Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has issued a fresh challenge to former President John Dramani Mahama, asserting that the Akufo-Addo-led government has outperformed the Mahama administration across all key economic indicators. Speaking at Nungua in the Krowor Constituency of Greater Accra, Dr. Bawumia dismissed Mahama’s recent critique of the current administration as unfounded, claiming the former president lacks a proper grasp of economic data.
Responding to a Facebook post where Mahama labeled the NPP government a failure, Dr. Bawumia countered with a data-backed breakdown of the economy’s performance during their respective tenures.
“He [Mahama] said he has performed better than us, and I said, if you believe you performed better, come for a debate. But he has run away,” Dr. Bawumia remarked, adding that Mahama’s analysis reflects either a lack of understanding or a failure to engage with the data.
Dr. Bawumia outlined several metrics where he claimed the NPP had outperformed the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government:
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP): “Overall GDP during your government was lower than ours.”
- Agriculture and Industry Growth: “We have achieved better growth rates in both sectors compared to Mahama’s tenure.”
- Fiscal Indicators: He noted that under NPP, budget deficit-to-GDP, primary balance, trade balance, and current account balance were more favorable.
- Foreign Reserves: “Our gross international reserves are higher.”
Dr. Bawumia emphasized the government’s handling of exchange rate depreciation despite external shocks like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. He compared the 72% cedi depreciation under the NPP’s eight years to the 74% during Mahama’s tenure, which he argued occurred without similar global crises.
Highlighting achievements beyond macroeconomic indicators, Dr. Bawumia listed NPP’s accomplishments in infrastructure and social programs:
- Roads and Transport: “We’ve built more roads, airports, railways, and interchanges than Mahama did.”
- Health and Education: He pointed to new hospitals, schools, and restored allowances for teacher and nursing trainees.
- Technology and Digitalization: “We introduced the Ghana Card, mobile money interoperability, e-pharmacy, and other digital innovations that Mahama failed to implement.”
Dr. Bawumia turned to sarcasm to underscore what he termed as Mahama’s “failures,” stating, “We have failed to do four years of dumsor, failed to cancel training allowances, and failed to collapse the NHIS.” He also mocked Mahama’s reliance on the SADA guinea fowl project and the infamous Green Book as development achievements.
Reiterating his call for a one-on-one debate with Mahama, Dr. Bawumia said, “He should come and debate me, and we will get into the data. Let Ghanaians judge who truly failed and who delivered.”
The Vice President’s remarks signal a heightened rivalry between the two political heavyweights as they prepare to face off in the 2024 elections. With data-driven arguments at the forefront, the debate over economic stewardship is set to dominate Ghana’s political discourse.
