The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Ayawaso West Wuogon John Setor Dumelo has lashed out at government’s handling of critical issues including power outages (dumsor), the economy, and level of unemployment.
Dumelo began by accusing the government of failing to address the return of power outages and refusing to admit its failure.
He claimed that ‘Dumsor’ had been resolved before the end of former President John Mahama’s tenure in 2016.
“John Mahama fixed the Dumsor before he left power in 2016 and we all know it. And now Dumsor has come back and you are failing to let the people know that Dumsor has come back because you simply don’t want to bring out a timetable,” Dumelo stated.
He said in an interview with Johnnie Hughes on 3FM Sunrise Morning Show on Friday, April 19.
Expressing frustration over the lack of transparency regarding the power outages, Dumelo urged the government to provide a timetable to help citizens plan their lives and businesses accordingly.
“Admit your mistakes, that’s all Ghanaians are saying,” the actor noted.
“When NDC was leaving power the exchange rate was ₵4.20, now it’s ₵14.30, We don’t use percentage to buy stuff, we use physical money.” he said.
He criticized the government’s management of the exchange rate, highlighting its impact on businesses and consumers alike.
“As a farmer,” he stated, “if a few years ago I was importing machinery at 4 or 5 cedis to the dollar, now it’s 14 cedis, and you tell me they are better managers of the economy, I beg to differ, you are worse.”
Dumelo, who also runs a farming business, highlighted the impact of the depreciating currency on entrepreneurs.
“It’s affecting us. And the truth is once it’s affecting me, I will hand it down to the consumer because you have to put that cost in.”
Addressing the level of unemployment, he expressed disappointment in the government’s failure to fulfill promises of job creation.
He lamented the lack of progress on initiatives such as “One Village One Dam” and “One Million One Constituency,” which were touted as job creation schemes.
“Every day I gets CVs and I try my possible best to link them up to organisations and corporations that I know, but there’s a limit to how or what I can do. Because of course the spaces are limited. So its hurts me when the government will come and say they’ve created jobs but where are the job?”, he added.
Turning his attention to his political opponent, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Lydia Alhassan, Dumelo criticized her track record, describing her delivery as “shambolic.”
He accused her of focusing solely on distributing food items to constituents rather than addressing their broader needs for infrastructure and employment opportunities.
“Lydia Alhassan in terms of delivery as far as member of parliament, I think her delivery has been shambolic. If you ask what she has done in the last six years, nothing, I mean what are the projects that she’s done in Ayawaso West, nothing. The only thing she is doing is just sharing rice and oil to the people and say oh vote for me. People are above rice and oil, they need jobs, they need infrastructure, they need opportunity, they need to feed for their family,” he stated.
Despite maintaining a cordial relationship with Alhassan, Dumelo expressed confidence in his electoral prospects, stating, “She [Alhassan] feeling heat and the heat is about to evolve to victory on my behalf.”
Source: 3news.com
