The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Presidential Candidate for the 2024 elections, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on Thursday expressed a strong conviction to turn the country’s fortunes around. 

"I trust in God to select a leader for the country...I also know that God can use me to change some situations,” he said during a meeting with Christian leaders in the Western Region as part of his two-day campaign tour.  

The meeting was to appreciate the clergy for their service to the nation, their work to entrench religious tolerance and peaceful atmosphere and solicit their inputs to shape his policies for a better Ghana. 

"At the heart of our peace lies religious tolerance,” he said. 

The Vice President said his noble and humbling childhood had given him a better appreciation of the needs and aspirations of the underprivileged and the importance to work to ensure inclusivity, unity, tolerance and harmonious coexistence. 

He praised the church/government partnership over the years which had continually given hope to Ghanaians, saying, "it is in this relationship that we want to leverage and support for you to even contribute more to the socio-economic lives of the people." 

The NPP Flagbearer said he was aware of the current cost of living in the country and had mooted some strategies to improve the cost of living through agriculture and commercial farming with the appropriate technologies.  

He mentioned a robust public transport system, solar energy production, electric vehicles and vibrant private sector to bring relief to the citizenry.  

“I am also thinking of a new tax system to end the complications and abuse in the current operations in the tax regime...in 2025, I will introduce a new flat rate system where every Ghanaian knows the exact amount to pay from any income level'. 

Dr Bawumia assured of a new natural resources governance structure through a reformation of the Geological Survey Authority and the UMaT to undertake prospecting and exploration expeditions for our greater benefits. 

A block chain documentation approach would be adopted to improve Land system and registration to halt the incessant double registration and disputes across the country.  

Digitisation, a key campaign message of the NPP flagbearer, has helped in shaping public sector lives through the elimination of corrupt practices and saving government purse to the tune of 400 million cedis annually, a practice he said he would strengthen to bring transparency into public sector financial management. 

The Chairman of the Network of Ministers in the Western Region, Bishop Emmanuel Kweku Botwey, said the Network was happy to learn of the Vice President’s stance on LGBTQ and said it aligns with churches’ abhorrence of the practice.  

The members urged the Vice President to also take steps to stop the ravaging effects of illegal mining known as galamsey in the country.