The second lady, Samira Bawumia, says she has been vindicated for making comments suggesting that the former president John Mahama was incompetent. She insisted that she feels no regret about having called Mahama incompetent.
In an interview with Nana Yaa Mensah on Sunday Night on Asaase Radio, the Second Lady said she was only pointing out how the then Mahama-led government woefully failed to solve critical issues bothering Ghanaians during his presidency.
Poor governance
“Basically, he was given a job to do and it resulted in freezing public sector employment and Ghana going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It resulted in untold hardship and dumsor, so what do you call that?” she asked.
In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections, Samira Bawumia took a swipe at the NDC and its flagbearer, the then president, John Mahama, for exhibiting incompetence in running the affairs of the country.
“We are saying to the NDC that we see you all right … you want us to see you. We see you, but we see incompetence; we see you, but we see corruption; we see you, but we see bad management; we see you, but we see bad governance; we see you, but we want change; we see you but we want Ghana to move forward,” she said in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Samira Bawumia stressed again that the former president will go down in history not only as one of the most incompetent presidents ever to have led this country, but also the president who made the plight of Ghanaians worst during his presidency.
Firm stance
Asked by the Sunday Night host whether, four years on, she regrets calling the former president incompetent, the second lady said: “No, I didn’t mean it as an insult, especially now. It is not even in my nature to insult.
“All we were saying is that he didn’t do his job as was expected. Politics is not about insults and that is why I say we take what we are doing seriously. I’m proud of what my government has done in the last three and a half years.”
She believes the government has performed creditably well in its first term in office.
“The government has done so much in its first term, it is incredible. From day one, how we were able to even keep faith to start the Free Senior High School policy in the first place. It’s incredible what the government inherited,” the second lady said.
Fred Dzakpata
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
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