The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama says Ghana risk of becoming a country trapped in poverty, overburdened with debt and unable to create prosperity, if the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is retained in government.

Launching his campaign yesterday at Safwi Wiawaso in the Western North region, Mr Mahama urged electorates Ghana will be doomed if the NPP is allowed four more years.

According to him, the country will trapped within the fake reality, where the NPP propaganda machine paints a rosy picture that everything is perfect, while in reality it is rampant corruption, collapsing businesses, and never before seen levels of unemployment, and underdevelopment.

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This, he reminded voters “We have the moral duty to help stop this fake reality. We have the moral duty to restore truth, because it is only the truth that can generate real prosperity for every Ghanaian.”

In this accord, the December 7 elections is a battle to transform Ghana therefore, the challenge starts now.

“The change starts now! It is our sacred duty to win this battle, to deliver true change – not for ourselves, but for all Ghanaians, who deserve to live a better and dignified life,” he said.

To him, “this country and the good people of Ghana can simply not afford to waste four more years! Four more years of lies and fake reality will widen the gap between Ghana and the developed nations almost beyond repair.”

The flagbear after having served the country for one term, said in 2018, he took the decision to run again for presidency out of a sense of urgency, which gradually took over his heart after he began to contemplate more and more thoroughly about the country’s vulnerability under the NPP.

Per his analysis, this intuition has been proved right with the ruling government having failed to create an economy that generates prosperity as well as a very little investment has been provided in innovation and creativity – the main drivers of prosperity.

“And, we are still witnessing cases of institutional failure,” he lamented.

“To create sustainable and ever-growing prosperity – something we all deserve – it requires building a robust social and economic infrastructure, one that supports creativity, innovation and the production of high value-added products and services,” he professed.

Mr Mahama added that parties have proved their worthy of governing power, but the NDC has better records to show, in that in 2012, it was able grow Ghana’s Gloss Domestic Product (GDP) by US$41 billion and US$55 billion in 2016.

He said the facts available provide that during his first term as President, the Ghanaian economic grow up to almost US$14 billion, meanwhile, GDP in 2020 is projected to be somewhere around $59 billion.

“This means that the current NPP government-managed an economic growth of only $4 billion in four years,” he stressed. “This is the difference between us and them: we delivered $14 billion growth in four years, while they delivered only $4 billion growth in four years.”

Candidate Mahama urged people not says that the reason NPP is delivering only  $4 billion growth is because the country has been hit by a global crisis generated by COVID-19.

Although he acknowledged that could be true, said during my first term as President, the NDC Government also face a-two-year fall in commodity prices on the international market, which affected also affect the country.

According to him, “For almost a year, thanks to a court case, the country was on a wait and see mode. We also faced the Ebola epidemic. So, you see, the conditions are similar, and this is why my comparison between my first term as President and Nana Addo’s term as President is relevant.

“We both had to face dramatic situations. The difference is that we, the NDC, faced them by delivering a $14 billion growth, while they, the NPP, are facing them by tearing our country apart and delivering only 4 billion dollars growth.”

By Akutu Dede Adimer