Dr Bawumia, before what you’ll do in the next four years, tell us what you’ve done in the past seven and a half years!
It is amazing how the once touted ‘Economic Messiah,’ now a walking example of ‘Economic Failure and Contradictions,’ is perfecting his stock in the trade of selling half-truths and deceptions to gain popularity and votes. Having succeeded in promising Heaven as running mate to win votes for him and his boss, President Akufo-Addo, and the always charming NPP, Muhamudu Bawumia, now as flagbearer, has sought to perfect the trade by throwing up lofty promises inspired by his myopic and theoretical views, with the hope that Ghanaians will once again fall for his bait. But unlike in 2016 and 2020 when Bawumia and the NPP asked to be tried, they now face the reality of first accounting to Ghanaians for what they used the enormous resources (record high loans and revenues, grants, and the goodwill of the citizens) for before asking for another opportunity to manage the national kitty.
For Bawumia, who President Akufo-Addo touted as his anchor man on the economy, this sacred responsibility of accounting to the people means more. As Vice President and Head of the Economic Management Team for the past seven and half years, he chaired or played critical roles in meetings that decided key policies and decisions that impacted lives and livelihoods significantly. Be it the collapse of nine banks and more than 400 other financial institutions that killed Ghanaian entrepreneurs and led to more than 10,000 Ghanaians losing their jobs and sources of income, the unbridled borrowing that sent the national debt over the roof, the historic inability of Ghana to repay its obligations, the draconian debt restructuring exercise that stole money from Ghanaians, including poor pensioners, the high taxes and inflation and collapsed dozens of businesses, the stinking PDS scandal, the Agyapa thievery, the failed Pwalungu Multipurpose Dam project despite burning $12million and the lies of a university and airstrip in Yendi, Bawumia owes Ghanaians an explanation.
But given that he is never shy about lying and possibly thinks of Ghanaians as deserving of such deceptions, he is going around repeating the trick and asking for support.
The other time, I overheard him touting some so-called 33 policies he claimed to have championed and then, in his usual robotically programmed attack of H.E John Dramani Mahama, challenged the Nation Builder to show his. Clearly, Dr Bawumia thinks that Ghanaians will suddenly forget the destruction he has caused to the economy and our livelihoods and jump to discuss policies.
But now that he has remembered that he championed some damaging policies, let me remind him of some of them that he has shamefully thought we would forget.
1. Historic debt: Bawumia, your policy of reckless borrowing has plunged Ghana into a painful but disgraceful debt distress. Under you, the national debt stock moved from GHS122 billion in December 2016 to GHS658.6 billion in February 2024. Is it not ironic that of all the Vice Presidents that headed the EMT of Ghana, it is you, the ‘brilliant’ ‘economic wizard’ Bawumia’ that ran the economy into a state in which it cannot pay its debts? What is the use of a government that cannot pay its debt let alone claim to have policies?
2. Not Qualifying for IMF Program: Bawumia, Ghanaians remember you as the one who parroted that going to the IMF was for incompetents only to then fail to qualify for an IMF program. Under your EMT, Ghana had to go under the Fund’s bankruptcy provisions, commonly referred to as debt treatment or debt restructuring, to be able to qualify for a bailout program.
3. Taxing Businesses Out: Bawumia, your policy of excessive taxation after you fooled everybody with a promise of moving from taxation to production is what businesses and entrepreneurs remember.
4. Historic Printing of Money by Bank of Ghana: Bawumia, you presided over the insolvency that led to the raiding of the BoG to print and illegally borrow over GHS80 billion without anything to show in the most bizarre fiscal dominance in the Fourth Republic.
5. Historic Inflation: Bawumia, once in opposition said single-digit inflation was meaningless and under you, inflation skyrocketed to more than 54%
6. Consistent Double-Digit Inflation: Bawumia, your policy of double-digit fiscal deficits for 3 consecutive years. Contrary to your warped assertion that the hardships of Ghanaians is global, your own Governor of the BoG in a letter to the IMF attributed it to your policy of reckless fiscal expansion.
7. Wicked Collapse of Ghanaian Banks, Sending Thousands Home without Jobs: Bawumia, your policy to collapse nine banks and over 4 financial institutions destroyed Ghanaian entrepreneurship, killed sustainable jobs and marginalized livelihood, with over GHS32 billion wasted in the process. This is still fresh in our minds as many rendered jobless live with the scar of that unscrupulous act.
8. Tragic Debt Restructuring that Pilfered Investors and Poor Pensioners: We still remember your policy of domestic debt exchange program that collapsed Ghana’s banks. Because of it, the Bank of Ghana, for the first time in its history suffered a GHS60.8 billion loss, the capital market was ravaged, with more than Ghc60 billion of funds of the investing community lost and public confidence has suffered in ways that will take decades to reverse.
9. State Capture Through PDS: Bawumia, your policy of state capture, which motivated you to champion the obnoxious PDS, in which you substituted a AAA-rated bank guarantee for worthless insurance is still fresh in our minds. Indeed, it led to Ghana being saddled with a transfer of valuable assets of ECG running into billions of dollars to your cronies and over US$1.5 billion in receipt of cash that cannot accounted.
10. Pwalungu Multipurpose Dam: Bawumia, of course, your enviable policies include the dubious and shameless payment of some US$12 million in the name of your disgrace Pwalugu Multipurpose Dam, where not even a shovel dugout can be found.
11. One Community, One Dugout: Bawumia, your policy of one community, one dam that turned out to be dungouts that sucked out billions of cedis are waiting to be commissioned. If not because you have mastered your stock in trade, can you look Ghanaians in northern Ghana in the eye and talk of policies after using their plight as avenue to siphon billions to line your pocket?
12. Exchange Rate Economics: Bawumia, in opposition, you made the cedi your easy target. In government, you have have watched it fly to GHS16 to a dollar. How proud you must be, asking the traders at Abossey Okai, Suame Magazine and indeed nationwide to vote for you, if not for the confidence trickstery you have mastered and perfecting on daily basis.
13. And Bawumia, can we talk about the status of your University Campus and airstrip, both in Yendi?
As for us, we are ready to discuss policies, but you must first account for your policies over the past seven and half years. Indeed, that is what Ghanaians must demand of you and when you attempt that defeatist thing of, I was not in charge, they shall ask if you abdicated your position as EMT Chair during those messy policies.
