By William
Yaw Owusu
Tuesday
October 09, 2018
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said the
motive behind former President John Dramani Mahama’s attempt to come back to
power is to ‘do more damage’ to the country’s economy.
He said the former President managed Ghana’s economy
in a very incompetent manner whilst in office and the records were there for
all to see.
Incompetent
One
“I hear the incompetent one says he wants to come
back, he wants to come and do more damage, as if he didn’t do enough damage;
well we’re waiting for him! We’re waiting for him! We’re waiting for him! Oh my
God!”Dr. Bawumia said at a training programme for Metropolitan and Municipal
District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in Accra.
The five-day training
programme was held under the theme: “Re-energising MMDCEs to deliver on
Government Agenda” and brought together 254 MMDCEs across the country and some
selected regional ministers.
In Tatale in the Northern Region last week, Mr. Mahama, who is staging a comeback to lead the NDC in 2020 after his humiliating defeat in 2016, said on his campaign trail that managing an economy is not the same as lecturing; in an apparent jab at Vice President Bawumia whose lectures on the economy mesmerized the previous Mahama administration at the time.
Dr Bawumia, an astute economist and banker, who was then
running mate to candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, had said famously that “if you do
propaganda with the economy, the exchange rate will expose you.”
Equalization
Mr. Mahama appeared to be ‘equalizing’ when he stated
in Tatale that “you can lecture on economy; but reality will expose you.”
He went ahead to say that Ghanaians were facing
economic challenges and the tide could only be resolved by ‘experienced persons’
and not ‘economics lecturers’ who merely engage in theories.
Experienced
Person
He presented himself to the NDC supporters as the ‘experienced
person’ and said they would return to power to solve the problems because,
according to him, the Akufo-Addo government is not performing.
“That is what economics lecturers who are just
theorists can come and lecture but they don’t understand that the practical of
running governments is completely different. NDC has done it before, at any
time that NDC has been in government, this country has made progress,” he
bragged.
Banks’
Collapse
He said the collapse of seven local banks had
contributed to economic hardship in the country.
Under his presidency, officials looked unconcerned
for the banks to go down with his brother actively involved in the collapse of
not less than two banks.
“Everything is linked to each other. And it takes
somebody who understands the market and the realities of governing to know that
if you are collapsing banks, it’s going to affect traders, it is going to
affect farmers,” Mr. Mahama said.
Campaign
Promises
He appeared to say the NPP promised ‘heaven’ whilst
in opposition and was now delivering ‘hell’ for the people since they came into
office.
“You can do all the propaganda you like to win
political power, when you come to government, the reality of the people’s life
will expose you,” he said.
“Where are the factories, where are the dams, where
is the $1 million per constituency. It is easier to make electoral promises
than to fulfill them. Making promises is easy, fulfilling them is a problem.
That is what NPP has taught us. It’s easier to give political lectures on the
economy than to manage the economy,” he added.
Bawumia’s
Response
However, the Vice President, without mincing words, said
Mr. Mahama’s record was so abysmal that he should be the last person to complain
about the performance of the country’s economy.
He said the Akufo-Addo administration was clearing
the ‘mess’ Mr. Mahama and his NDC administration left behind.
“But you have to remember what happened at the time
we came into office after many years of incompetent economic management; you
cannot describe it any other than incompetent economic management. After many
years of such economic management, the people of Ghana gave us the privilege to
change course but after just 20 months in office, the difference is clear.”
Massive Projects
Vice President
Bawumia indicated that the government remains focused on building a society
that works not only for a few but everybody.
“We’re going to see some major changes in 2019, where we will begin full-scale operation of the Sino-hydro facility,” he said.
The Vice President announced that from next year, US$1.5 billion of the $2 billion Sino-hydro Barter Agreement signed with the Chinese firm would be utilised.
The money would be used to build health facilities, roads, bridges, drains and interchanges.
“Apart from cleaning the mess of incompetent economic management that alone is worth in itself, and we are putting in place the structures that will enable us to deliver,” he added.
The macro-economic indicators had recorded impressive improvement.
He also made
reference to the year-on-year inflation which had declined from 15.4 per cent
in 2016 to 9.9 currently and the reduction of the debt-to GDP ratio from 73.1
per cent to 64.4 per cent.
“The economy also grew from 3.7 per cent in 2016 to 8.5 per cent at the end of 2017 and the fiscal deficit was down to 5.9 per cent from 9.3 per cent, and these had come on the back of prudent management of the economy,” he added.
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