The Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has challenged Ghanaians to discern on the promises of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in their recent manifesto and compare to their executions during their former years of governance.

 The Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi constituency speaking as a key actor of the incumbent New Patriotic Party pondered on a few successes and failures of both political parties during their reign.

The two giant political parties in Ghana have launched their mission statements and explained what they have in stock to offer Ghanaians when voted for in December 7, 2020.

The recent is the NDC’s which according to NPP stakeholders, appears like an upgrade to what the incumbent government has executed; promises explained by the government’s mouthpiece head as a delivered-dialogue for the sake of political power.

“I think the question of manifestos and promises must be looked at very simply from two perspectives. First of all the credibility of the promises made and secondly, the how," he said during a press briefing in Kumasi on Tuesday, September 9, 2020.

“The credibility – the two persons who are the front-runners in this elections have both had the opportunity to occupy the office of president. So in looking at the credulity of the promises they have, one ought to first have a look at their track record when they were in office and their position on some of the matters they are speaking till today, and it will help anybody who wants to go analysis to understand how to take the promises as credible?

“If you have a leader who when before he became president, as a formal vice president, promised as part of his party’s manifesto that they will bring a one-time premium for health insurance and for eight years they never did it and today he turns s on to say they will make primary health carefree, does it sound like a credible promise?

“If you have a leader who from 2008 through to 2012 opposed the state providing free education for people at the SHS level consistently, and today you have this same person saying he now believes in it and will make tertiary education 50 percent free, you have the opportunity to ask yourself whether or not it sounds like a credible promise?

“If you have somebody who in 2012 promised that he will pay assembly members an allowance and for four years didn’t pay, didn’t even provide them logistics like motorbikes and it took another administration to provide them motorbikes and today he repeats same promise, does it sound to anybody like a credible promise?

“If you have somebody who during his period run down the Ghanaian economy, went to the IMF for a bailout and could not employ yeo people when they were graduating from school, you recall the graduate unemployment, the cancellation of allowances because of economic crises and the argument that even if you’ll vote against us do it, and today he comes and says he will create 1million jobs, does it sound to anybody like a credible record.

“The first thing to starts from is the record of accomplishment. If you have somebody who from 2008 says I will do free SHS and he has done it and says he will give a student loan option for tertiary, literally on credit if they can’t afford when they get a job, they will pay for it. Does that sound like a credible promise? I dare say yes because he has done the first part. He is more credible.

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“So the first thing in discussing manifestos is the credibility angle of your track record. The second thing is that, all the promises that have been listed cost money to deliver mostly. So you can reduce all the promises to the economy and ask yourself who is best placed in managing the economy so that money can be found to deliver on the promises.

“Yesterday they (the NDC) said Mr. Mahama inherited an ailing economy. An ailing economy from the late former President Mills? That cannot be true.

We are all witnesses to the fact that, when the Ghanaian economy was given to (late) president mills, he did not take it to IMF. Mahama told us that they had chewed the meat down to the bone and therefore they went for an IMF bailout, which came out with a whole lot of conditionalities.

“Having seen how he has managed an economy if today he comes back and says that the first part of his manifesto is to restore the economy and kill poverty. Does it sound like a credible promise and does his track records reveal that? We believe Ghanaians are discerning people and will have the opportunity to look at his track record – what he delivered and what he’s promising and do the comparison.

“If you have somebody who made the law to make Okada illegal in 2012. It is a law that in full honesty is not been applied in full force under this (NPP) administration because Okada is still operating, and now he turns round that he is the number one lover of Okada business and is going to legalize the business. Im sure that my cousins and colleagues who are okada riders will ask themselves whether or not he is credible."