Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, a former chief executive of Tema Metropolitan, has stated that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 presidential contender, is a more adept problem solver than former President John Dramani Mahama.
The former MCE stated that the reason for this is that the Vice President offers workable solutions to national issues, while John Dramani Mahama’s are vague, during an interview conducted on the fringes of his mother Comfort Mansa Odai’s funeral at the Naval Base in Tema Manhean on August 31, 2024.
“The clearest indication is in how the solutions proposed by Dr. Bawumia are tailored and focused on specific problems; for example, Dr. Bawumia says he will ensure that all Ghanaians benefit from digitalization by making smartphone ownership possible through a credit system, while for Mr. Mahama, his proposal is a 24-hour economy that has been hard to really explain,” the former MCE said.
He claims that even as a mere vice president, Dr. Bawumia has already shown in government that digitalization—which would be the centerpiece of his administration’s policy rollout—is feasible by providing the resources required for it.
“Students are being supplied with laptops, senior high schools, and universities are getting free WiFi, and all of these are under the digitalization agenda that Dr. Bawumia has been talking about.”
“On the contrary, former President Mahama seems to have only realized the importance of things like free SHS, nurse and teacher trainee allowances, and even proper agricultural practices after leaving office,” he added.
Following a reshuffle in 2021, the former MCE, who has been out of the spotlight since transferring to Yohane Amarh Ashitey, the current MCE, was upbeat and vibrant.
He made it apparent that while not being actively serving in office, he has continued to monitor public policy.
“You read the manifestoes of both Dr. Bawumia and Mr. Mahama, and you cannot fail but to see the clear difference. Dr. Bawumia is talking about further pragmatizing policies in the semblance of the oil for a gold arrangement to reduce fuel prices; Mr. Mahama seems to have resigned the country to the instabilities of the world market,” he said.
The former MCE continued by saying that whereas Dr. Bawumia has assisted President Akufo-Addo in keeping 80% of the promises he made in his platform prior to the 2016 elections, Mr. Mahama has only kept 28% of his pledges.
“As Dr. Bawumia pointed out, as Vice President, his influence is limited, but still, it is clear to anyone who has eyes to see that his impact in the area of digitalization, which was given to him as part of his limited role in government, has been transformational. Definitely, Dr Bawumia is a better problem solver than former President Mahama,” he said.
Those in attendance at the well-attended funeral include Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, Greater Accra Regional Minister, the MP for Tema East, Isaac Ashai Odamtten, and the Tema MCE, Yohane Amarh Ashitey.
