Bawumia Spells Out Bold Solutions

Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, Ghana’s Vice President and 2024 flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Sunday unveiled an abridged manifesto of the Party which he said were highlights of a set of bold solutions for Ghana’s future.

“From all my interactions with the people, the three top major concerns of Ghanaians are the Cost of Living, Unemployment and Roads. The 2024 Manifesto of the New Patriotic Party prioritises what you the Ghanaian people say are your priorities. This manifesto lays out a clear path of how we plan to solve these major problems, among others. That is why my government will make business and jobs our number one priority” Dr. Bawumia stated and numerated a set of solutions he intends to offer if given the nod to become President.

Even before highlighting his key policy objectives for the economy and other sectors, the Vice President said there is the need for Ghanaians to collectively have a mindset of possibilities and not impossibilities.

Dr. Bawumia mentioned a critical failure of mindset that manifests itself in the absence of core values, patriotism and principles within our society. “We need to invigorate the can-do spirit of the Ghanaian to believe that we can even do better than we ever imagined if we put our minds to it”, he added.

Jobs

On the issue of job creation, the Vice President said the private sector has the capacity to provide jobs and create wealth for society. He said , his administration will therefore incentivise and empower the private sector to do more in complementing government in the provision and management of many infrastructures and other public services.

This, he said, can reduce government expenditure, increase efficiency and accountability, create competition and improve maintenance.

“My policies will encourage the private sector to take greater responsibility in the provision and management of critical infrastructures, including building hostels, housing and schools for government to rent or lease to own. The demand for roads construction is massive and this has historically placed a huge burden on the budget. I will make it attractive for the private sector to also finance the construction, management and maintenance of roads through PPP concessions. Also, I want to change our procurement culture drastically to tackle waste and corruption”, Dr. Bawumia noted.

Still on job creation, Dr. Bawumia said he is determined to not let Ghana miss out on the Fourth Industrial Revolution as our continent did on the Industrial Revolution some centuries back.

He explained: “I want to see Ghana build the digital talent we require for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This will mean providing digital and software skills to hundreds of thousands of youth. This along with other policies, will create jobs for the youth, including school dropouts. In collaboration with the private sector, we will train at least one million (1,000,000) youth in IT skills, including software developers to provide job opportunities worldwide”

Ministers

In a subtle but strategic response to the widely held perception and complaints that the size of government is overly large, Dr. Bawumia, in pointing out key highlights of the NPP 2024 Manifesto hinted that he would reduce the size of Government.

“An efficient system of governance will require even fewer ministers. Therefore, I would have no more than 50 ministers”, he noted.

Buy Ghana First

Dr. Bawumia said his Government intends to implement a ‘Buy Ghana First’ policy under which all goods and services procured by the public sector will first be filled by goods and services produced locally.

He said this policy Buy Ghana First policy would create jobs by the use Government’s purchasing power to stimulate industrial expansion and business growth.

Housing

The Vice President was elaborate on his plans for accommodation challenges in the country:

Housing for All policy, I will also have a major focus on the provision of Public Housing in the same manner that Singapore did. We will partner with the private sector to build large housing estates without the government having to borrow or spend. Also, the National Rental Assistance Scheme (which is working so well) will be enhanced to deal with the problem of demands for rent advance of two years and more.

We will ensure a variety of accommodation types to meet different pockets and needs as follows:

“Social Housing: including homeless shelters (overnight stay for the vulnerable) and an expanded Rental Assistance Scheme for low-income workers

“Affordable Housing: including District Housing projects through incentives to the private real estate industry, as well as expanding the services of the revived State Housing Company (SHC) and TDC, and National Homeownership Fund (NHF), and

“Improving Housing Finance: through an expansion of the mortgage lending market, as well as rent-to-own schemes

“We will use a variety of ways to deliver access to the various types of accommodation. For example, for Social Housing, we will provide public lands within our main cities to private developers, and, in order to benefit, make it mandatory for them to “set aside” between 20% to 30% for low-income social housing units with subsidised rents”

“I have never been President of Ghana before. I am presenting myself to you for the first time to ask for your precious vote to serve you as your President and to continue the development agenda of the NPP. When you make me president, I will implement my own vision that I have outlined.  In all humility, I will ask you to give me the opportunity to become one of the most impactful presidents in Ghana’s history”, Dr. Bawumia noted.