The Director of Communications of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoah says the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is resorting to making false claims about the feasibility of the government's Agenda 111 initiative because the project threatens NDC's political fortunes.
According to him, the NDC is frightened by the positive impacts that the Agenda 111 will have on Ghanaians.
The Akufo-Addo-led NPP government recently launched it's Agenda 111 initiative, which is aimed constructing 111 district hospitals, seven new regional hospitals, two additional mental health hospitals to be located in the middle and southern belts, and the redevelopment of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
Press conference
Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Accra on Friday afternoon, August 20, 2021, Mr Asamoa said some members in the NDC, including former President John Dramani Mahama, have all resorted to making comments that suggested that the government will not be able to achieve the objectives of the Agenda 111 initiative.
For him, the NDC made similar claims when the NPP party, then in opposition, promised that it would deliver a free Senior High School education in the country when voted for.
He said the NDC is always pessimistic about good policies that the government introduces to better the lives of Ghanaians because of its parochial political interest.
The NPP’s Director of Communications also pointed out that he and many NPP members are not surprised about the posture of the NDC on the Agenda 111 initiative, explaining that the NDC also stood against the government’s drone initiative, but their negative intentions about the project did not work.
Delivery
For Mr Asamoa, the NPP government under the Akufo-Addo has done a lot to gain the trust of the people, saying "NPP is that party that is delivering and will continue to deliver."
He said the Agenda 111 project will be executed as scheduled and that the government will not pay any attention to the diversional tactics of the opposition NDC.
He was of the view that members in the NDC were talking negatively about the project because of power they aspire to capture in the 2024 general elections.
He noted further that the Agenda 111 project will dwarf all the boastings of the NDC about they being the best party to deliver infrastructural projects, saying "We are ready for them."
2024 elections
For Mr Asamoa, speaking ill about good policies that the NPP government is delivering will not help the NDC to win the hearts of Ghanaians in the 2024 elections as Ghanaians have become more discerning.
He said Agenda 111 initiative will help every Ghana—present and unborn generations, adding that the project aside improving the country’s healthcare system will also create numerous job opportunities for Ghanaians.
He has, therefore, cautioned Ghanaians to treat all the claims that the NDC is making about the Agenda 111 initiative with the needed contempt.
"Whatever the NDC is saying is all about 2024 and not because they have genuine concerns,” Mr Asamoa said, adding "If you give this country back to someone who we know cannot perform, then everything we have done will go bad."