The race of who leads the National Democratic Congress NDC to the 2020 battleground is hot and obviously Alban SK Bagbin and John Dramani Mahama are the two front runners.
Which of the two would be more appealing to the delegate and the Ghanaian electorate should they win the flagbearership election?
John Mahama, Ghana’s immediate past president has been tagged as incompetent and blamed by his opponent Bagbin as having driven the NDC into defeat despite the enormous resources available to him as a sitting president to help retain the high seat of presidency.
The dead goat, Incompetent and corrupt are all some of the adjectives used to describe the erstwhile president by some sections of the public as his administration oversaw a massive siphoning of state funds in numerous corrupt deals that plunged the country into deeper economic stagnation necessitating a bailout by the International monetary fund IMF. That and more was the reason why NDC lost by an unprecedented margin.
You may hate the goose because it got away but you can’t help but praise its swiftness. Mahama’s administration also oversaw an era of public infrastructure notable amongst them are the Circle overpass (Dubai) , the facelift of Ridge hospital, University of Ghana Medical Centre and the E schools. Many have alleged infrastructure was a means of Stealing public funds through overpricing of projects.
Verdict: He may not have been directly involved in the corruption scandals that plagued his tenure but his inability to and perhaps his unwillingness to crack the whip when some of his appointees went out of line brings into question his ability to be in charge, lead and supervise a government that will deliver the transformation Ghana so badly needs.
Alban S.K Bagbin: Member of Parliament for Nadowli-Kaleo constituency. Tagged the Mugabe of parliament for being the longest serving Parliamentarian since the beginning of Ghana’s new era of democracy.
Some constituencies are known to be stubbornly partisan and Nadowli-kaleo is no exception. Though the area is underdeveloped, lack basic access roads to villages and towns, they have always voted for Hon. Alban. One is therefore tempted to think their vote is more party than competence and result based.
His votes though has been steadily dwindling with each election and in the last election, the NPP candidate Hon. Elvis Botah gave him a run for his money. Even though he won, the presidential candidate, John Mahama received more votes than him in his own constituency.
Clearly Mr. Alban knows his time as a ‘god’ in parliament is nearing its end therefore the need to contest the flagbearership or perhaps he felt he has accrued more experience to step in to presidency.
His contribution to Parliamentary processes and the enactment of laws though deserve praise. His rich experience is one to admire.
Verdict: He who is faithful in small shall be given more. A look at the state of his constituency and one would say he would be of no help being a president to the people of Ghana.
Joe Nayere
