Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah has reflected on the reasons behind the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) loss in the 2024 general elections.
Speaking during an interview on Point Blank on Channel One TV, he emphasized the party’s shortcomings in communicating its challenges and policies effectively to the Ghanaian people.
“We had issues with governance. Akufo-Addo is one of the best presidents we’ve ever had since independence.
“Of course, there are actions and inactions of people, especially appointees, that did not go down well with the people of Ghana,” Assafuah said.
He acknowledged that while the former president’s leadership was commendable, lapses in policy implementation and certain decisions left many citizens dissatisfied.
Assafuah also noted that even some actions by President Nana Akufo-Addo himself were met with resistance, stemming from misunderstandings among the populace.
However, he stressed that the NPP’s primary failure was its inability to properly engage Ghanaians in understanding the broader challenges the nation faced.
“I am one of the people who believe that the NPP and its government failed to be able to communicate the challenges of the Ghanaian people,” he admitted.
Turning to the newly installed Mahama administration, Assafuah questioned the feasibility of some of its pre-election promises, such as scrapping the E-Levy and Betting Tax within the first 120 days of taking office.
“John Mahama said that within the first 120 days, he is going to cancel the E-Levy, Betting Tax, etc. This was before he took over the reins of government.
He is now trying to rationalise the minds of the Ghanaian people, but it may not be easy to implement such promises,” he said.
The Old Tafo MP implied that despite the NPP’s unpopularity over certain taxes, they were introduced as a necessity to address the nation’s economic challenges.
“It means these taxes are necessary. However, the NPP failed to carry the people of Ghana along to understand the challenges we faced as a nation,” Assafuah added.
