Mahama has done little in his 100 days but... - Ayariga

The 2012 Presidential Candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Mr Hassan Ayariga has said President John Mahama’s first 100 days in Office has been less than impressive.

“The President has just finished his 100 days and we’re not seeing so much from the 100 days”, Mr. Ayariga told TV3 on Friday April 26, 2013.

The president’s first 100 days have been fraught with a streak of strikes by agitating labour unions.

They include public sector doctors who are up in arms with the government in demand for the payment of their market premium arrears and conversion differences, as well as the correction of anomalies in their pension contributions.

The Government Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) has also been on strike for the past three weeks demanding the payment of its members’ interim market premium arrears.

Still with the medical fraternity, the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) has also threatened a strike.

Similarly, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) as well as the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), went on strike at different times for different reasons but suspended their action after a couple of weeks.

Also, the Ashanti regional branch of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) has threatened a strike by May 3, 2013, if their category 2 and 3 allowances are not paid as well as their conditions of service which they say has expired for the past seven years, is not renegotiated.

Besides the industrial actions, the country has also been plagued by water and power rationing within the 100 days.

Utility supply has however improved a bit.

President John Mahama recently promised on Sunday April 7, 2013 during this year’s national prayer and thanksgiving service at the Independence Square in the national capital, Accra, that there will be no more load shedding during off-peak hours.

Off-peak hours are often during the day time when power consumption is not at its maximum.

The President also said the load shedding during peak hours will be reduced considerably.

“At peak hours, load shedding will be limited to only 80 megawatts”, he told the service.

The load shedding programme started with about 250 megawatts shortfall in supply.

It came about when the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), the main gas supplier for private power producer Sunon-Asogli, got ruptured in August last year.

It resulted in a gas cut to the 200 megawatt capacity plant.

President Mahama however said the shortfall has been considerably reduced.

“We have been working round the clock to narrow this gab in terms of our power generation and I’m happy to say that we have narrowed it currently to a load shedding of 80 megawatts and I’m certain that by the end of this month, we’d have overcome this challenge and Ghana will never see this kind of darkness again”.

Water supply has also seen some level of improvement from the time the rationing exercise begun early in 2013.

Speaking about his suggestion that the live broadcasting of the ongoing election petition case should be stopped due to its apparent impact on productivity, Mr. Ayariga said President Mahama can however, not be blamed for all the problems bedeviling the country now.

“His Excellency President Mahama was born 55 years ago, so he can’t say that he is the one who has caused all this, he also came and inherited it; so I’m saying that all of us have failed Ghanaians”, Mr. Ayariga asserted.