Whatsup News is picking up leaks from portions of the yet-to-be-launched manifesto of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and it suggest that the government is planning to appoint eight (8) additional ministers to add to its much-criticised mammoth-sized government.
According to insiders from who this supposed leak is emanating from, the Akufo Addo administration is planning to create eight “Youth Minister” portfolios, including a Youth Minister, Youth District Chief Executive (DCEs) and some additional Deputy Regional Ministers.
Already, the Akufo Addo administration with its over 110 Ministers and over 1,000 presidential staffers has been heavily criticised worldwide as wastefully bigger than most countries with bigger economies and population.
From the leaks, Whatsup News gathered that the ruling party had planned to outdoor its manifesto sometime in October 2020, but has suspected that part of the document has been leaked to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). The party has now officially announced a rescheduling of its manifesto launch to August 22, 2020.
Two days ago, the party’s General Secretary, John Boadu, announced the August 22 date, in what will be the first manifesto launch by any party for the December 2020 elections.
Whilst announcing the date for the launch of the manifesto, Mr. Boadu also urged Ghanaians to be on the lookout for the policies the party has for Ghana for the next four years.
“The NPP vision on our way forward captured in our manifesto, 2020 will hopefully be shared with Ghanaians on August 22, 2020. We will be having a steering committee tomorrow [Tuesday] to validate and accept this date,” Mr. Boadu said.
“We will also have a National Council, which is the second-highest decision-making body in the absence of the Annual Delegates Conference on the same day in order to launch the manifesto. We ask you to look on that day to heart-warming policies detailing how with your support we will transform Ghana for the benefit of all.”
Meanwhile, the biggest opposition party, the NDC appeal to have gone to sleep, as no indication has been made as to when it will launch its manifesto.
Signals from the governing party and the main opposition party indicates that they may both be heading on a collision course on their educational policies, as both plan to roll out free tertiary education.
On July 22, an NDC communications member in the Ashanti Region, Onasis Rosely Kobby stated categorically that free University education is one of the main policy proposals of the NDC as captured in their yet-to-be released official manifesto.
However, during an interview about two weeks after the NDC gave a hint of its free tertiary education plan, President Akufo Addo also announced that his government had plans to offer free university education.
“For now what has been put in place is a system where students at the tertiary level are provided loans while in school to help them cater for their needs but we’re considering free Tertiary education too,” the President stated on Kumasi-based Wuntumi FM.
“I don’t want to give a timeline but I’m sure it’s possible,” he said.
Critics are of the opinion that the president was simply making that statement out of mischief and in an attempt to knock the wind out of the sails of the NDC.