President John Mahama officially launched the 2016 manifesto of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Sunyani on Saturday.

With all the stalwarts of the party present, the 80-page document titled "Changing Lives, Transforming Ghana" was unveiled in a magnificent style at the Sunyani Coronation Park.

This was done some four days after President John Mahama presented highlights of the manifesto at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra.

According to the President, the manifesto has the best plan for the development of Ghana as it was birthed from the ideology and constitution of the party.

He gave an account of what he considers a huge success in his first four-year tenure based on which he wants to be given a second term.

At the grand manifesto launch, President Mahama promised a better future with improvement in the economy, health sector, education, agriculture, and infrastructure.

Below is the document containing the full 2016 manifesto of the NDC

 

FOREWORD BY JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & LEADER OF THE NDC

With the blessings of the Almighty God and the support of the people of Ghana, I am confident that my second and final term will move Ghana even closer towards the era of prosperity and security that I have envisioned. I will continue to work, together with the people of Ghana, to create opportunities that will generate prosperity for all.

This is what the Agenda for Transformation signifies. This transformation entails moving away from over-reliance on commodity exports towards diversification and value addition.  All these have begun. They will be sustained and accelerated in the next four years. An integral part of the NDC’s Agenda for Transformation is our unwavering belief that Ghana’s greatest wealth is its people. Our country will continue to rise as we focus a large part of our development effort on harnessing the skills, potentials and ingenuity of our people.

There is tremendous potential in the Ghanaian to create, innovate and transform our nation. As leader of the NDC and Government, our policies, programmes and projects have been directed at putting people first, building a strong and resilient economy, expanding infrastructure for accelerated growth and jobs, and advancing transparent and accountable governance.  We have been vindicated, as we have seen huge payoffs in terms of access to education, health care and other social services. This has led to improved educational outcomes and favourable health indices for our people. We have undertaken, and in some instances completed, major institutional reforms and built strong and viable institutions.  We have invested

in building robust infrastructure to stimulate economic growth. This has created jobs and we intend to create even more jobs.  Addressing unemployment and creating job opportunities will be at the core of my renewed mandate. With the renewed mandate I am seeking, we will continue policies and programmes and introduce new initiatives that are consistent with our key social democratic principle of equitable development.

 We still have more roads to construct, more houses to build, more food to produce, additional educational and health facilities to provide and more jobs to create. Indeed, these are also key demands of the global compact encapsulated in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which we have agreed to uphold. With the collaboration of the Bank of Ghana, we will institute mechanisms that will significantly lower the cost of credit and position the private sector to play its role in the Transformation Agenda.

Already, and systematically, we are Changing Lives and Transforming Ghana. Indeed, I feel inspired by the success we have achieved in the last four years. We can be proud of that record. We will sustain the transformation and we will make more progress. I have abiding faith in the people of Ghana and in the future of our country. More importantly, I remain committed to the cause of making our nation greater and stronger. God bless our Homeland!

 

INTRODUCTION

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) remains deeply committed to the principles and values of Social Democracy As Social Democrats, we subscribe to a compassionate political philosophy that seeks to create opportunities for all to develop to their fullest potential. We believe that our pursuit of economic prosperity for all Ghanaians can best be achieved through appropriate regulation and strategic investments. We are therefore committed to using the legal, fiscal and trade instruments at our disposal, in an inclusive effort to safeguard the jobs of today and create the jobs of the future.

In our quest to build a sustainable society with opportunities for all, we will continue to prioritize education and skills training as the cornerstone to progress. We rededicate ourselves to the expansion of economic freedom and opportunity by providing incentives for small businesses to grow, by encouraging local community development and building the environment for domestic manufacturing to support job creation.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is committed to building a just and equitable society in which citizens are empowered to seize on opportunities to improve themselves. We believe that we can achieve more together than individually, hence our policies and programs are designed to make each one as empowered and productive as he or she can be. Ours is an approach anchored in the fact that Ghana’s human resources are our nation’s most valuable assets. This explains why over the

years our development priorities are: (a) putting people first, (b) building a strong and resilient economy, (c) providing  reliable infrastructure, and (d) improving accountability in governance. We believe we have succeeded in creating a better foundation for safe and secure conditions for national progress.

Ours is an approach anchored in the fact that Ghana’s human resources are our nation’s most valuable assets.

Putting People First is the expression of our relentless effort to invest in sectors of our society with the view of empowering our people through better educational systems and opportunities; providing reliable and dependable healthcare arrangements; ensuring inclusiveness by protecting the most vulnerable in our society, thus creating reliable pathways for our youth to achieve their aspirations.

Our approach to “Putting People First” involves overarching concerns with redistribution, production, reproduction and protection; and synchronizes with our economic policy objectives in the pursuit of economic growth and social progress. We have verifiable achievements in education, healthcare, social protection, gender empowerment and equality, youth development and sporting opportunities as manifestations of our commitment.

Strong and Resilient Economy represents our desire to build an economy that provides a channel for human creativity that meets the aspirations of Ghanaians to work. It is an illustration of our commitment to build an economy that nurtures and protects the young, the old and the vulnerable; an economy that is capable of dealing with major adversities such as climate change, while at the same time enhancing life for our people.

As Social Democrats, we believe that economic growth is important, however, growth alone is not enough to deliver jobs and fair incomes. Our commitment to build a strong and resilient economy therefore, is one that prioritizes decent and productive work for our people as a means of brightening the prospects for poverty reduction and personal development. It is precisely because of this belief that we have actively incentivized various industries in the private sector not only to encourage the production of made in Ghana goods, but also to enlarge employment opportunities.

To this end, beyond the continuous focus on maintaining prudent monetary and fiscal policies to attract investment, we will also continue to invest heavily in agriculture, manufacturing and mining to provide support to the private sector.

Expanding Infrastructure is core to realizing economic growth and boosting opportunities for job creation. Our view is that in diverse ways a good infrastructure system has a positive impact on productivity. For instance, improved roads facilitate private investment, improves access to markets for farmers by reducing transport costs, thus stabilizing jobs and income levels. The extension of electricity to poor households contributes to lower energy bills that support the expansion of cottage industries.

Electricity is also critical for improved communication. Clean or potable water has immense health benefits that contribute to the well-being of all, especially children. In pursuit of our transformational agenda, we have prioritized infrastructural expansion across several sectors including roads, water supply systems, energy, transport and housing. It is an important economic incentive for both public and private operations. As Social Democrats we view Infrastructural development as a means to enhance productivity, transportation and communication.

Transparent and Accountable Governance reflects our commitment to working to attain a society that encourages citizen participation in affairs of the State. It is our belief that Governments that derive their mandate from the people must not only work for and with the people, but must also be open and accountable to the people. Our pursuit of transparent governance has opened up considerable space for Civil Society Organizations and Ghanaians to actively engage in the policy debate, formulation and implementation processes. We belief that through participation we can, as a society and consistent with the norms of democracy, achieve the best political outcomes that reflect the broad judgment of our people.

We remain committed to building a peaceful, safe and inclusive society that respects the diversities of our nation. We will not renege on our commitment to continuously promote the rule of law, the fight against corruption and graft, tolerance, pluralism, national security and cohesion. In our view, public service imposes an obligation to work in the interest our country.

This is the reason for our quest to use innovation and creativity to make public services responsive to the needs of the people from whom we derive our mandate. In the last four years, we have pursued the pledge we made to Ghanaians, as anchored on the four pillars of our 2012 Manifesto. We have achieved significant infrastructural

development providing  health facilities, educational opportunities, access to potable water, investments in energy, expansion in telecommunications, transportation and housing. We have thus set in motion the process of ‘Changing Lives and Transforming Ghana’.

As a party, we seek a renewal of the mandate from the people to enable us extend our transformation agenda. This document provides a record of our delivery and our commitment to the people of Ghana for a second term for President John Dramani Mahama.

Click here to continue reading.