The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of shielding corrupt officials serving in his government.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, August 30, 2021, the National Communications Officer for the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi said the President had rather cleared and shielded these officials, “instead of prosecuting them and ensuring that the monies they’ve siphoned are refunded to the State”.

“What is instructive in all this is the fact that none of the government officials and NPP functionaries responsible for all these cases of corruption which have occasioned huge financial losses to the state have not been held responsible for any of these corrupt acts.

“This is what has made corruption a free-for-all pageant show in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government and has emboldened many more appointees and officials of government to engage in more acts of corruption and plain stealing with brazen impunity,” Mr. Gyamfi added.

The press conference was in response to an earlier one organized by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Communications Director of the NPP, Yaw Buaben Asamoa had ridiculed the NDC at that press conference, saying the party was threatened by the government’s ambitious ‘Agenda 111’ hospitals initiative.

“For open political purposes founded on the spirit of non-performance and incompetence, the NDC wants an initiative that is set to benefit millions of Ghanaians stopped just because it threatens their assumptions of the 2024 election. The NDC sees Agenda 111 as a game-changer to defeat their archaic model of regime change every eight years. They are afraid we will break the eight. Agenda 111 complements major reforms in the health sector,” Mr. Buaben Asamoa had said.

Mr. Gyamfi in response pointed out that Mr. Asamoa’s comments signified the government’s detachment from the challenges of the citizenry.

“I must say that Mr. Buaben’s comical display is as amusing as it is disturbing. It is amusing because it demonstrates the willingness of this government to trivialize the suffering of people, and it is disturbing because it shows that the NPP and their leaders have completely detached themselves from the very harsh economic conditions of Ghanaians and chosen to dwell in a delusional bubble. Clearly, they are living in their own world of luxury and comfort, far removed from the realities in the country today.”

He thus called on Ghanaians to vote the NPP out of office in 2024 and “afford the next NDC administration the opportunity to hold them accountable for their many corrupt acts.”