Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President and flagbearer of the NPP, emphasized the transformative effects of Free SHS in the North and across Ghana during a campaign event in Jirapa.
He stated that the success of this initiative would not have been achievable if former President Mahama had remained in power, despite the clear positive outcomes it has brought to many households in the North since its inception in 2017.
Dr. Bawumia also criticized Mahama for opposing Free SHS, highlighting the benefits it has brought to the region and the country as a whole.
I asked John Mahama to name just one social interventions, baako pɛ, he couldn’t name…Former President Mahama said if he had the money, he wouldn’t use it for free SHS education. He said it was not a priority but we have brought it and the people of the North and Ghanaians are benefitting.
We knew and I knew that where we had the poorest people in the North, we needed Free SHS education and we brought free SHS to the North and Ghana and our children are attending in their numbers. The total enrollment for Senior High School has increased from 800,000 to 1.4 million in 7 years. It tells you that our people were dying for free SHS education.
Today the five Northern Regions have the highest enrollment into Senior High School education but this is what John Mahama said we should not do. He said if he had the money, he would not do it.
Dr. Bawumia also criticized former President Mahama for taking advantage of SADA to benefit the North.
He set up SADA and we all saw what happened. He claimed he invested millions of dollars but we all know what happened. There is no single SADA project to show and I have challenged him to show us one and he has not.
The NPP presidential candidate emphasized that, unlike Mahama who disappointed Ghanaians during his time in office, he (Bawumia) has overseen the implementation of numerous policies and development initiatives that are evident in both the Northern region and across Ghana.