A former Agric Minister, Kwesi Ahwoi has criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo for failing to acknowledge agricultural programs undertaken by the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) governments under Prof. Atta-Mills and John Mahama.
He said many of the policies being touted by the Akufo-Addo government had already been pioneered by the NDC government.
His reaction is in response to President Akufo-Addo’s challenge to John Mahama for him to name his agric policies that increased cocoa production in the country.
President Akufo-Addo while on a tour in the Western Region said the John Mahama government did nothing to boost cocoa production for the entire period he was in office.
He noted that the government of President Kufuor moved cocoa production from some 350,000 metric tonnes at the end of the year 2000 to 750,000 tonnes at the end of 2008, and had projected Ghana to hit the million metric tonnes by 2010, a feat which was realized under the late President Mills.
“President Mahama came to meet a production level of 1 million tonnes, and yet, by the end of his tenure, it had dropped to barely 700,000 tonnes. Today, under my Government, it has risen to 900,000 tonnes, and yet you (Mahama) are going around, offering fake solidarity to the cocoa farmers, shedding crocodile tears in front of cocoa farmers, that you have done something to improve the lot of cocoa farmers. These are crocodile tears,” the President said.
“We are challenging them to come and tell us what they have done that is boosting agricultural and cocoa production in Ghana. I can tell you the answer in advance – Zero! Zero! Zero!” the President stressed.
But according to Mr. Ahwoi the government must acknowledge the NDC’s contributions in the agric sector and work to continue them rather than claim that nothing was achieved by the previous government in the sector.
“The policies we followed is exactly the same policy the NPP is following today, they just change the name. Rearing for food and jobs, was Youth in Agric under President Mills. You go to Ejura, the place had been abandoned and we got thousands of youth to own lands there and grow crops there. All we need to do is to continue these policies, but don’t say nothing happened in the past. Condemn the negatives but continue the right ones. If Akufo-Addo is asking Mahama to give him policies NDC had in agriculture, it is either Akufo-Addo was not in the country or because he was in opposition, he wasn’t following what was happening,” he said.