From Marlvin-James Dadzie, Takoradi
Patriotic Intellectuals (PI), a Pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) academic pressure group based at the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) in the Western Region, has descended on Former President John Mahama, describing him as “incompetent” and “indecisive”.
Addressing a press conference in Takoradi yesterday on the theme “Ghanaians must know series: Strides made in the educational sector under President Akufo- Addo: Separating facts from hard facts”, the group said the record of former president Mahama is so poor and must not in any way be compared to that of president Akufo Addo.
Touching on three areas in the educational sector- Free Senior High School (SHS), Double Track System and infrastructure- the group said the Akufo Addo government has scored higher marks in all these areas.
Mr. Michael Appiah, Chairman of PI who addressed the press conference, said the visionary leadership skills of president Akufo Addo has brought about free education at the secondary level, a situation which he said has increased enrollment by about 31 percent.
That, he said, was not the case during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime led by Mr. Mahama as parents struggled to pay the school fees of their wards.
According to the group, the innovation to put in place a double-track system to absorb the increased enrollment is also laudable and demonstrates clear leadership competence.
“Double-track system is only, but a testament of Akufo-Addo’s ingenuity in tackling the problem of space. This is competent leadership!”, he maintained.
He said President Akufo-Addo has made it clear that government is embarking on a massive infrastructure development in the education sector so as to end the double track system before 2024.
Former President Mahama on the other hand, he said, has been very inconsistent on when he intends to end the double-track system as on separate occasions, he has mentioned six months, one year and two years.
That, he said, was a clear demonstration of incompetence and indecisiveness.
“Politics to Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP government, means service, fruitfulness and sincerity in explaining policies, interventions and development initiatives to the people, while to the opposition NDC, politics means seeking power for the sake of power”, he said.
On infrastructure, he catalogue several achievements of the Akufo-Addo government, stating that the government has achieved so much in just four years as compared to that in the eight years regime of the NDC.
He said at the basic school level, 240 projects out of 719 have been completed while the remaining were ongoing.
At the SHS level, Mr Appiah said 318 out of 843 projects under the Ghana Education Trust fund (GETFund) Emergency Projects have been completed while the rest were ongoing.
The Secondary Education Improvement Projects (SEIP), he said, has also produced 107 projects out of a total of 135.
That aside, several other projects including the construction of model schools, Community SHSs, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Education (STEAM) Centers, enhancement and upgrading of vocational and technical training centers and the rehabilitation of polytechnics and technical institutes amongst others, he said have been done.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to vote massively for President Akufo-Addo to enable him continue with his good works.
