The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has vehemently denied allegations that the NDC copied policy ideas from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Speaking on Joy FM’s Newsfile, Gyamfi accused Denis Miracle Aboagye, a spokesperson for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign, of spreading falsehoods and failing to verify facts before making public statements.
“In our 2020 manifesto, we said ‘The next NDC government will provide free tertiary education for persons with disability.’ So why would you come and sit here and lie that we’ve stolen your promise or policy when it was contained in our 2020 manifesto when Bawumia was not even contesting for President?” he quizzed.
He continued; “If they are so lazy that they can’t read our manifesto before they come and lie at least, what about checking on the internet? Online websites including Myjoyonline.com did the same story. ‘NDC promises free tertiary education for people living with a disability.’ And it was published on September 7, 2020. But then you will come and sit here and lie.”
Turning his attention to the “1 million coders” initiative, Mr Gyamfi accused the NPP of plagiarising this idea from the NDC’s 2020 manifesto.
He detailed that the NDC had proposed a comprehensive plan to train one million young people in various digital skills through a public-private partnership.
“In our 2020 manifesto, what is there is not just about coding. Listen to the whole gamut of things we said we’re going to train 1 million young people. On page 84 of the 2020 manifesto, ‘the next NDC government will implement the following policies. We said the one million coders initiative will be implemented through a public-private partnership to provide free training to 1 million youths with knowledge and skills for a) coding and programming. b) web, developing, apps, development, etcetera. c) expand opportunities in the knowledge and ICT-based economy,’” he explained.
He claimed that the NPP initially echoed this initiative, but after the NDC highlighted the similarities, the NPP altered their language to “train 1 million people in digital skills.”
Mr Gyamfi argued that this shift in terminology did not change the fact that the NPP had taken the idea from the NDC.
“What is the difference between training people in digital skills and the things I’ve listed for you here? So they are the ones in the business of stealing manifesto promises,” he countered.
The outspoken politician also accused Mr Aboagye and the NPP of deliberately misleading the public and challenged them to check facts before making accusations.
He also clarified the NDC’s stance on scholarship policies, stating that their approach would involve legislative changes to coordinate scholarships and prevent political appointees from benefiting, which he claimed was different from the NPP’s proposals.
With a little over 3 months to the 2024 elections, the political parties have locked horns on who has the best policies for the country. Come December 7, the electorates will decide who becomes President.
Source: myjoyonline.com
