The NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has promised to prioritise reducing the cost of living in Ghana if elected president.
The Vice President says the world is facing what is commonly referred to as the “global cost of living crisis.”
He said that even though inflation has dropped by half this year, prices still remain high.
As part of efforts to help reduce the cost of living, Bawumia promised to manage a country where we will attain food security through the application of technology and irrigation to commercial large-scale farming.
“We will also promote the use of agricultural lime to reduce the acidity of our soils, enhance soil fertility and get more yield from the application of fertilizers. Ghana has an abundance of limestone to do this. I will prioritise the construction of the Pwalugu Dam by using private sector financing to crowd-in grant financing,” he said.
Speaking at the launch of the manifesto of the NPP, he promised to ensure food security by stabilising the prices of foods produced locally (through financing and guarantees from the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL).
This initiative will mainly involve: upscaling the production of staple foods, investing in the preservation of staple foods, meat, poultry and fish products, and establishing agricultural enclaves which will have irrigation, processing and storage facilities in each region for crops or grains in which the regions have a comparative advantage.
Aside from this, he also promised to reduce the cost of public transportation by:
promoting and supporting Electric Vehicles (EV) public for transportation, expanding the Gold-For-Oil Programme (G4O) to continue stabilising the price of fuel; Stabilising the prices of spare parts through the “Flat Rate Duties for all importers” policy which will bring predictability and stability on prices of imported goods.
He also reiterated his pledge in making the Driver’s license valid for 10 years and extending the renewal period to 5 years.