A special aide to former President John Mahama says Ghanaians should not raise the bar of accountability any higher than they have for the governing party when the National Democratic Congress comes to power.

According to Joyce Bawah Mogtari, instead of scrutinising what the former president says on his campaign trail, Ghanaians should rather focus on the failures of the ruling government and hold them to account.

“We should not in any way raise the bar for the National Democratic Congress. I’m sure that what we need to do is to put the NPP to the litmus test on all the key factors that they pledged to do upon assumption of office.

“On corruption, on media freedoms or press freedom, on employment of persons without any discrimination, in terms of access, in terms of building a better economy, in terms of managing our health institutions, in terms of providing road, water, electricity, all the things that you and I desire, the worst part is that they promised to better manage they have literally run aground. The country is currently bankrupt,” she said on JoyNews’ PM Express.

She was speaking in relation to John Mahama’s statement in the Northern Region while addressing party faithful where he said his government will recruit their children and young party members into the security services.

“Our people, our branch executives’ children, you just stand by. If we’re distributing any jobs, if we’re recruiting people into the police, the army, the prisons service, the fire service and the immigration, we will recruit all our young people too to go and work,” he said.

Joyce Mogtari defending the former president’s statement said John Mahama’s statement was merely in reaction to the partisan nature of the security services under the Akufo-Addo administration.

She alleged that people recruited into the security services during the erstwhile Mahama administration have been either laid-off or denied promotion, while members of the NPP’s Delta Forces are being recruited and promoted in the security services.

According to her, while the NDC has no vigilante group like the NPP’s Delta Forces, there is nothing wrong if the former president suggests that his government will employ qualified party faithful in the security services.

“What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If the NDC people are qualified – don’t forget the NDC has no…Delta forces, at least, there is no record of any such person be they regular or irregular, persons of any form of militia as such unlike the Delta forces of the New Patriotic Party.

“Look, we ought to be very honest, we need to take all of our gloves off, let’s speak to power about what is truthful. Our security is at an all-time low, morale is low, promotions are terrible, done along partisan lines …” she said.