Former president, John Dramani Mahama has stated that if he had caused even a fraction of the problems he perceives the current government to have created, Ghanaians would have criticised him.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, 25 July 2023, he accused the ruling party of employing a deliberate propaganda strategy to mislead the public into believing that both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are alike and urged Ghanaians not to fall for this deception.

According to Mr. Mahama, the NPP has fostered a crisis of confidence in Ghana's democracy, leading people to view politicians as dishonest and power-hungry.

He stated that he would have faced severe backlash and condemnation had he done even one-tenth of what the current government has done during their eight years in power.

“They [NPP] have created a crisis of confidence in the population in our democracy because now it’s easy for Ghanaians to think that politicians are liars; they’ll just lie for political power. If I did one-tenth of what they have done these last eight years, I’m sure that I would have been pilloried and crucified on a cross by now. There’s a bit of hypocrisy in it.”

“It’s NPP propaganda…they are in their mess, and they want to draw everybody else into the same mess,” the flagbearer of the NDC for the 2024 elections added.

“They [NPP] are happy to push that mantra and make it look like, ‘Oww, you’re better off staying with us because if the NDC comes, it will be the same.’ That is the psychology of the propaganda they are doing, It’s not the same.”

He attributed this perceived hypocrisy to NPP's propaganda, which aims to implicate others in their own shortcomings.

The NDC's flagbearer for the 2024 elections highlighted his party's achievements, emphasizing that the NDC has a track record of delivering tangible benefits to Ghanaians.

He pointed out that the NDC has been instrumental in expanding electricity coverage in the country, citing the national and rural electrification programs initiated during Rawlings' tenure.

He also noted the NDC's contributions to the digital revolution, telecommunications development, and the provision of water, which significantly increased during his time in office.

Mr. Mahama further criticized the NPP for not establishing any public universities but rather renaming existing ones after their party figures.

He urged them to accept responsibility for their actions and refrain from trying to portray both parties as similar, as the NDC and NPP have distinct approaches and accomplishments.

In conclusion, former president Mahama defended his party's record and called out the NPP for their alleged propaganda, urging them to focus on their own actions and leave the NDC to pursue their objectives separately.

“We started the digital revolution in this country. I was the Minister of Communication when we divided post and telecommunications and created Ghana Telecom and allowed Spacefon and all the mobile operators to come in. We started laying fibre optics in this country. We did the eastern corridor fibre optic.”

“We’ve given more Ghanaians water than any party in the history of this country. When Prof [John Evans Atta Mills] came into office, water coverage was 55 per cent; by the time I left office, water coverage was 72 per cent.”

“Seventy-two per cent of Ghanaians had access to good drinking water. We have built all the public universities in this country. NPP hasn’t built one public university. They are just good at renaming them with their party figures. And, so, somebody builds a university and you come and name it Dombo University, Tedam University, and so, don’t let them come to tell us we and they are the same. We are not the same. They should just wallow in their mess and leave us alone.”