process, and contracting some
consultant to execute some other auditing procedures.
However, a five member panel of experts set up by the EC to
collate and advise it on an appropriate auditing process has
stated in its report that the measures announced by the EC
to clean up the register would not work. The panel stated
that relying on the challenge procedure provided by the
exhibition of the register is “not a viable option ". The
panel reported at page 17 paragraph 7 that "judging by the
sheer numbers, the Electoral Commission's proposition to
display the register, with political parties, the Electoral
Commission and the citizenry to identify and point out
invalid names, is not a viable approach. Particularly, when
the persons who identify these records are expected to
expend their time, energy and resources not only to provide
the evidence but also to testify before a court of competent
jurisdiction."
lt continues on page 18: "The system is not effective in
achieving the set goals of eliminating invalid records from
the register and must be reconsidered. It is said you cannot
do the same things and expect different results."
Regarding the EC's contracting some expert consultant to
help audit the register, we do not know which company has
been contracted, their terms of reference,methodology etc.
So this crucial matter of securing a credible voters '
register, necessary for credible elections, remains
unsettled.
MANUAL REGISTRATION
The EC recently announced that all parties had agreed that
manual verification will be acceptable to authenticate
voters before voting.
However at the recent IPAC meeting last Friday 19th
February, it became clear that there was no such agreement
on that position as announced by the EC.
So this crucial issue of voter identification and
authentication also remains unsettled.
STEERING COMMITTEE
The EC on Monday 8th February, 2016 announced the setting up
of a "steering committee” in the management of the 2016
elections. This decision and announcement had been done on
the blind side of stakeholders including the political
parties. It turned out that some of the selected members of
this steering committee were bona-fide NDC party activists.
At the IPAC meeting on Friday 19th February, the political
party representatives complained about the EC's setting up
the steering committee on their blind side and sought to
know the purpose, functions and terms of reference of the
steering committee. The EC expressed regret over their
action and indicated they would go "back to the drawing
board" on the matter of setting up the steering committee.
This was communicated by all the political parties’
representatives to the anxious public.
Before the nation could heave a sigh of relief, the EC
counter announced last Saturday 20th February that the
understanding of the political parties at the IPAC meeting
and subsequent information put out by them was wrong and
that the "steering committee” was still in place.
So who is speaking the truth on this matter, the political
parties or the EC?
The Electoral Commission must realize that all Ghanaians
want credible and fair elections this year. This is best
achieved by involving stakeholders, particularly the
political parties, in deliberations leading to major
decisions. So that decision taking and implementation will
be harmonious.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Ladies and Gentleman it is obvious that this NDC government
has failed woefully even in its promises or on building on
the Kufuor Legacy.
For the 200 Billion Cedis in loans and taxes and the 8 year
patience of Ghanaians, President Mahama and Asiedu Nketia
cannot get away with pictures of uncompleted buildings and
promises to put money in our pocket if Ghanaians give them 4
more years.
The NPP and its Flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo, with the support
of a competent Economic Management team led by Alhaji Dr.
Mahamudu Bawumia will reverse the catastrophe that Ghana has
been put into in the last 8 years and put our nation back on
the track of leading African nations.
No amount of lies by President Mahama, no amount of
repetition of the lies by Asiedu Nketia and the Chorus of
state sponsored party communicators will erase the pain that
the ordinary Ghanaian faces today.
CHANGE IS COMING.
VOTE FOR CHANGE
THANK YOU.
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