Ex-Prez Mahama Should Have Engaged BBC, CNN And Aljazeera As Well - Lawyer Tamakloe

A Private Legal Practitioner, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe, who also doubles as a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says he would have engaged the service of international media outlets like the BBC, CNN and the Aljazeera if he was former President Mahama, addressing the diplomatic corps.

If I was President Mahama, I would have called BBC, CNN and Aljazeera to come for this particular engagement,” he stated.

He chastised President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for engaging in hypocrisy and double standards, and recalled how Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo spoke extensively about the 2016 elections when he appeared before Charter House and Heritage Foundation.

At the Heritage Foundation Washington, DC, USA, Tuesday 20th October 2015, then Presidential Candidate for the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said “the stakes are certainly high. The calls for change in my country continue to increase. And let me explain some of the issues informing this clarion call. Ghana’s public debt has shot up 1,000% in less than 7 years since the NDC took office. This year we are spending nearly $2.5 billion to service interest payments on our loans alone. That same figure represented our entire debt in 2009”.

"Over the last 3 years, the social and economic lives of the people have been heavily disrupted by severe, chronic power cuts. The cost of this is estimated to be equivalent to 7% of our GDP, according to calculations made by the reputable Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), based at the University of Ghana.

"Corruption is perceived to be at an all time high. Investor confidence is low. Unemployment is worsening as businesses are folding; cost of borrowing is at 35%; inflation keeps rising, at 17.5% last month; cost of living is high; our cedi has been one of the world’s worst performing currencies over the last couple of years. Depreciation and our inability to pay our bills forced Ghana, oil-producing Ghana, to apply for an IMF bailout last year. This has put a 10% cap in wage increases, way below the rate of inflation, making people poorer, and a cap on public sector hiring as well."

Alluding to this speech on Radio Gold’s 'Alhaji and Alhaji' weekend political talk show, lawyer Tamakloe quizzed the intention of President Akufo-Addo for Ghana when he spoke on those international platforms.

In any case, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; and that is the hypocrisy and double standards of the NPP; you may recall, before the 2016 elections, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo went to the US, he appeared before the Charter House, Heritage Foundation where he spoke extensively about election to be 2016 election. When he was speaking on those International platforms, what was he doing to Ghana?”, he quizzed.