Bawumia: I will make life easier for Ghanaians
The presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated his vision to make life easier for Ghanaians under his presidency.
The NPP presidential candidate said the Akufo-Addo-led government had engineered several policies and programmes aimed at making life essentials easily accessible to Ghanaians, just like what pertained in advanced countries.
Addressing party supporters and residents of the Ho Central constituency in the Volta Region during his campaign tour, Dr Bawumia said, the NPP government had laid a solid foundation in digitising the economy, and that those critical aspects were identified in the 21st century.
He explained that one key policy that would transform the lives of Ghanaians and bring them at par with those in the developed countries is the credit scoring system.
He further stated that the introduction of the Ghana Card, Digital Property Address System, and Mobile Money Interoperability were key components to implementing the Credit Scoring System, which would allow Ghanaians to purchase products and access services on credit, and pay them in installment” small, small, small.
“For the last two years, we have been working on putting together the credit scoring system for Ghana. My thinking was that next year we will finish. But by the grace of God, I am happy to say we have completed the work for the credit system to start. It is possible.
“By the grace of God on 7 November, I will launch Ghana’s credit scoring system”, he stressed.
Dr Bawumia said his government aims to make Ghana the second country to have a very effective credit scoring system in Africa.
“And it is going to be the second country I believe in Africa to have a very effective credit scoring system. And that is going to make Ghana a very different country”, he said.
Dr Bawumia reiterated his vision of reducing the cost of electricity by harnessing the sun to produce solar energy to augment the country’s power production capacity.
He hinted that a factory would be set up in Ghana to produce the solar panels for the proposed project to create jobs and build the capacity of the country’s industrial sector.
Dr Bawumia touted his proposed Women Trade Empowerment Fund as the best remedy to cushion women traders with soft loans to expand their businesses and enterprises.
“If you want to give them [female traders] loans and you ask them to go to the banks, they are going to be very intimidated because the banks are going to ask for a lot of documentation that they do not have. So, when it comes to informal women’s trading, we are rather setting up the Women Trade Empowerment Fund, the only requirement to obtain your loan will be your Ghana Card”, he said.
The NPP presidential candidate also added that the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) module would be replicated in the agriculture sector where farm equipment would be stationed in every district for use by local farmers under the District Agric Mechanisation System.
Dr Bawumia also spoke about a comprehensive irrigation project across the country to boost crop production, noting that the Volta River would be mechanised and channeled to irrigate farms in its jurisdiction.
He re-echoed his determination to initiate the amendment of Section 63 of the Chieftaincy Act to give powers to the chiefs to adjudicate certain issues at the local level instead of sending them to the law courts.
He also promised to pay living allowances to Queen Mothers, Divisional Chiefs, and Paramount Chiefs, to enhance their livelihoods.
Dr. Bawumia therefore implored the chiefs and people of Ho Central to give him the mandate to deliver his policies and programmes to raise Ghana to the status of developed countries.