President of policy think tank, IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe has advised Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, to approach his campaign promises with greater realism and critical analysis.

At the NPP’s manifesto launch in Takoradi on August 18, Dr Bawumia promised to cut transportation costs by 40% by introducing electric vehicles.

However, during an appearance on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, Mr Cudjoe questioned the practicality of this policy, raising doubts about its feasibility.

He highlighted the need for sufficient infrastructure to support the initiative, pointing out issues such as maintenance, accessibility, and public readiness for electric vehicles.

Mr Cudjoe also mentioned Dr Bawumia’s previous unmet promises, like providing cars to Okada [Commercial Motorbike] riders, and encouraged a more gradual approach to policy execution.

The IMANI president recommended that Dr Bawumia prioritize traditional energy sources instead of focusing exclusively on clean energy.

Additionally, Mr Cudjoe expressed disappointment that Dr Bawumia’s manifesto did not adequately address the ongoing economic difficulties and questioned the viability of the proposed private sector partnerships.

“I don’t doubt the fact that we need to move to the electric vehicle system and all that, but do we have the infrastructure yet? How many people can hop on such buses? Do we have a proper way of maintaining them? I think those little things, if we don’t do them quite well, that’s what will come back and bite Bawumia quite well.”

“You remember when he promised that Okada people were going to be using cars, we haven’t heard anything on that yet and it’s important that he takes baby steps in some of these things. I think he should rather draw on the traditional source of energy rather than this fixation on clean energy or transition element of our energy space.”

“I would have wished I heard a lot more on how we can get out of the chaos his administration has led us into, but unfortunately I didn’t hear anything like that so it makes me wonder whether the plan they have in place with private sector side, whether they are going to deliver.”

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