Expressive Ghanaian actress and filmmaker, Yvonne Nelson, has articulated remorse over a picture she posed with President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo following his win in the 2016 polls.
Ms Nelson who led the “Dumsor Must Stop” vigil in 2015 to protest the erratic power supply crisis and corruption disclosed in her autography that she had wished that President Akufo-Addo would bring about positive change and harness corruption.
Nonetheless, she now acknowledges that his government’s actions have been a monumental dissatisfaction for Ghana.
Yvonne Nelson thought back to 2016, the change in power brought expectancy to Ghanaians, as President Akufo-Addo was sensed as “incorruptible” and a potential remedy to the pervasive matter of corruption.
“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 euphemized 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 economic dumsor,” she published in the memoir.
She continued and threw light on the energy crisis, known in Ghanaian parlance as “dumsor,” which had taken a toll on the economy, resulting in job losses and the collapse of small-scale enterprises that depended on electricity
“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,” she narrated.
According to the ‘Fifty Fifty’ filmmaker, she joined Ghanaians in extremely chastising the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for its mismanagement and corruption during this time.
“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,” she noted.
As a populace statuette, she also bemoaned the pose she stroked with President Akufo-Addo when he won the poll.
“The NPP, led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, won massively in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. 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,” Yvonne laments.
She accused the Nana Addo-led administration of uncontrolled borrowing, corruption, and profligate spending, which she thinks have exacerbated Ghana’s economic woes.
“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 euphemized 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 economic dumsor,” she wrote.
The autobiography unfolds with surprising wrenches and bends, reminiscent of a spell-binding film script. However, unlike a regular autobiography, Nelson bravely discloses her vulnerability, sharing her essence with the public.
© 2023 • Story By Edem Latsu Nukafu
Writer’s email: edemlatsu093@gmail.com
