Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has portrayed former vice president and New Patriotic Party (NPP) 2028 presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the best positioned to advance the ideals of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition in a rapidly changing technological and economic environment.
Delivering a lecture at the Young Commons Forum (YCF) organised by students of KNUST and Kumasi Technical University, Afenyo-Markin argued that Bawumia had adapted the movement’s long-standing principles of individual liberty, private enterprise and opportunity into a programme tailored to Ghana’s contemporary challenges.
“Every tradition that survives across generations must answer the same question each time leadership passes to a new hand: does this successor carry the inheritance forward, or only invoke its name?” Afenyo-Markin said.
“The case I wish to make is that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has done the harder thing.”
Political journey
The Effutu MP linked Bawumia’s political journey to the historical roots of the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition, noting that his father, Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, was among the founding figures of the Northern People’s Party and served as its vice chairman alongside Chief S.D. Dombo.
According to Afenyo-Markin, this family connection placed Bawumia within a political lineage stretching back to the formative years of Ghana’s pre-independence politics.
He said Bawumia’s vision for Ghana centred on inclusivity, economic transformation and technological advancement.
Afenyo-Markin said Bawumia’s objective was to build a country that harnesses the talents of all citizens regardless of ethnic, political or religious affiliation while creating sustainable jobs and preparing Ghana for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Key pillars
The Minority Leader identified what he described as key pillars of Bawumia’s vision, including macroeconomic stability, fiscal discipline, private-sector-led growth, tax simplification, digital transformation, lower living costs, value addition to natural resources and stronger accountability mechanisms.
He said the programme sought to maintain low inflation, stable exchange rates and prudent government spending while reducing the size of government and encouraging greater private sector participation in infrastructure development.
Afenyo-Markin also highlighted Bawumia’s emphasis on digitalisation, arguing that technology, artificial intelligence and data-driven systems would play a central role in modernising public services, agriculture, healthcare and education.
He further cited proposals aimed at reducing the cost of living through investments in housing, transportation, food production and renewable energy.
“Big tent”
The Minority Leader argued that these policies reflected the same philosophical foundations that shaped the political tradition established by J.B. Danquah, S.D. Dombo and K.A. Busia.
“It would be a mistake to receive this vision as something new grafted onto an old party,” he said. “It is, rather, a modern expression of a philosophy that has been constant since Saltpond in 1947.”
According to Afenyo-Markin, Bawumia’s “big tent” approach echoed the inclusive coalition-building that characterised the formation of the United Party in the 1950s, bringing together diverse ethnic, regional and religious groups under a common political vision.
NDC’s zero-policies
The remarks form part of ongoing efforts within the NPP to position Bawumia as both a continuation of the party’s historical traditions and a candidate capable of addressing emerging economic and technological challenges facing Ghana.
Afenyo-Markin mounted a spirited defence of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) social intervention record, arguing that some of the country’s most transformative policies were conceived and implemented by governments rooted in the Danquah-Dombo-Busia political tradition.
Kufuor’s legacy
The Effutu lawmaker credited Kufuor with replacing Ghana’s controversial “cash and carry” healthcare system with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
“Before Kufuor came to office, we had what we call cash and carry,” Afenyo-Markin said. “The NDC says they are social democrats, but under the NDC we had what we called cash and carry.”
He described the NHIS as a landmark reform that reduced financial barriers to healthcare and strengthened the productive capacity of citizens.
According to him, the scheme reflected a centre-right philosophy that views social protection as a tool for empowering individuals to participate more effectively in the economy rather than creating dependency.
Afenyo-Markin also highlighted the introduction of the Capitation Grant, the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education programme and the School Feeding Programme under Kufuor’s administration, arguing that they expanded educational access and reduced the burden on low-income households.
“It was Kufuor’s administration that for the first time in the history of our country under the Fourth Republic declared and made basic education free,” he said.
The Minority Leader further credited Kufuor with establishing the Metro Mass Transit system, describing it as evidence that centre-right governments recognised the need for strategic public investment.
Akufo-Addo’s success
Turning to the administration of former president Nana Akufo-Addo, Afenyo-Markin said the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy represented one of the most consequential social interventions in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
He argued that the policy widened educational opportunities for students from poor households and aligned with the Danquah-Dombo-Busia tradition’s emphasis on human capital development.
“Free SHS therefore represents not a departure from centre-right philosophy, but its practical fulfilment,” he said.
The lawmaker also praised the expansion of free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) programme, Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ), and the Agenda 111 hospital project.
He described 1D1F as an effort to decentralise industrial development and create jobs across the country, while PFJ sought to transform agriculture into a commercially viable sector for smallholder farmers.
Agenda 111, he said, was intended to address inequalities in healthcare access and improve productivity by bringing health services closer to underserved communities.
Afenyo-Markin used the lecture to draw a sharp contrast between the NPP and its main political rival, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“I contend therefore that the NDC has no single social intervention programme introduced by them and implemented successfully since they first had a chance to govern this country,” he told the audience.
