Actress Yvonne Nelson has expressed regret over a photo she took with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016, she disclosed in her recently published memoir titled “I Am Not Yvonne Nelson”.
The Heels and Sneakers actress had high hopes for the then-President-elect Akufo-Addo, anticipating that he would govern with great integrity and decisiveness, as he had been portrayed as a stern disciplinarian who would not hesitate to hold errant officials accountable.
However, the accomplished actress has since been disappointed in the incumbent leader, referring to his tenure as a “monumental disappointment.”
She accuses his government of excessive borrowing, rampant corruption, and reckless spending, which she believes led the nation into an economic crisis.
The power crisis and its detrimental consequences were major factors that worked against the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party in power at the time.
Persistent electricity outages, known as ‘dumsor,’ resulted in job losses and inflicted severe damage on small-scale businesses that relied on power but couldn’t afford alternative energy sources.
Although the NDC government managed to resolve the crisis at a considerable cost, including engaging in questionable procurement practices, the victims of ‘dumsor,’ corruption, and mismanagement found it difficult to forgive the party.
This sentiment was reflected in the subsequent presidential and parliamentary elections, where the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, emerged victorious by a significant margin.
“A year later, the opposition NPP and its candidate won the 2016 election. The power crisis and its effects were a major sin of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC). Dumsor had resulted in job losses and dealt a deadly blow to the small-scale enterprises that depended on electricity but could not afford alternative sources of power.
“Even though the NDC administration resolved the crises at a huge cost and through shady procurement deals, the victims of dumsor, corruption and mismanagement could not forgive the party at the presidential and parliamentary polls. The NPP, led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, won massively in both the presidential and parliamentary elections,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Yvonne Nelson recalls joining some friends in congratulating President-elect Akufo-Addo and posing for a photograph with him.
However, she now regrets having taken that picture. She believed that Akufo-Addo, with his reputation as a no-nonsense disciplinarian and incorruptible leader, would be the solution to the pervasive high-level corruption plaguing Ghana.
Unfortunately, in her view, he fell short of expectations, contributing to the nation’s economic woes through excessive borrowing, corruption, and irresponsible spending.
“Some friends and I went to congratulate the president-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo, with whom we took a photograph. It is a photograph I regret taking. Akufo-Addo came to the presidency with enormous goodwill. He had been projected as a no-nonsense disciplinarian who would not hesitate to crack the whip on errant appointees.
“He was said to be incorruptible, and Ghanaians thought he was going to be the antidote to mass stealing at the highest level, which is euphemised as corruption. Unfortunately for Ghana and those who trusted in him, he has turned out to be a monumental disappointment whose government’s unbridled borrowing, corruption and reckless spending plunged the nation into an economic dumsor.”
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