Most manifesto promises are ‘traps for votes’-PIRAN-Gh

The Public Interest Research and Advocacy Network (PIRAN-Ghana) has condemned the general lack of a credible timeline for the implementation of most of the manifesto promises of the two main political parties in Ghana.

It said most of the promises are better described as a ‘trap for votes’ and will never be implemented at all after the 2020 elections.

The President, PIRAN-GH, Felix Djan Foh, in a statement issued in Kumasi, noted that most of the promises being touted by both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) could not be implemented within the first four years after 2020, as these two political parties are touting to innocent voters.

The non-governmental organisation (NGO) has, therefore, urged the political parties to be honest in the provision of credible timelines for the execution of their promises to citizens.

PIRAN also condemned the two main parties that have ruled Ghana since 1992 for not introducing a policy that would check the soaring national debt in their ‘sugar coated manifestoes.’

He mentioned that the NPP, in particular, had doubled Ghana’s national debt from about GH¢120 billion to about GH¢250 billion today since taking over from the last NDC government.

PIRAN reminded the citizenry, and voters in particular, that the soaring national debts only imply that governments, since 1992, have not properly invested loans contracted on their behalf and must have ended up in the personal accounts of public officers, and urged Ghanaians to be mindful of what the government they vote into power does with public finances.

According to PIRAN, the soaring national debt increasingly makes it extremely difficult for future governments to properly deliver on social services and infrastructure.

It also reminded politicians that promises must be honoured, and not create the impression that manifestoes are mere intentions, and, therefore, are not obliged to fulfill them.

As a result, PIRAN has appealed to the drafters of political manifestos to ensure that they  capture the sources of funding for projects and policy propose, timelines for the implementation of such programmes or policies to enable discerning Ghanaians make informed decisions as to which manifestoes are feasible and  those with doubtful possibilities.

The post Most manifesto promises are ‘traps for votes’-PIRAN-Gh appeared first on The Chronicle Online.

Read Full Story