"The idea that merely because you are born into privilege that automatically means you are against the welfare of the ordinary people, that's nonsense," he said.
Ghana had one of the fastest growing economies in the world in 2011. Oil was discovered in 2007 and the country began producing it in December 2010.
Throughout the capital, new condominiums are rising up next to slums and luxury cars creep along narrow alleys lined with open sewers. A mall downtown features a Western-style cinema and is packed on weekends with middle class families. At the same time shantytowns are cropping up, packed with the urban poor.
Polls show that voters are almost evenly split over who can best deliver on the promise of development.
Kojo Mabwa said that he is voting for Akufo-Addo, because he is impressed by his promise of free education. He dismissed critics that say the project is too ambitious. "There is money," he said. "(The ruling party) has done nothing for us. They are misusing our money."
Paa Kwesi, a 30-year-old systems analyst, said he doesn't think Akufo-Addo is making promises he can keep.
"He says he can do free education, but you have to crawl before you can walk. It's not possible," he said.
__
Associated Press writer Francis Kokutse contributed to this report from Accra, Ghana.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Reader Comments (