Stéphane Roudet, the IMF’s Ghana Mission Chief, said in a statement posted on the website of the Fund: “I am pleased to announce that the IMF team reached staff-level agreement with the Ghanaian authorities on a three-year program supported by an arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) in the amount of SDR 2.242 billion, or roughly US$3 billion.
The economic agenda intends to establish the groundwork for higher and more inclusive growth while restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.
“The Ghanaian authorities have committed to a wide-ranging economic reform program, which builds on the government’s Post-COVID-19 Program for Economic Growth (PC-PEG) and tackles the deep challenges facing the country,” the statement read in part.
“Key reforms aim to ensure the sustainability of public finances while protecting the vulnerable. The fiscal strategy relies on frontloaded measures to increase domestic resource mobilization and streamline expenditure. In addition, the authorities have committed to strengthening social safety nets, including reinforcing the existing targeted cash-transfer program for vulnerable households and improving the coverage and efficiency of social spending,” it added.
“Structural reforms will be introduced to underpin the fiscal strategy and ensure a durable consolidation. These include developing a medium-term plan to generate additional revenue and advancing reforms to bolster tax compliance. This will help create space for growth-enhancing measures and social spending. Efforts will also be made to strengthen public expenditure commitment controls, improve fiscal transparency (including the reporting and monitoring of arrears), improve the management of public enterprises, and tackle structural challenges in the energy and cocoa sectors. The authorities are also committed to further bolstering governance and accountability.
“To support the objective of restoring public debt sustainability, the authorities have announced a comprehensive debt restructuring. Sufficient assurances and progress on this front will be needed before the proposed Fund-supported program can be presented to the IMF Executive Board for approval.
“Reducing inflation, enhancing resilience to external shocks, and improving market confidence are also important program priorities. Accordingly, the Bank of Ghana will continue to strengthen its monetary policy framework and promote exchange rate flexibility to rebuild external buffers. As part of the authorities’ debt strategy, a domestic debt exchange has been launched. The authorities are committed to taking the necessary mitigation measures to ensure financial sector stability is preserved.
“IMF staff held meetings with Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ofori-Atta, and Bank of Ghana Governor Addison, and their teams, as well as representatives from various government agencies. The IMF team has also continued to engage with other stakeholders. Staff would like to express their gratitude to the Ghanaian authorities, Parliament’s Finance Committee and all the private sector, trade union, and civil society representatives for their open and constructive engagement over the past few months.”
Every time the government budget and economic strategy are presented to Parliament, Bawumia always goes with the minister of finance.
Without Bawumia present, Ken Ofori-Atta presented the budget for this year on November 24.
Some NDC (National Democratic Congress) members began to speculate that Bawumia didn’t want to be identified with the document as a result of his absence.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explaining the absence on December 6, 2022 during his final address on the budget debate explained that by law, the president causes to be prepared and laid before parliament the budget with a month to end of year.
“The president causes the budget to be prepared, he doesn’t do the preparation himself and again, the president causes it to be laid in the House, he doesn’t do it himself,” he submitted.
On Bawumia’s absence, he explained that the Vice President was as at November 24 acting as the president because Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was outside of the country and had duly transferred presidential powers.
“Mr. Speaker, in the lead up to the presentation, the president was outside this country, the vice president had assumed the office of the president as the acting president and he couldn’t therefore have accompanied the Finance Minister to this chamber.”
He then took a swipe at the Minority stating: “Mr. Speaker, this really is fundamental and I thought our colleagues will appreciate this. But as usual, they wouldn’t understand and they would inflict their own ignorance on Ghanaians.”
After his address, the budget dubbed ‘Nkabom budget’ was passed by a voice vote whiles MPs continue to debate the nitty gritty as related to estimates for the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Appropriation is expected to be passed before the end of year as that would help government’s efforts at securing an International Monetary Fund support programme. The IMF conditionality has led to an increasingly unpopular domestic debt restructuring programme.
The Minority Leader in Parliament reportedly questioned why President Akufo-Addo, who led the Kumepreko rally in 1995 to voice his opposition to economic suffering, now imposes more levies on Ghanaians.
He emphasized that the market price of products and services will automatically increase as a result of the 2.5% increase in VAT.
This will cause further suffering for Ghanaians during the current economic downturn, he claimed.
Addressing journalists on Monday, December 5, 2022, Haruna Iddrisu said, ” whilst whittling away the little we have as a country in this intransigent manner, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has decided to pile more hardships on the people of Ghana through the introduction of more taxes in the 2023 Budget presented to Parliament. What moral right does President Akufo-Addo have to increase VAT by 2.5% when he led the “KUMI PREKO” demonstration in 1995 resulting in the loss of five lives?”
“As sure as night follows day, this will worsen the hardship faced by Ghanaians, as the prices of almost all items will increase instantaneously once this tax comes into effect,” he added.
Haruna Iddrisu further said the Minority in Parliament have detected 22 additional tax and revenue measures in the 2023 budget read in parliament by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The additional taxes, he bemoaned, will make life more unbearable for Ghanaians.
“At a time when people are facing the worst economic crisis and hardships in their lifetime, the last thing that is desired is further taxation,” he said.
Government, on Thursday, November 24, 2022, announced an increment in Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2.5 percent for consumers of goods and services.
The move, according to government is expected to improve its domestic revenue measures while seeking to reach an IMF deal to restore macroeconomic stability.
Economic Crisis Ghana Will Need 15 Years To Recover – Ato Forson
Former Lawra MP Anthony Karbo has denied allegations made by Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central, that Karbo and others prevented Agyapong from interacting with people while he was touring the northern regions.
Agyapong, who is vying for the position of NPP flagbearer, is alleged to have accused Karbo and other people, whom he claims are Bawumia associates, of preventing him (Agyapong) from meeting supporters in the area.
Karbo highlighted that neither he nor the vice president’s aides had committed any such crime in a post on his verified social media account that addressed some of the accusations made against his person.
“It was also clear that none of the associates of the Vice President or myself had attempted to influence any party official in the North not to attend the meeting called by Hon. Kennedy Agyapong,” Karbo said of a conciliatory meeting that had been called on the allegations.
Other denials he made related to his involvement in tribal politics, ownership of a house in the United States and the fact that he had reportedly apologized to AAgyapong at the said meeting.
Read his full post below:
On the Matter of Hon Kennedy Agyapong: His Northern Region Tour and Issues Arrising.
I have become aware of a viral audio recording of Hon. Kennedy Agyapong in which the MP was campaigning in the Upper East Region. The audio, among other things, attempted to accuse me of embarking on Tribal Campaign, impugning corruption on my part as a Former MP and Deputy Minister, and suggested underhand dealings of persons believed to be working for Vice President to prevent the Hon. Kennedy Agyapong from meeting Party members in the North.
In the interest of party unity and peace, a meeting was arranged with Hon. Kennedy Agyapong to delve into the accusations/allegations and also clarify the misinformation. The meeting was attended by Mr KT Hammond, Fred Oware, Dr Gideon Boako and myself.
It was a good and fruitful meeting and in the end it was clarified at the meeting that, I, Anthony Karbo had NOT embarked on any Tribal Campaign as alleged and wish to put on record that TRIBAL POLITICS is not part of my personality and political activism. All my life I have enjoyed the support of persons irrespective of where they hail from and reciprocated same.
The Hon. Kennedy Agyapong himself will attest to this fact given my long standing relationship with him spanning decades which is public knowledge.
It was also clear that none of the associates of the Vice President or myself had attempted to influence any party official in the North not to attend the meeting called by Hon. Kennedy Agyapong.
Also, contrary to a published story on Net2tvonline that the meeting was a platform for me and the Vice President’s office to apologise to Hon Kennedy Agyapong, I wish to state without equivocation that no one at the said meeting apologised to the other. It was a brotherly family meeting intended to clear the misinformation and both pledging to organise ourselves in a more peaceful and docorous manner as we approach the internal contest.
We are one family and we commit to unite in one accord for the betterment of the New Patriotic Party.
Anthony Abayifaa Karbo
Fmr. MP and Deputy Minister
He said, “If you are a Ghanaian, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, with the help of their MPs, has given you the biggest middle finger ever. Despite your protestations, they have rammed down your throat, a 1.75% E-Levy, a 25-30% increase in the prices of imported items because of the reversal of the Benchmark Value discount and a 15% increase in over 20,000 different fees and charges paid for the service of 129 MDAs to be adjusted upwards every year.
“All of this start in January which traditionally is the most difficult month. You can also look forward to more fuel price increases. And all of this adds onto the dozens of taxes they have already imposed on you since 2017 and the over 50 different instances of fuel price increases,” part of his post read.
Following the approval of the 2022 budget by the majority members in parliament on Tuesday, November 30, 2021, a former Deputy Minister of Information, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has asked Ghanaians to be ready to pay more for petroleum products next year.
In a Facebook post sighted by GhanaWeb, Kwakye Ofosu stated that the hardships of Ghanaians will double in the coming year.
He said, “If you are a Ghanaian, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, with the help of their MPs, has given you the biggest middle finger ever. Despite your protestations, they have rammed down your throat, a 1.75% E-Levy, a 25-30% increase in the prices of imported items because of the reversal of the Benchmark Value discount and a 15% increase in over 20,000 different fees and charges paid for the service of 129 MDAs to be adjusted upwards every year.
“All of this start in January which traditionally is the most difficult month. You can also look forward to more fuel price increases. And all of this adds onto the dozens of taxes they have already imposed on you since 2017 and the over 50 different instances of fuel price increases,” part of his post read.
Meanwhile, Ghana has been listed as one of the African countries with the most expensive fuel prices.
Currently, there is an increase in petroleum products on the market as some major Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have adjusted their prices some pesewas.
The upward adjustment is as a result of the rising crude oil prices on the international market. Now, the price of crude oil sells at $82.
Ghana is currently in talks with member countries of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) over the adoption of its serialisation policy, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said.
The policy of serialisation means that students at different examination centers and even at the same examination center will receive different questions of the same level of difficulty.
Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the Northern School of Business in Tamale on Saturday (26 November), Bawumia attributed the successful piloting of the policy in the BECE and WASSCE to the non-leakage of exams questions in 2021.
“I was guest of honour at the 50th anniversary of the Northern School of Business in Tamale yesterday. In my remarks I noted that one of the problems that has bedeviled our education system is the persistent leakages of examination questions for our BECE and WASSCE examinations.
“As a solution to this problem, last year the Ministry of Education implemented a policy of serialisation of examination questions as is the case in some advanced countries. The policy of serialisation means that students at different examination centers and even at the same examination center will receive different questions of the same level of difficulty,” Bawumia said.
“This serialisation policy was implemented by the Ministry of Education in the 2021 BECE and piloted for the 2021 WASSCE. The Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Adu Twum has reported that as a result of the policy there were no leakages of examination papers for the 2021 BECE examinations. The pilot for WASSCE was also successful and Ghana is in discussions with member WAEC countries for the adoption of this policy. We are making progress,” he added.
The Director of Research at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) Dr John Kwakye has shared his views on the gold for imported oil new policy by the government.
The Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed a remarkable new policy by government that would see the government pay for imported oil products with gold rather than through US Dollars.
Revealing the policy in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, Vice President Bawumia said the policy is expected to take effect by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
He said in a Facebook post that “The Use of Gold To Buy Imported Oil Products
“The demand for foreign exchange by oil importers in the face of dwindling foreign exchange reserves results in the depreciation of the cedi and increases in the cost of living with higher prices for fuel, transportation, utilities, etc. To address this challenge, Government is negotiating a new policy regime where our gold (rather than our US dollar reserves) will be used to buy oil products. The barter of sustainably mined gold for oil is one of the most important economic policy changes in Ghana since independence.
“If we implement it as envisioned, it will fundamentally change our balance of payments and significantly reduce the persistent depreciation of our currency with its associated increases in fuel, electricity, water, transport, and food prices. This is because the exchange rate (spot or forward) will no longer directly enter the formula for the determination of fuel or utility prices since all the domestic sellers of fuel will no longer need foreign exchange to import oil products.
“The barter of gold for oil represents a major structural change. My thanks to the Ministers for Lands and Natural Resources, Energy, and Finance, Precious Minerals Marketing Company, The Ghana Chamber of Mines and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana for their supportive work on this new policy. We expect this new framework to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2023.”
Sharing his views on this, Dr John Kwakye said in a tweet that “This is mere window dressing and will not address the perennial depreciation of the cedi.
“The viable option is to restructure the economy and continually increase the foreign exchange cover for the currency issue.”
“I don’t get the rationale of this policy at all. To me, gold is as good as forex. So, whether we use gold or forex to purchase oil, we’ll be depleting our reserves and the pressure will be back on the cedi.”
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has challenged heads of public and private institutions to explore and implement innovative ways to complement Government’s job creation efforts across the country.
Speaking at Goaso in the Ahafo Region on Wednesday, 23rd November, 2022 Dr Bawumia said the youth make up a large proportion of Ghana’s population, and it is important that conscious efforts are made to meet their employment aspirations.
The Vice President made the call at the launch of the first region-led skills development and employment creation intervention, the Ahafo Youth Skills Development and Job Creation Initiative, designed and implemented by the Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council led by Hon George Yaw Boakye, Regional Minister, in collaboration with the private sector.
The programme is designed to train 1,200 youth drawn from all six districts in the region in trades such as Welding, Vulcanizing, General Spraying, ICT, Fashion Designing, Building Construction, Auto Mechanics (Fitting), General Electrical (Auto and Civil), Carpentry and Joinery, Hairdressing, Painting and Decoration.
In addition, each Municipal/District Coordinating Council received a cheque of Ghs25,000 to cater for the training of the youth, with a monitoring team constituted to ensure the trainees go through the appropriate training.
Handing over welding machines, hair dryers, sewing machines, Aluminium ovens, sets of tools (auto mechanics, carpentry, electricals, pedicure, barbering etc), trowels, mallets and other tools to the various Assemblies, Vice President Bawumia noted that Ghana’s youth as a proportion of the total population is growing at a rapid pace.
“The recent census conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service pegs our current youth population at 38.2%. On the positive side it means Ghana has an abundance of human resource necessary to drive our economic growth and that we are not in danger of facing shortage of skilled labour.
“This however means we are under immense pressure to ensure that sustainable employment opportunities are created for the youth in order to keep them productive and mitigate the possible security threats posed by an idle youth population.
“It is for this reason that I am excited to join you this afternoon as we launch the Ahafo Youth Skills Development and Employment creation initiative.
“If I am not mistaken, Nana Chair, this is the first regional-led skills development and employment creation intervention and I convey my heartfelt congratulations to the RCC, participating MMDAs and to especially our private sector partners such as Newmont Ghana Gold Company Limited, Golden Team Mining Company and Supremo Wood Processing Company Limited, who have been great collaborators.”
Dr Bawumia urged the programme implementers to “inculcate entrepreneurship and soft skills training into the curriculum since trainees will be given the much needed start-up capital to set up their enterprises. Efforts must also be made to connect the beneficiaries to the market to encourage patronage of their services.”
Nana Kwasi Bosomprah I, President and Omanhene of the Goaso Traditional Council who was Chairman for the occasion, urged the trainees and the Assemblies to imbibe the culture of maintenance, pointing out that the outcome of this first cohort will largely determine the future of the programme.
“If you take your training seriously, and you maintain these nice, brand new equipment that you are getting today, the Minister and the people who support him and the RCC will help to train your younger brothers and sisters in future,” he added.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has called on stakeholders in the public and private sectors to help eradicate the adverse effects of climate change in the world.
The greatest threat to the planet remains climate change, a problem that affects both developed and underdeveloped countries.
The UN climate panel’s most recent assessment indicates that the adverse effects of climate change are accelerating more quickly than anticipated less than ten years ago.
Speaking at the 6th edition of the Sustainability and Social Investment (SSI) Awards, he said mankind has contributed in one way or another to the planet’s predicament today.
As such, a strong coordination between the two will go a long way in finding an end to the menace.
“The benefits of synergy between the public and private sectors cannot be overstated. There is a very tall list of instances and impacts of safe partnerships, but the most practical example of this is the joint response of both parties in the pandemic.
“It was a sharing of other resources, including time and strategies, that brought out the best in us at a time when humanity was most under attack. It is evident in my mind, and I trust in yours as well, that if we are to truly witness meaningful transformation in this regard (climate action), then we will need the private and public sectors to once again collaborate extensively.
“As we speak, global temperatures have risen by 1.8 degrees or 1 degree centigrade between 1901 and 2020; and the rise in global sea level has accelerated from 1.7 millimetres a year throughout most of the 20th century to 3.2 millimeters a year since 1993. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen by 25 percent since 1958, and about 40 percent since the Industrial Revolution,” he said in a speech read on his behalf by Professor Yaw Gyan Baffour, Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).
SSI Awards is an award scheme that appreciates individuals and organizations for their regular investments that have had and are still having an influence on society.
Meanwhile, the country director of ActionAid Ghana, John Nkaw, has urged wealthier polluter nations to bear financial responsibility for the harm that climate change does to the most vulnerable and underdeveloped nations.
According to him, numerous farmers in fragile countries like Ghana are suffering as a result of the abrupt changes in the climate; as a result, developed countries must support developing ones.
“These sad realities demand our collective action to prevent a further increase in the wealth gap. We must continue our campaign for the establishment of an international financing facility to help vulnerable countries recover and rebuild in the aftermath of climate disasters,” he indicated.
Nevertheless, he added that consistent and varied climate change research is essential to enhancing stakeholders’ comprehension of adaptation and influencing both private and public initiatives to entice investors in vulnerable communities.
Aside from taking care of the Ghana economy, he knows how to handle a ball pretty well, especially for man of his age.
The 59-year-old statesman decided to motivate the senior national team, Black Stars, ahead of their opener against Portugal on Thursday, November 24.
“The moment has come for the Black Stars to take on the world. We have a group of talented players who have been selected and they cannot be intimidated by anyone. I want to urge the Black Stars to play their hearts out for mother Ghana. We can stand the world; we have done it before and we can do it once again. They should go out and emulate the historic deeds of their predecessors. God bless you all, we can do it. Go Ghana go, go black stars go,” Dr Bawumia said.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on all Ghanaians to rally behind the country’s senior national team ahead of their opening match in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The Black Stars, on Thursday, November 23, 2022, will kick off their world cup campaign against Portugal who are tipped as one of the tournament’s favourites.
Ahead of the Thursday match, Vice President Bawumia has shared a message to the players and the entire nation.
A video shared on the vice president’s Facebook page opens with Dr Bawumia showing off his football skills, including a rainbow flick.
“The moment has come for the Black Stars to take on the world. We have a group of talented players who have been selected and they cannot be intimidated by anyone. I want to urge the Black Stars to play their hearts out for mother Ghana. We can stand the world; we have done it before and we can do it once again. They should go out and emulate the historic deeds of their predecessors. God bless you all, we can do it. Go Ghana go, go black stars go,” Dr Bawumia said.
Ghana is placed in Group H paired with South Korea, Uruguay and Portugal.
The Black Stars, led by Otto Addo as head coach and Dede Ayew as captain, is seeking to qualify from a tight group for the nation’s third appearance at the Mundial.
Broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere has questioned the timing of the release of the ‘Galamsey Economy’ exposé by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, which was recorded in 2018.
In an editorial on his Good Evening Ghana show, Paul Adom-Otchere said that the explanations given by renowned journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr on why the documentary was delayed point to an ongoing fight.
He hinted that the documentary was not released to fight corruption but to score points against someone he described as a presidential candidate who got hold of the documentary in 2018.
“It (issues surrounding the documentary) comes out as a major vendetta between two people. It may not even have been about Charles. Now, we are hearing that the fundamental opponent to Tiger Eye, whom we know (a presidential candidate) … in the process of investigating Tiger Eye, probably found the material (the documentary). It is believed that he found this material and shared it with other people… so this material has been in the system since 2019.
“…so, it looks like the person that Kweku Baako said stole it; he took it and shared it with other people. And as Kweku Baako alleges, somebody (either the person who stole the documentary or another person) was boasting about having the documentary.
“So, when the Tiger Eye people, whom Kwaku Baako described as owners and authors, found out that they had a copy of the material, they decided to fire it (publish it). So that is the vendetta. At that stage, I’m not sure it is about fighting corruption to support Ghana. It is a personal vendetta,” he said.
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, explained why his protégé, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, used a video shot in 2018 to expose and cause the dismissal of Minister of State, Charles Adu Boahen.
The journalist premiered an investigative documentary dubbed ‘Galamsey Economy,’ in which the minister was engaged in acts considered to be of a corrupt nature, whereas he (the minister) also impugned corruption on others, especially Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
One of the main defenses the sacked minister has advanced is that he was recorded four years ago in the United Arab Emirates but that the journalist is now using the said footage in his so-called investigation.
Kweku Baako’s explanation was contained in a purported response to a Facebook user by the name of “Kwadwo Yeboah-Gyan.”
Baako wrote: “Somebody “stole and sold” it to somebody; thinking the evidence had been deleted forever! The “buyer” went out boasting about his possession for years, for whatever reason nobody could tell! Apparently, the real “owners/authors” subsequently discovered an extra copy! Today’s story begins from there. PAY ATTENTION!”
“Same guy who fabricated a video of Candidate Akufo-Addo receiving a donation from a lady supporter of the NPP in his Nima residence in 2016 when Akufo-Addo was not President but tried to make it look as if he was the President!” he added.
Dr. Gideon Boako, the spokesperson for the Vice President, has indicated that somebody contacted him earlier this year, claiming to be an investor and wanted to enquire about the ‘appearance fee’ to meet his boss, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
According to him, he did not probe further to know the background of the investor “because it was of no interest to me.”
Dr. Gideon Boako while speaking on Asempa FM’s ‘Ekosii Sen’ programme on Monday, November 14 stated that he spoke to the investor on phone.
“The exact day, I may not be able to tell, but they contacted me this year, 2022. I laughed and asked, an appearance fee? Why? is it that Kotoko and Hearts of Oak are going to have a super clash,” he said while laughing.
Dr Gideon Boako further stated that the supposed investor asked whether the ‘appearance fee’ is a norm, to which he replied, “no, that cannot happen. If that was the case, then I am not a poor man. I told them the Vice President as I know him, will never entertain such a thing. If you are his staff and entertain such a thing, you do that at your own risk.
“I told them that well, I do not know that person, but I will say categorically that the person did that on his own behalf and not on behalf of the Vice President because as far as I know the Vice President, it will never happen.
“I said to them that if the Vice President gets to know of that, he will recommend for the person to be questioned by the security agencies. It was only yesterday that Tiger Eye revealed the name of the person they were talking about,” Dr. Boako explained further.
Charles Adu Boahen, the dismissed Minister of State in charge of Finance had earlier alleged that the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will require $200,000 as an appearance fee to meet prospective investors.
This was revealed by Anas Aremeyaw Anas in his latest undercover documentary dubbed “Galamsey Economy”.
The investigative journalist noted that Adu Boahen, in the undercover piece told his Tiger Eye PI team who posed as investors that Dr. Bawumia would also require some positions from the investor for his siblings to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.
But Dr. Bawumia in a statement on Monday, November 14, denied the accusations and called for an investigation into the allegations.
The programs Manager at Ghana Integrity Initiative, Mary Addah has lauded the President’s swift action to dismiss Charles Adu Boahen, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Boahen was dismissed after it emerged he allegedly said Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia could be paid $200,000 as an appearance fee for investors.
Speaking in an interview on Eyewitness News, Madam Mary praised the swiftness with which the dismissal letter was issued, saying it is a major tool for fighting speculations which is unhealthy for the fight against corruption.
“The president acting swiftly is critical to fighting corruption because some of these cases usually come up and not much action is taken and this fuels some of the speculation and perception around corruption in Government, so this is swift and expeditious enough, and it is good for the country.”
“Noticing that he is the appointing authority, he also has the power to disappoint, and he has done so, but then he also recognizes that some of the alleged instances and inferences made, could bother on criminality and pure corruption, so he has referred that to the [Office of the] Special Prosecutor whose Act [the Act establishing the Office of the Special Prosecutor] gives him the power to investigate issues relating to corruption.”
Madam Addah however said relieving Adu Boahen of his post is not enough, but what is needed at this point to clear the perception of Ghanaians on corruption against the government is to proceed to investigate the allegations levelled against the Vice President.
“The Vice President, in addition to what is put out there, will also serve better if he calls for investigations into those allegations. That has something to do with his personal and professional credibility. It will allow everyone to know that the integrity he is speaking to is one he does not joke with, and he is not just speaking as a mantra, but it is something he lives by and would want everyone to attest to same.”
She also said it is difficult to uphold the Government as one that is committed to fighting corruption because of the various appointees that have been accused at one point or another of corruption but are still actively serving and authoring dismissal letters.
“The person who authored the termination letter was cited by his wife for some domestic infractions, and she made certain allegations about properties he has acquired within the shortest time period and others. In that case, civil society spoke to that issue and thought something should have been done other than the silence that went with it. Today, he is still in Government authoring letters to fire people, but we don’t know how far his own allegations went.”
“This is a President that promised us during his campaign that all you needed to do was to complain or make a complaint or present a case, and the investigation agencies will then take it up. He also promised that he will use Anas’ principle to confirm some of these issues, so it becomes worrying when we do not see that being followed through,” she added.
She also bemoaned the numerous instances of conflicts of interest situations perpetrated by some notable persons appointed by the Government.
Most Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, the 18th Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has tasked Ghanaians to tone down on criticism of the government amid economic hardship.
Speaking at an event to climax the Centenary celebration of the Asante presbytery in Kumasi over the weekend, he said the difficulties Ghanaians were experiencing were not unique to Ghana.
But that over-politicization has become the norm, hence opposition parties are always acting in ways that shame the government so that they can boost their chances of winning power.
“Ghana has become very difficult. But I also know that the whole world has become very difficult. I know that things have become very difficult and in Ghana, many people are not educated to know that there is a serious world crisis.
“If you say it, many don’t believe because everything is politicized, so the opposition is interested in doing what will shame the ruling government so that he can be voted for. That kind of politics must be shunned, it is not nice. It doesn’t convince those of us who are educated,” he stressed.
He also tasked Ghanaians to critique the government using the proper channels stressing that doing otherwise ultimately hurts the economy as it has the tendency of chasing away investors.
“There is a medium to raise concerns about issues not to dirty each other in the media. The more we say negative things about our country, the more prices will shoot up. Because there is no investor who will seriously take you seriously.
“It is this that someone wanted to say when he said sika mpɛ dede,” he added in reference to controversial comments President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made in his October 30 economic address to the nation.
What Akufo-Addo said about Ghana being in a crisis
Amid an economic downturn, calls for Akufo-Addo to resign has heightened with a November 5, 2022 protest dubbed ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ making the loudest call as activists and politicians marched in Accra to press home that demand.
The government is meanwhile, grappling with an economic crisis, which along with the galamsey scourge and corruption are the major drivers for the call on Akufo-Addo to resign along with his Vice President, Mahamadu Bawumia.
Akufo-Addo in his October 30 address on the economy blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causes for the country’s economic woes.
While admitting that the country was in crisis and rallying support for various government interventions to stem the tide, he said the situation was not peculiar to the country as many nations across the world were also experiencing difficulties.
“We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.
“But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedevilled our economy,” he said.
But like before, President Akufo-Addo blamed the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causative factors for the economic woes.
Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has outlined some of the measures the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, needs to take should President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his vice Mahamudu Bawumia resign.
According to him, one of the major steps he needs to take is to cushion the Ghanaian economy.
He said the speaker must ensure that taxes, prices of fuel, and basic commodities come down as soon as he assumes office.
“We are saying that when the Speaker of parliament assumes office as president after the resignation of Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, he must take steps to cushion the Ghanaian economy. Times are hard, fuel has gone, everybody is suffering. So, once we are all suffering when the Speaker takes over office, he must roll out plans to reduce some of the taxes, take and find other innovative means to make sure prices of basic commodities and petrol come down.”
The legal practitioner added, “The Speaker must also make sure the cedi is strengthened because as we are all aware the cedi is the worse currency in the world. Once we have gathered here and we are expressed our disgust at the obscene thievery, conflict of interest it means that Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Akufo-Addo must go.”
Martin Kpebu made the comments at the ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ demonstration which was held yesterday, November 5, 2022. The protest started from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and ended at Black Stars Square in Accra.
Some Ghanaians showed up in their numbers to demonstrate in demand for better living conditions and also called for the resignation of Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Ken Ofori-Atta.
The organizers noted that this is to send a “strong message” to the government to act in order to relieve Ghanaians of the challenges they currently face.
They also called for the resignation of the leadership of the country.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has assured Ghanaians that the Akufo-Addo administration will tackle the economic challenges facing them.
He told Ghanaians that the challenges are also being felt in most countries around the world, not only Ghana
In a remark at the Hogbestosto Festival at Anlo in the Volta Region on Saturday November 5, he said “we all know we are facing global economic crisis which Togbe Sri III referred to.
“This is a crisis that is being felt all over the world and the cost of living accelerated across the globe.
“If you look at the cost of living as measured by the rate of inflation, between 2019 and now, the rate of inflation has increased by five-fold in Ghana, it has increased by sixteen-fold in Togo, it has increased by eleven-fold in Senegal, it has increased by seven-fold in Cote D’Ivoire and eight-fold in the United Kingdom.
“The increase in the cost of living has caused hardships not only in Ghana but many countries.
“In fact, the BBC noted about two weeks ago that so far, this year, in 93 countries we have had public protests against the increased cost of living. It is important to know however that amidst all of this turmoil we should put things in perspectives.”
He added “The government of Nana Akufo-Addo has over the last six years taken many steps to reposition and transform the economy.
“So whiles we have hardships today, which we are working very hard to alleviate, and In sha’Allah we will deal with it, let us not forget what we have been able to do in the last six years.
“Let me recall that our government in the last six years has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic, let me recall that we have constructed more roads than any other government in the Fourth Republic, Let me recall that we have built more interchanges than any other government in the Fourth Republic, we have built more airports than any other government in the Fourth Republic, more railways than any other government , we have built more classrooms than any other government in the Fourth Republic.”
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said, in the last six years, the Akufo-Addo administration has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic.
It is not only job creation but also, the government has built mores schools, interchanges, airport than any other government in the Fourth Republic, he said.
In a remark at the Hogbestosto Festival at Anlo in the Volta Region on Saturday November 5, he said “we all know we are facing global economic crisis which Togbe Sri III referred to.
“This is a crisis that is being felt all over the world and the cost of living accelerated across the globe.
“If you look at the cost of living as measured by the rate of inflation, between 2019 and now, the rate of inflation has increased by five-fold in Ghana, it has increased by sixteen-fold in Togo, it has increased by eleven-fold in Senegal, it has increased by seven-fold in Cote D’Ivoire and eight-fold in the United Kingdom.
“The increase in the cost of living has caused hardships not only in Ghana but many countries.
“In fact, the BBC noted about two weeks ago that so far, this year, in 93 countries we have had public protests against the increased cost of living. It is important to know however that amidst all of this turmoil we should put things in perspectives.”
He added “The government of Nana Akufo-Addo has over the last six years taken many steps to reposition and transform the economy.
“So whiles we have hardships today, which we are working very hard to alleviate, and In sha’Allah we will deal with it, let us not forget what we have been able to do in the last six years.
“Let me recall that our government in the last six years has created more jobs than any other government in the Fourth Republic, let me recall that we have constructed more roads than any other government in the Fourth Republic, Let me recall that we have built more interchanges than any other government in the Fourth Republic, we have built more airports than any other government in the Fourth Republic, more railways than any other government , we have built more classrooms than any other government in the Fourth Republic.”
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia Saturday received a rousing welcome at the Hogbetsotso Festival of the Anlo State in the Volta Region.
The enthusiastic crowd chanted New Patriotic Party (NPP) songs to welcome the Vice President and his entourage to the 2022 festival, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Hogbetsotsoza.
This year’s celebration is on the theme: “60 years of Anlo Hogbetsotso Za: Uniting for development, sustaining our unique cultural commonwealth for future generations”.
Also present at the festival were the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Ga King, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.
Other chiefs and personalities from the Volta Region and diasporans also graced the historic ceremony.
The Vice President called for togetherness for rapid socio-economic development.
Hogbetsotso is celebrated in November at Anloga, which is the traditional and ritual capital of the Anlo State.
The Festival unfolds Ewe history and brings to play the memories of legendary exodus and heroic acts of men of boldness and their mystical powers that liberated the Ewe-Dogbo people from the rule of tyrant King of Kings-Torgbui Agokorli of Nortsie in Togo.
Hence, Hogbetsotso is derived from the word ‘Hogbe’ or ‘Hohogbe’-the day of exodus – the moment in time when the Ewes in the Dogbo quarter of the walled city of Nortsie in Togo, escaped from the tyrannical ruler Agorkorli by walking backwards.
In order to commemorate the exodus and the bravery of their traditional rulers who led them on the journey, the people commemorate the annual festival of the Exodus – “Hogbetsotsoza”.
Thirty-six states from the Anlo Traditional Area are participating in this year’s celebration.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, says it is wrong to measure the government’s performance only by the current post-COVID-19 economic difficulties.
He said the country’s economic outlook before the onset of the pandemic was positive; thus the reason the government continued to attribute the current crises to factors emanating from the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Judging government by the development in the global space and not including the performance of the economy when we assumed office in 2017 to 2020 is an anti-climax. And we all know that period gave us a strong economy.”
Dr. Bawumia said this in an address at the 60th Anniversary celebration of Hogbetsotsoza at the Anloga park.
History was made when Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II, the Asantehene, and his entourage of chiefs, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse and his retinue of chiefs and Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, the Kwahuhene’s delegation participated in the event.
He said the government had chalked many successes across all sectors, including school infrastructure, railways, fish landing sites, interoperability, restored teachers and nurses allowances as well as many transformational policies and programmes.
He said these successes were unequal to successive governments’ performance on all fronts.
Dr. Bawumia said the government was working assiduously to stem the high food and fuel prices and urged Ghanaians to be patient.
He identified with the strong cultural heritage of the Anlo people, which is a panacea for the development of the creative industry, an enabler, and a driver for sustainable national development.
He said Keta and Anloga continued to harness a chunk of the tourism traffic and urged the residents to maintain the peace at all times.
Togbi Sri III, the Awoamefia of Anlo, said COVID-19 denied them the organization and celebration of the festival for two years, the same way its effects were wreaking havoc on the economy.
He said the Russia-Ukraine war had added another dimension to the crisis with escalating fuel hikes, food shortages, and high inflation.
He appealed to the people to remain patient with the government for a permanent solution to the difficulties.
The Awoamefia bemoaned the increasing exodus of professionals from the Anlo enclave compared to their collective support for the development of the area.
He said the time had come for them to redirect their efforts at building a solid Anlo state to serve as motivation for the young ones.
Asantehene Otumfuo Osei-Tutu II said his forefathers and the Anlos forged a military pact, which he wanted to practicalize through development to benefit the two kingdoms on a win-win situation.
He said he had been yearning for an occasion like this to demonstrate to the whole world that Asantes and Anlos were inseparable and could only work to better the fortunes available to them.
He said it was time to maximize the human resources of the two kingdoms and improve the productivity and creativity of their people.
Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, the Kwahuhene, said he agreed to particiate in the festival to forge stronger ties due to the mindset of the people towards work and peacebuilding.
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse, who presided, appealed to the Anlos to unite and forge a common front for development to thrive, adding close ranks and not allowing politicians to divide them.
The festival also known as Hogbeza, commemorates the legendary exodus of the Ewe-Dogbo folks from Notsie in present-day neighboring Togo.
The festival was held this year after its suspension in 2020 and 2021 in compliance with COVID-19 protocols and was attended by people from far and near, diplomats, politicians, and the clergy.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that every child born within the borders of Ghana will be issued a National Identification Card (Ghana Card) number at birth, starting from the first quarter of 2023.
The vice president, who disclosed this in a series of tweets he shared after a meeting on the integration of databases in Ghana on November 3, said that this puts Ghana at par with advanced countries.
“Today, I chaired a meeting the integration of the databases of the Ghana Health Service, National Health Insurance Authority, National Identification Authority, the Ghana Statistical Service. We have been working on this for a year now.
“As a product of the work, I am happy to announce that from the end of the first quarter of next year, children born in Ghana will be issued a National ID card (Ghana Card) number from birth as is done in many advanced nations,” part of the vice president’s tweets read.
The integration between the Ghana Card and the Tax Identification Numbers, SSNIT cards, Passport, DVLA, Bank Accounts and SIM cards started in 2021.
Already, the Ghana Card has been merged with Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT); National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and Tax Identification Number (TIN) of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA); a move which has seen an increase in the database of these institutions.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has admitted that the long delay in the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam project is as a result of financial constraints.
Speaking at the launch of the Northern Development Authority’s five-year strategic plan in Tamale, Dr. Bawumia said government will look for funds to construct the dam.
“Even though the project is facing financial challenges, we are determined to find the resources to complete the construction of the dam.”
Sod was cut for the construction of the Pwalugu Multipurpose dam project in 2020 and was to be funded with a Sydohydro facility of $993 million.
The project awarded to China Power International group was scheduled for completion four years after the sod cutting.
The project was aimed at addressing the perennial flooding associated with the spillage of the Bagre dam from neighbouring Burkina-Faso and also providing 60MW and 50MW of hydro and solar electricity respectively.
But physical construction of the project at Kurugu in the North East Region is yet to commence after two years and ten months into the project execution period.
Last week, peasant farmers in the Northern part of the country demonstrated over the delay in the construction of the dam.
The farmers expressed fears that the project had been abandoned and called for a probe into it.
Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said the government is ready to collaborate with the board and management of Rand Refinery to help Ghana obtain London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification.
Underscoring the importance of the LBMA certificate to the government’s plan to develop the mineral industry and make Ghana a key player in the refinery of mineral resources, Bawumia said attaining the certification will propel Ghana to participate and exploit fully the benefits in the mineral value chain.
He said that the gamut of experience and expertise of the certification make them strategic and beneficial partners to Ghana and that partnering them will help the country evade the blunders other countries committed on their journey to creating refinery hubs in their mining sector, “because you have a very long history in this area and also help us not to repeat mistakes of others.”
Bawumia made these remarks when the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel A. Jinapor led the delegation from Rand Refinery to call on him on Monday (31 October) in Accra.
The meeting was to deliberate on ways of actualising government’s agenda to make Ghana a hub for the processing and refining of mineral resources and in particular obtaining the LBMA certification for the country.
The chairman of Rand Refinery, Rams Ramashira disclosed that his outfit has held positive preliminary talks with the ministry and other key stakeholders.
He said the CEO of Rand Refinery is a member of the LBMA board and “we are very happy to be of assistance and share some experiences and strike some alliances and hope the meeting with key stakeholders will help develop something concrete for the two parties”.
Earlier on Monday, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources received the visiting Rand Refinery delegation at the ministry.
He indicated that his invitation to the Rand refinery is to have them hold discussions and share ideas on how to move forward with the partnership that exist between the parties.
He advocated for an intelligent and effective collaboration between the government and LBMA to ensure that the certification is issued.
He took the team through the itinerary for the visit and hoped that it will be a fruitful one as they get the opportunity to meet the Vice President who he said has been very passionate about leveraging the gold industry and the gold value chain in Ghana in support of the national economy.
“The idea is that this visit is productive and substantive and that it gives us the opportunity to delve into the concrete issues with concrete outcomes”, he said.
The sector minister thanked the team for their hospitality during his last visit to their Refinery in South Africa, indicating that the tour of their refinery was very enlightening and educative.
He hoped that at the end of all meetings and discussions the Ministry would be able to acquire sufficient mentorship from Rand Refinery.
“We should be able to find a workable platform to engage cause as I believe all of us acknowledge that your refinery turns to be the leader when it comes to the business of Gold Refinery in Africa and therefore whatever we seek to do, here in Ghana, our idea is to get sufficient mentorship from your outfit.”
The sector minister said as much as possible it is his desire that Rand Refinery will be able to establish a branch in Ghana perhaps through a partnership with an existing Refinery.
The CEO of Rand Refinery, Praveen Baijnath on his part said they are excited and very expectant about the opportunity to partner Ghana on the event of establishing a Refinery in the country.
He said their general objective on this trip is to meet all stakeholders involved in the gold value chain to better understand government expectations and to consider how best they can unlock their assets available to meet up on that level.
“Our general strategic objective is to collect much intelligence and data as possible to build a business case and see how we can develop it”.
Also with the Minister were the Deputy Minister in Charge Mines, George Mireku Duker, the CEO of Minerals Commission, Martin Ayisi, the Advisor on Mines to the Minister, Ben Aryee, the Managing Director of PMMC, Nana AKwasi Awuah and other officials from the Ministry.
Chief Nixon Biney, the Deputy National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress(NDC) continues to hold the position that an officer of the Ghana Police Service allegedly infiltrated the demonstration he staged with some Ghanaians against, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Friday, October 28, 2022.
It will be recalled that during the protest, Chief Biney who was the brain behind the demonstration, raised alarm over what he suspected to be a police officer who was planted among the demonstrators to mar the peaceful march.
The allegations of Chief Biney were vehemently rejected by the Deputy Chief of Staff Emmanuel Adumua-Bossman who scolded Chief Biney over the allegations.
“These officers have been here trying to protect life and property and also to ensure that this thing moves on as smoothly as possible. So, to accuse them of something they may not even be aware of is a bit unfair,” he said.
But in a post on his social media handle, the NDC Organizer hopeful vowed to expose the said police officer with evidence that validates his claim.
Chief Biney claimed that the police after their failed attempt to stop the demonstration resorted to other tactics to ‘frame’ him by infiltrating the protest one of their own.
“It was in the spirit of ensuring that the voices of the suffering masses are heard by Dr. Bawumi, our self-acclaimed economic messiah and our vice president that I took the bold decision to peacefully picket at his office, which is also my right as a citizen of our beloved Ghana.
“I, as a responsible citizen, took the path of law and order by informing the police as stipulated by the constitution and laws of Ghana of the intention to embark on the protest.
“After several meetings which ended with mutual agreement on the manner in which the protest will be conducted, the Police acting in bad faith applied to the court to seek an injunction to restrain me from holding the protest. Strangely enough, the police fix which was filed on Wednesday 26th Oct, to be heard on 27th Oct, just a day before the scheduled protest. Fortunately, wisdom prevailed and the court rejected the application for injunction however, made orders to vary the venue of the protest and other related issues.
“I complied with the orders of the court and ensured that there were 19 other protesters who accompanied me to march to the DVLA office on the Switchback Road where the representative of the vice met me to receive the petition however, the Ghana Police decided to frame me up by using an outmoded police intelligence gathering style by infiltrating my peaceful action with a fool of a police officer. When they were exposed, they denied it by lying that this fool of a police officer was not from the Ghana Police Service but there are a lot to share soon,” he stated on social media.
On Friday, Chief Biney led hundreds of Ghanaians to walk from Kawukudi Park to the DVLA head office in Accra to register their anger over what they believe to be poor handling of the economy by Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The demonstrators held the view that the Dr Bawumia who was head of the Economic Management Team has failed at his job.
An economist at the University of Ghana, Prof. Godfred Alufar, has reiterated Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia‘s stance on the weak state of Ghana’s exchange rate.
According to him, the depreciation of the local currency is due to fundamental factors that must be tackled.
The Ghana cedi has come under intense pressure in recent times as it fell by more than 50% to the US dollar to sell at an all-time high of GH¢16.
In this week’s edition of BizTech, Prof. Bokpin highlighted the importance for the government to act swiftly to arrest the cedi.
He also explained that Ghana’s economic crisis cannot be solved by ‘magic’, therefore pragmatic steps must be taken to ensure that the crisis comes to an end.
On calls for the resignation of the Finance Minister, Prof Bokpin said, “that is not the only change we want. Beyond that, it will not amount to so much just changing the finance minister. We must go a step further and reduce the number of ministers and the government size overall, including the staff at the presidency.”
He also stated that the government must fast-track its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in order to secure the expected financial support as soon as possible.
John Dramani Mahama, the 2020 presidential candidate of the country’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), addressed the nation on Thursday, October 27, 2022, from Accra.
The event, dubbed ‘Building the Ghana We Want,’ allowed the former president of Ghana to diagnose what he believed are the current problems the country is facing, as well as proffer solutions to how to make them better.
Reading a 39-page address at the UPSA Hall in Accra, the former president outlined a number of issues that he believes can save the country from further economic mess if the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government implores them.
Below are highlights of his speech as put together by GhanaWeb:
1. Reducing the public debt, debt service obligations and creating fiscal space
“The biggest problem with our economy today is the huge size of our public debt, estimated to be around GH¢ 522 billion by close of this year. This must immediately be tackled and stopped from growing further.
“To achieve this:
1) An immediate moratorium must be placed on all non-concessional borrowing.
2) Government must actively canvass our bilateral partners for more concessional financing and grants.
3) There must be a stop to Central Bank financing of government above the 5% threshold. The current printing of money to finance Government’s deficit is further fueling inflation.
4) Government must stop collateralizing statutory funds for the purpose of taking on more loans. The wanton collateralization has been unhelpful.”
2. Cutting cost, reducing waste, and spending wisely
Under this, he called for the down-streaming of the size of ministers, secretariats and agencies, the cutting down of the budget of the Office of the President, check waste in government expenditure and corruption, the suspension of non-essential projects, and a call for greater transparency in public procurement.
“It is a notorious fact that corruption has defeated the Akufo-Addo government. In fact, it is fair to say that there has never really been a fight against corruption under Akufo-Addo.
“The graft and misapplication of public funds by government appointees call for radical action and not shielding of perpetrators, as we have sadly witnessed in the last few years.”
3. Stabilizing the currency, cutting the import bill and job creation
While expanding this point, John Dramani Mahama called for a consideration of the Operation Feed Yourself program of 1976, as a measure of sustaining progress in agricultural production, with a focus on small scale producers.
He also called for the Akufo-Addo government to leverage on the country’s energy and petroleum sectors to help shore up the economy.
“We do enormous damage to our currency, the cedi, and our economy, when we spend billions of dollars on the importation of rice, sugar, tomato products, frozen fish, poultry, meat products and vegetable cooking oils.
“Yet we have more than the potential to produce here to feed ourselves and even export. It is estimated that forex outlay for food products for which we have a comparative advantage to produce locally amounts to some $3 billion every year.
“It is said that out of adversity comes opportunity. Restriction of importation of some of these products, side-by-side with increased local production, is a realistic proposition that we need to begin to consider.”
What Ghanaians can do to support the economy:
President John Dramani Mahama however called on the citizenry to play a critical role in all of this.
Basing his call for domestication, he urged people to patronize more local products and avoid the needs to patronize things from overseas.
“While responsibility for the difficulties we face lie with the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government, there are things we can do as citizens in our own small way to minimize the suffering we are going through and help Government turn the situation around.
“A good way to start will be to regulate and minimize out expenditure by sticking to only the things that we really need. As much as possible, we need to acquire and sustain a taste and preference for locally manufactured products.
“If we must buy consumables or food products, let us choose that rice or chicken that is produced locally so that it doesn’t become necessary to find millions of dollars to import the same items.
“Let us consciously eat more of our local foods like yam, local grains, cassava, beans, local fruits, and vegetables. That way, we reduce demand for foreign currency, reduce the pressure on our own currency and boost domestic production to create a win-win situation.
“Cut down on non-essential foreign travel and cut down on expensive foreign products in our homes. If there ever was a time to be thrifty, this is it!”
Pressure group Arise Ghana has announced its decision to demonstrate over the severe economic hardship visited on Ghanaians by president Akufo-Addo’s administration.
The group made the announcement to demonstrate in a statement jointly signed by Mr Rex Omar, Mensah Thompson, Bernard Mornah and Bobie Ansah.
The demonstration is expected to come off on November 15, 2022.
Below is the full statement:
“Arise Ghana observes with grave concern the current trend of severe economic hardship that has been visited on Ghanaians.
“We are of the view that such degree of suffering visited on Ghanaians are as a result of the recklessness, incompetence and greed of President Akufo-Addo, Ken Ofori-Atta and Dr Mahamadu Bawumia.
“Arise Ghana also notes with even greater concern the recent spate of insults thrown at Ghanaians at the mere attempt to complain about the severe economic hardship they are forced to endure under President Akufo-Addo, not only from the President himself but from his family and close acquaintances.
“Arise Ghana as the most vibrant pressure group that has led Ghana’s economic struggles in recent past deem it very important to yet again rise to the ocassion and bring some hope to struggling young people and the good people of Ghana.
“Arise Ghana, therefore, wishes to use this medium to announce its plans to lead a massive demonstration in the capital on 15th November 2022.
“Ahead of this massive demonstration, Arise Ghana will also engage various groups such as trade unions, labour groups, youth groups and other stakeholders.
“Again we want to use this medium to commend people like lawyer Martin Kpebu, Prof Ransford Gyampo, Prof Bokpin and others who have been fearless in pointing out the current crisis that we find ourselves in.
“We wish to assure them that they enjoy unflinching support from Arise Ghana and we shall stand with them through thick and thin.
“But finally, we wish to use this opportunity to call on young people of this country to remain calm as we prepare to provide them a platform where they can express their frustrations in a democratic manner.
“We also call on the Ghana Armed Forces to remain calm as we explore democratic avenues to put this country back on the path of prosperity and bring relief to the people.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has admitted that Ghana is currently going through an economic crisis which has brought untold hardships on many Ghanaians.
Speaking at a Standard Charted Bank event in Accra on Wednesday (October 26), Dr. Bawumia intimated that to get out of this current situation, Ghanaians must prepare themselves for more hardship because the government will soon commence implementing tough measures to help resolve the crisis.
The vice president went on to list the measures which he indicated the President Akufo-Addo, will soon address Ghanaians on.
Fiscal and debt sustainability
Dr. Bawumia indicated that the government would put together expenditure and tax measures that will ensure a reduction in government debts.
He said that these measures are being discussed as part of the ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and will soon be made known to Ghanaians.
“In Ghana specifically, we are dealing with an economic crisis that we have to address in different dimensions. The first and most important, which affects the confidence that we have in the economic system, is to make sure that we have fiscal and debt sustainability. This has been one of the areas where we are having discussions and negotiations with the International Monetary Fund about,” he said.
“Restoring fiscal and debt sustainability will no doubt is not going to be easy. It will require very bold, difficult, but firm decisions. And I think these are part of the discussions that we’re having with the IMF. I’m sure once those are concluded, it will be clear that it will not be and it should not be business-as-usual because we have to adjust to the new global and domestic realities,” he added.
Tightening foreign exchange regime:
Dr. Bawumia went on to say the government will also be looking at the foreign exchange regime, which he described as being very loose.
“We also have to look very clearly at our foreign exchange regime. It’s very clear that it is quite loose, and this is why we are going to be working to see how we can tighten the foreign exchange regime.
“When the President addresses the nation, hopefully by the end of the week, some of these details will be fleshed out in more specifics. But in broad terms, I think you cannot address the current economic crisis without addressing the fiscal and debt sustainability, without addressing the production side, without addressing the foreign exchange regime and what allows us to lose a lot of foreign exchange,” he said.
Digitalising Ghana’s economy
The vice president further stated that addressing the digitalizing needs of Ghana is very critical to resolving the difficulties in the country.
“But more importantly, if we are going to address this, this economy must be digitalized. And that is something we started since 2017 in earnest because no economy can really participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution without the digitalization of the economy,” he said.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has admitted that Ghana’s foreign exchange systems appear to be loose.
This he believes has contributed to the current economic challenges confronting the country.
He maintains that government and key stakeholders have to look at tightening the foreign exchange regime by reconsidering innovative ways of production.
Speaking at the Standard Chartered digital banking Innovation & Fintech Festival in Accra, the Vice President said government will present details of addressing this shortfall of the exchange rate in the coming days.
“It is very clear that our foreign exchange regime is quite loose, and that is why we are going to see how we can tighten our foreign exchange regime. In broad terms, you cannot address the current economic situation without addressing the fiscal and debt sustainability, production and foreign exchange regime.”
Dr. Bawumia underscored the importance of major policy changes in the wake of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Once those [negotiations with the IMF] are concluded, it will be clear that it will not be, and it should not be business as usual because we have to adjust to the new global and domestic realities,” the Vice President said.
For one, he said the nature of production needs to change because Ghana has more trade surpluses and current count deficits, “which means that a lot of the foreign exchange that we are earning from our trade doesn’t stay in Ghana.”
Vice President Bawumia also said Ghana would be working to reduce import dependency to address Ghana’s forex problems.
Ghana’s global-worst depreciating currency has been noted as one of the main causes of inflation amid the current economic crisis.
Vice President Bawumia said the President would address the nation in the near future, where the government’s plan “will be fleshed out in specifics.”
“More importantly, if we are going to address this, this economy must be digitalized,” the Vice President added.
The Minister of information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has indicated that the government has taken steps to curb the rapid depreciation of the Ghana cedi.
According to him, the government, in a series of consultations with relevant stakeholders in the financial sector, solved the issue of the cedi depreciation. Aside from that, the Economic Management Team, chaired by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, will also hold a series of meetings with other stakeholders, Asaaseradio.com adds.
This consultation will end with a cabinet retreat, after which the president will address the nation with steps taken to solve the current economic hardship.
On the Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana on October 24, 2022, the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 12.5244 and a selling price of 12.5370.
This is compared to Saturday’s trading of a buying price of 12.5823 and a selling price of 12.5949.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is bought at a rate of 15.05 and sold at a rate of 15.65.
Ghanaians have taken to social media to complain about the high cost of living due to the effect of the dollar.
To curb the above, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah’s consultations began today (Monday October 24, 2022) with the Bank of Ghana meeting with heads of banking institutions and forex bureau operators.
Apostle Elijah King, the leader of the Fire Nation Arena Ministries in Lusaka, Zambia has made some interesting predictions about the flagbearer race of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In a sermon in his church that has been in circulation on social media, Apostle Elijah King disclosed that there will be instances of backbiting and betrayal from some of the candidates.
According to him, one of the leading candidates who will fall victim to the scheme will break away from the NPP and set up his own party.
This person, he claims will win the general elections and set the country on the path of autocracy and military rule.
“The Lord shows me that there will be confusion in the present government of Ghana. There will be confusion in the NPP and they will end up fighting each other and setting each other up. There is this race of the next presidential candidate. I won’t go into details but there is one particular man amongst the candidates that the Lord focused on and spoke to me about.
“I saw that the man will be set up and betrayed by the party. Out of the betrayal and anger, he will walk away and set up his own political party. He will buy people and Lord says, he will rule like a military government. Whatever he says will become final,” he said.
The three leading candidates in the NPP race are Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Trades, and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen, and Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong.
Though the first two names are yet to officially announce their interest in the race but Kennedy Agyapong has announced his, detailing his plans for the primaries and the national election.
Former Parliamentary Candidate for NDC in Anyaa Sowutuom, Emmanuel Adortey Allotey has faulted the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the worsening economic situation in the country.
He says the Akufo-Addo administration has failed to turn around the economy as promised in the build-up to the 2016 election because it lied its way into power.
The fundamental struggles of Ghana’s economy have remained since the NPP took office under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government, and the indicators appear to be unfavourable.
He mentioned that the NPP’s constant attribution of the economic mismanagement to the NDC during its campaign was indicative that it was taking the citizenry for granted.
Speaking with Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Adwenekasa on Accra-based Original FM 91.9, Mr. Allotey said that, “I think right from the onset, the foundations were established on deception. And when you build something on deception, within a matter of time, it is going to collapse. So basically, they came into office riding on lies. They came into office pretending that somehow they were going to reduce taxation and at the same time increase expenditure. So right from the word go, they were deceiving the people.
“Right from the beginning, they absolutely lied to the country, especially when they made it look as if the whole of the problem was simply about the question of mismanagement when they knew it was not.”
Emmanuel Adortey Allotey explained that the financial resources at the disposal of the NPP should reflect in the output of its various flagship programs but, unfortunately, that has not been the case.
At least GH¢2 million will be pumped into the construction of the controversial astroturf in Tumu in the Upper West region, the Contractor for the project, Sinkare has clarified.
He told Francis Abban, host of Morning Starr on Starr 103.5 Fm, that the 100 by 120 feet pitch alone will cost 1.1 million cedis.
The rest of the money is for floodlights and ancillary works, Mr Sinkare said.
There has been a hue and cry over the project cost after the sod-cutting by Vice President, Mahamudu Bawumia on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
The average cost of astroturfs has been between 300,000 and 600,000 Ghana cedis, according to the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).
Some Ghanaians on social media reacted to the cost of the Tumu astroturf project questioning why government will splurge GH¢2 million to construct an artificial pitch.
In July 2022, government revealed that it constructed 30 astroturfs at a total cost of GH¢40,779,395.79.
However, a report by PIAC also quoted that the cost of the astroturfs amounted to GH¢8,188,000 million, a massive variance of GHS32,591,395.44.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been charged to continue to pursue the vision of renowned Ghanaian politician, teacher and king Simon Diedong (SD) Dombo.
Chief of Duori, Naa Dombo III during a courtesy call on him by the Vice President as part of his official working visit to the Upper West Region, tasked him with the responsibility of pursuing to the letter, the vision of the late Member of Parliament for Jirapa-Lambussie, who was a key founder of the Northern People’s Party, the forebears of today’s New Patriotic Party.
According to him, the family acknowledges his contributions in re-igniting the link between the two families that championed the vision of the tradition.
He described his intervention as timely and prayed God grants him the strength and fortitude to soldier till the dream of the two families that started decades ago is achieved.
“We acknowledge your intervention in re-establishing the link between the Dombos and the Bawumias. I am by this tasking you to pursue the vision of your father Dombo from where he left off. You have henceforth been tasked with the responsibility as a true son to achieve this dream that was birthed decades ago”, he charged.
Naa Dombo III also bestowed on him a Chieftaincy title “Leweh” to wit “the chief (Dombo) has returned”.
He explained that it was as a result of the traits of the late SD Dombo seen in Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that led the Dombo family to honour him with the title to encourage him to achieve his assigned task. Dr. Bawumia was also named as co-Chairman of the SD Dombo Foundation.
An elated Bawumia later paid glowing tribute to one of the pillars of the NPP at his graveside where he laid a wreath and prayed for his peaceful repose.
The late Douri-Na, was reputed to be the first educated chieftain in the Upper Region of Ghana.
He was one of the founders of the Northern People’s Party and became its first Chairman with Mumuni Bawumia (the Vice President’s father as Vice Chairman). The Northern Peoples Party later merged with other parties to form the United Party.
During the Second Republic, Dombo was also a member of the first Parliament under the membership of the ruling Progress Party after he was elected in the 1969 Ghanaian general elections.
He was Minister for Health and then Minister for Interior in the Busia administration.
The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on Tuesday, cut sod for the construction of a $2 million Astroturf at Tumu in the Upper West Region.
Measuring 100 by 120 feet respectively, the multi-purpose pitch being sponsored by Ghana Gas will be completed in six months.
Speaking at the ceremony the Vice President stated that the government was doing its best to bring development to every sector of the country, although it sometimes appeared slower than expected and said the needs of the youth was at the heart of government’s agenda.
“As a country, one of our biggest challenges is youth unemployment, so government has paid close attention to this area so that even though the problem has not been solved entirely, the New Patriotic Party government has created more jobs than any other government in the 4th Republic and you can bear witness to this,” he said.
He mentioned that 600,000 people were on government’s payroll at the time the party came to power and said an additional 400,000 people had been recruited in the last five years in the health and education sectors as well as the various security services.
To ensure that the youth measured up to the human resource needs of the country, the Vice President said the government had dedicated resources to ensuring that every young person in the country attained at least a senior high school certificate hence the introduction of the free senior high school policy.
“The policy has led to a surge in enrolment into senior high school by 50 per cent and more girls are being enrolled leading to gender parity; government is also paying attention to vocational education by establishing a Technical Education Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) service and also included them in the free SHS policy.
He mentioned that government was building ultra-modern technical educational institutions across the country and retooling existing ones as in the case of St Claires in Tumu.
Touching on the Tumu-Wa road, Dr Bawumia promised the people of Tumu that the government would deliberate on how to acquire a dedicated fund to pay road contractors in the area to ensure that they expedite action on the construction of the road.
“I have been briefly informed that five contractors are supposed to work on the Wa-Tumu road but only one is currently at work due to non-payment of contracts as a result of challenges with disbursement of the internally generated funds (IGF) at the assembly so it is necessary that we have an input as a government to see how these contractors can be paid to make them get back to work”, he stressed.
The senior manager for Community Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility at the Ghana Gas, Mr Stephen Donkor, said the astroturf pitch was one of the numerous ways the company would want to support the development of northern Ghana and appealed to the Municipal Chief Executive to monitor the project to ensure it was delivered on time.
In a speech, the Chief of Tumu, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton IV lauded the project as relevant and said it would provide the youth the opportunity to nurture their talents in sports and enable them to spend their leisure prudently away from social vices.
Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Abu Jinapor has declared, in no uncertain terms, that he will support the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia when the “time comes, and he decides to run” for the flagbearership of the NPP.
Speaking in Kpalbe on Sunday, in the Savannah Region, during the visit of the Vice President, as part of his working visit to the North, Abu Jinapor, who is also the Member of Parliament for Damongo, said, in his view, the best person to lead the NPP to the 2024 elections if he decides to contest when the time comes is none, but Dr Bawumia.
“At this moment, considering many things, including his competence and hard work, there is no other person. When the time comes and His Excellency the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia decides to contest, I will support him fully and work hard together party stakeholders in the Savannah Region for his hard work, and competence.” Abu Jinapor said.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister noted further that the 2024 Election won’t be an easy battle and for the NPP to retain power, the party needs someone like Dr. Bawumua, who will be widely accepted and can effectively communicate everything the government and the party have done.
“Dr Bawumia has served with humility and honour and I can say without a doubt that, he has Savannah, the north and Ghana at heart,” Abu Jinapor noted.
The Vice President resumed his working tour of the northern regions on Sunday in the Savannah Region.
As part of his programme, he paid courtesy calls on traditional rulers, and inspected government projects, including the Agenda 111 District Hospital in Kpalbe and the ongoing works on the Fufulso-Bunjai Road, before commissioning a market complex in Salaga.
Part of the Vice President’s delegation are; Minister of Interior Ambrose Dery, Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul, Presidential Advisor on Health Dr. Nsia Asare, and Former Chief Whip Frederick Opare Ansah.
The Savannah Regional branch of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as whimsical and unnecessary the recent visit by the Vice President, Mahammud Bawumia to the Savannah region.
Vice President Bawumia during his tour of the region over the weekend indicated that the newly created Savannah Region has witnessed much development under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
According to him, the creation of the region by the Akufo-Addo led administration was the strongest indication that the growth and development of the region was at the heart of government.
Dr. Bawumia inspected some on-going projects in the region as part of his visit to the region.
But, the NDC in the region says the tour by the Vice President is ‘hollow’.
“The desperate attempt by the Vice President Bawumia to recover his lost integrity and redeem his bruised reputation by touring the country appears whimsical and a waste of the tax payers money,” the Communication Officer for the Savannah region, Malik Basintale said in a press release.
He continued: “It is rather unfortunate that among the comic attitudes of the vice President Bawumia, he chose to travel several miles from the seat of government with over 25 luxurious land cruiser V8’s and over 100 staff just to commission an old rural market, an NGO-owned borehole and water system and the foundation of a building labelled “Female surgical ward”, “Laundry block” etc in the name of agenda 111. (Pictures attached).”
Below is the full statement by Savannah NDC
BAWUMIA’S DESPERATE VISIT TO THE SAVANNAH REGION WHIMSICAL AND A WASTE OF THE TAX PAYERS MONEY.
We have keenly monitored the Vice President’s visit to the Savannah region and still find it difficult to comprehend the motive and rational behind his hollow tour around the region.
The desperate attempt by the Vice President Bawumia to recover his lost integrity and redeem his bruised reputation by touring the country appears whimsical and a waste of the tax payers money.
It is rather unfortunate that among the comic attitudes of the vice President Bawumia, he chose to travel several miles from the seat of government with over 25 luxurious land cruiser V8’s and over 100 staff just to commission an old rural market, an NGO-owned borehole and water system and the foundation of a building labelled “Female surgical ward”, “Laundry block” etc in the name of agenda 111. (Pictures attached).
It is shameful, that after 6 years in office and with the failed promises, pledges absolutely nothing to show, Dr. Bawumia still finds comfort in campaigning to the people of the Savannah region after admitting himself that he was used for the “dirty works” by the NPP in a recently leaked tape which obviously leaves his reputation and credibility questioned.
To zoom in, Let me request from Dr. Bawumia the whereabouts or current state of their old promises to the people of the Savannah region:
Where is the Damongo water project you promised the people of Damongo in 2018 after truncating the contract signed by the erstwhile John Mahama government.
Where is the Daboya bridge you promised the people of North Gonja in August 2021?
Where is the regional house of chiefs you cut sod for in 2020?
Where are the factories you promised the people of the Savannah region under 1D 1F?
Where are the permanent jobs your government promised the Nabco retirees in the Savannah region?
Why is the Busunu-Daboya road still in a deplorable state after funds were made available by the erstwhile John Mahama government and why is the contractor not being paid to go back to site?
Where is the senior high school your boss, Akufo-Addo promised the people of the North East Gonja?
What is the state of the Salaga -Makango road and why are works slowing on it?
Why is the fufulso-Sawla road not being maintained after 6 years of being in office?
Why has your government abandoned the Bole teacher training college started by H.E John Mahama.
These are the first ten (10) basic questions we need answers to as we haven’t seen or heard the Vice President, Bawumia mention the state of all these promises they made to us, throughout his 2- day tour and just in case they have forgotten, we will always be here to remind them.
Signed:
Malik Basintale
Communication Officer
NDC- Savannah region.
The Bolewura Sarfo Kutuge Feso (I) has made a bold and emphatic prediction about the political future of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Welcoming the Vice President to his Palace in Bole on Monday October 10, 2022, the Bolewura commended the Vice President for his service and care to the region and nation, and capped his complimentary words with a bold statement on the future of the Vice President.
“Your Excellency, this is the 3rd or so time that you have familiarised yourself with this Palace. The first time you came here during the campaign, I gave you only one sentence; that victory is a foregone conclusion. So victory for you is a forgone conclusion,” the Bolewura boldly told Dr. Bawumia.
“Take that sentence from this place. Your victory is a foregone conclusion,” the Bolewura added.
Dr. Bawumia, who briefed the Bolewura on a number of projects the Government is undertaking in the Savannah Region, thanked the Bolewura for his warm words and encouragement.
The Vice President was accompanied by a number of ministers of State, including the Minister for Works and Housing and MP for Damongo Abu Jinapor, Minister for Interior Ambrose Dery, Minister for Defence Dominis Nitiwul, as well as some senior Government officials.
The Vice President and his delegation were given a rousing reception into Bole, which is the hometown of former President John Mahama.
Your victory is a forgone conclusion – Bolewura tells Dr. Bawumia
Dr. Bawumia, who briefed the Bolewura on a number of projects the Government is undertaking in the Savannah Region, thanked the Bolewura for his warm words and encouragement.
Kofi Bentil, Vice President of Imani Africa, has eulogised Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia on the occasion of his 59th birthday.
Bentil, who has been a strong critic of the Vice President and the government at large, described the second gentleman of the land as a strong tree that will stand through every storm.
He noted in a Facebook post with a photo of the Vice President that he [Dr Bawumia] is made of the right stuff.
“The strongest trees are those that bend in the storm but don’t break. You are a strong tree. You will stand through every storm.
“When it’s all done you will wave your leaves and branches in victory when the calm comes after the storm.
“I will be there clapping. I won’t be surprised. I know you’re made of the right stuff.
“Happy Birthday champ. You are blessed. It is clear,” Kofi Bentil‘s October 7 post concluded.
Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, joined the list of politicians who wished Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia a happy 59th birthday.
The Vice President on Friday, October 7 marked his birthday with a celebration at his residence with some cured lepers from the Weija Leprosarium and prominent personalities, particularly politicians.
In a Facebook post, Adwoa Safo shared a picture of the Vice President with the caption: “Stride into 59 Years of Allah’s Fulfilment and Greatness, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia”.
About Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Dr. Bawumia was born on October 7, 1963, in Tamale to the late Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, former Chairman of the Council of State (1992–2000), and Hajia Mariama Bawumia.
Born into a large family, Mahamudu Bawumia was the twelfth of his father’s 18 children and the second of his mother’s five. Mahamudu Bawumia attended the Sakasaka Primary school in Tamale and gained admission to Tamale Secondary School in 1975. He was President of the Ghana United Nations Students’ Association (GUNSA) in 1981.
After graduating from Tamale Secondary School, he went to the United Kingdom where he studied banking and obtained the Chartered Institute of Bankers Diploma (ACIB). He took a First Class Honours Degree in Economics at Buckingham University in 1987.
He then obtained a master’s degree in Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1995.
His areas of specialization include Macroeconomics, International Economics, Development Economics, and Monetary Policy. He has numerous publications.
He became an economist and banker by training and went on to serve as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ghana between 2006 and 2009.
Dr. Bawumia was running mate to Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 and 2012 elections which they lost. He became Vice President on his third attempt with Nana Akufo-Addo after winning the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Ghana will host GEO Week 2022, the 18th Annual Meeting of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), from Monday, October 31, to Friday, November 4, 2022, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
Amid mounting environmental challenges and rapid technological advances, the meeting will show how global partnerships are accelerating the use of Earth observations to inform better local decisions on issues such as climate adaptation and food and water security.
Earth observations are data and information collected about our planet. This includes satellite data, as well as in situ data collected on the ground. GEO is a global partnership that works to make these observations openly available around the world.
It also convenes partnerships which produce earth observation-based tools and services to enable better decisions, policies and investments.
Ghana, represented by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), has been a member of the GEO since 2010 and is honoured to host GEO Week 2022.
The week will feature several high-level speakers, including H.E. Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who will deliver the keynote address during the Opening Session of the Plenary on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at 9:00 am.
Remarking on the significance of Ghana hosting GEO Week 2022, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie stated: “As the GEO Principal for Ghana, I see this as an important opportunity, as we also kick start our implementation of the National Space Science Policy.”
GEO Week is designed as an opportunity for knowledge exchange, learning and international collaboration. It comprises the Plenary—decision-making sessions that are only open to GEO delegations— as well as a series of side events and an exhibition.
Topics on the agenda include Operational services for Africa—including the Digital Earth Africa Initiative—nature-based solutions, National Adaptation Plans and GEO’s Post2025 Strategy.
The side events include an industry track which will focus on public-private partnerships, and a youth track, which provides young people (including students and early career professionals) from around the world with opportunities to share their experiences and connect with private sector companies.
These side events are open to participants working on earth observations and relevant policy areas from youth, academia, civil society, the private sector and other groups, following registration for the event.
Commenting on the upcoming meeting, Yana Gevorgyan, Director of the GEO Secretariat said: “With extreme weather events becoming more frequent, and environmental and societal challenges multiplying, accurate and trusted environmental intelligence is more important than ever. The GEO community has made great strides responding to this demand—opening up access to data and convening partnerships that provide evidence for better decisions. But despite these advances, many countries still do not have access to the right information, at the right time and in the right format. As we meet in Ghana, we must consider new ways of thinking, and partnering, to accelerate global action for local impact.”
GEO Week 2022 is organized by the GEO Secretariat in partnership with a Local Organizing Committee (LOC), comprising the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI); Ghana Statistical Service (GSS); the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UNER), as well as the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute (GSSTI).
The Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is marking his 59th birthday.
As part of the activities marking the day, the politician has been captured in a video making merry with some close friends and families.
The video, shared on Facebook by KB Mahama, a staff at the Office of the Vice President, shows Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, dressed in all white and surrounded by people in equally white attire, showing off his dancing skills as he boogies to the popular Buga tune.
As he boogied, the people around him cheered him on.
One of the people seen in the video is the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central and Minister of the Greater Accra Region, Henry Quartey.
Watch the video of the vice president, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, below:
The National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, has said that there is no hope for Ghanaians under the current President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia government.
He explained that there is no hope because President Akufo-Addo robbed the 2020 elections, and he is now being punished by God, which is why he has been embarrassing himself since the inception of his second term.
Sammy Gyamfi, who was speaking in an XYZ TV interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the only way the current hardship in the country can be reverted is when this current government is booted out of power.
“There is no hope. President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia are under judgement. Only people with no spiritual discernment are unable to see this.
“Have you ever seen a Ghanaian president being booed in his own country? He is under judgement. His cup is full. God’s anger is on him. This is what happens when you take something that does not belong to you.
“You have killed 8 people because of power, and you think you will go scot-free. Nothing in the country is working. They don’t know what to do now. They have given up on the country,” he said in Twi.
He added that what the country is currently going through is because of the judgement of God on Akufo-Addo.
“We are suffering because when a country has bad leaders, its citizens suffer just like the cases in the Bible,” he added.
The effort paid off. I’m A Honky Tonk Girl reached number 14 on the country charts, and Lynn relocated to Nashville, where she was quickly snapped up by Decca Records.
She released her first Decca record, Success, in 1962, beginning an impressive stretch of hits that continued into the 1990s.
Lynn earned her first number one with Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) in 1966, and topped the US country charts another 15 times.
She recorded 60 albums in total, and was nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, winning three.
The 4th Industrial Revolution is here, whether we like it or not. Ghana, as part of the global economy, can choose to watch yet another innovation passes us by, or we can jump onboard and, even in many aspects, lead the way.
In the entire Ghanaian political landscape, there is only one politician pushing Ghana into the future rather than into the past.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has staked a huge chunk of his political capital on the digitalisation agenda. Amidst heavy opposition, Bawumia has forged ahead.
Ghana needs the digitalisation agenda, mainly for a few very important reasons I’ll illustrate below.
Oftentimes with such sweeping changes, we have to take the long view, something Ghanaians are notoriously bad at.
Nevertheless, bear with me and I’ll lay out the case for why Bawumia’s digitalisation is the future Ghana needs.
Stay ahead of the curve
The future is already here. The 4th industrial revolution Bawumia often speaks of is not a mirage approaching lazily on the distant horizon – it’s already here and transforming economies.
The 21st century is entirely about transitioning to a digital world. We were already headed there, but the coronavirus pandemic of the past few years hastened the process. Now we have more people working from home than ever. New apps spring up every day to make life easier for the ordinary citizen as every aspect of our lives gets more digitalised.
Why not digitalise our economy and systems, too? There are massive benefits to be reaped from moving to a digitalised system, but most importantly, there are advantages to getting there faster than everyone else.
Every single day, we hear of one more aspect of Bawumia’s digital agenda which is either the first in Africa or one of the first in Africa. The drone service, the electronic pharmacy platform, the fully integrated mobile interoperability – the list goes on and on.
The agenda is setting Ghana up to be ahead of our peers, to be far more ready than anyone else to take advantage of this new world order.
There will come a time when Africa would have to join the rest of the world in going completely digital and when it comes – Ghana will be far more ready than any other country on the continent to roll with it, take advantage of rising opportunities and become a leader of the entire continent – essentially staying ahead of the curve. The benefits we will reap from that early advantage will be enormous.
Fix government finances
Africa has a big problem called under-development. The reasons are plentiful – we can start all the way back at the legacy of slavery, colonialism and imperialism, but also constant post-colonial coup d’etats and their attendant instability, corrupt mismanagement of resources by politicians and bad or completely terrible trade deals negotiated by those same politicians – the list goes on and on.
Ghana is no exception. And despite attempting to fix these issues for so long, we have completely been unable to. The Ghanaian politician is either unwilling or unable to turn things around to fix the problem.
Only one man appears to have identified the issue, and that is Ghana’s Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. Bawumia postulates that a lot of Africa’s problems (or underdeveloped economies in general) lie at the feet of inadequate government revenue generation.
In a speech at the 10th annual International Tax Conference of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Bawumia brilliantly identified the problem – and he was 100% right.
He said due to a lack of proper systems, underdeveloped countries cannot raise enough money for development. Couple with rampant corruption and the little that is raised is also heavily misused by those in charge. Under such circumstances, can we ever develop?
Diagnosing the problem is only half the battle, the other half is proposing a solution, and that is where digitalisation comes in.
Bawumia’s digitalisation agenda tackles the problem in two-folds – collecting the data of all Ghanaians is how you widen the tax net and increase domestic tax revenue to record levels. That is sorted with the Ghana card registration drive, as all Ghana card numbers will now serve as tax identification numbers.
The second solution is to ensure this revenue is not wasted, and that is solved by digitalising operations of all government agencies, putting the work in the hands of computers rather than leaving the majority of it to the fallible human.
The digitalisation of operations among others, the passport office, DVLA, and other institutions, ensure that corrupt middlemen are cut out. Hitherto, they received the biggest chunk of the pie, whilst now citizens can pay for their service, receive it promptly and the government receives the requisite revenue its services generate.
That is the future Ghana needs – a future where the government raises enough money, wastes less, and hence does more for the ordinary Ghanaian.
Ease of access
Finally, Bawumia’s digitalisation agenda is the future Ghana needs because it is aimed at making life easier for Ghanaians. The entire concept of science and technology is predicated on inventing solutions to make life easier for people.
Digitalisation is the next step in that regard and Bawumia’s agenda is already making life considerably easier for Ghanaians.
Firstly, the ghana.gov platform, where all government services can be accessed by the ordinary person, has completely revolutionised the concept of getting a public service done, as we hinted in the previous section.
Once upon a time, you had to leave your home or office and journey to a government office to get something done. Most at times when you get there, you had to join a long queue to get your service rendered. It could take anywhere from weeks to months to get what you need and if you wanted a shortcut you probably had to find someone and pay them a huge sum of money to get it done through the backdoor.
All that is gone now as Ghanaians can now apply for almost any service they need from the comfort of their homes on the ghana.gov platform. In many instances, you can also get your completed documents delivered to you at your home due to your digital address – that’s tangibly making life easier for people.
As already mentioned, medical drones are also helping to deliver blood and other life-saving medical supplies to remote areas – literally saving lives.
Mobile money interoperability lets you have a bank account in your pocket – and you can even apply for one from home and get it as well.
The digital address makes it a hundred times easier to order things online and get them to your home rather than in the past when you needed to provide a landmark address.
The newly launched national electronic pharmacy platform (NEPP) means you can order lifesaving drugs from the comfort of your home.
The list goes on and on. The digital agenda is aimed at making life much easier for the ordinary Ghanaian as it leverages technology to make all services more efficient, faster and easier to be delivered to the customer.
Can anyone honestly say that’s not the future they want? We cannot remain stuck in the past and do everything in person – digitalisation allows us to move things to a new level, get services rendered faster and enable us to focus our precious time on our work, increasing productivity and other attendant benefits.
Conclusion
If you look around the Ghanaian political landscape, no one else is even talking about digitalisation, which as shown above is clearly essential in the current global setup.
Bawumia is literally ahead of his time, he is looking to the future whilst others are looking to the past or worse, have no plan at all.
We have heard it and seen it all from our politicians and none of them offers anything new. Our problems have existed for a half-century since independence and will continue for another half century if we remain glued to the status quo.
Unquestionably, Bawumia’s digital agenda is the future Ghana needs. It identifies problems in the current system and proposes fixes that are tangibly and objectively, better than whatever was there before.
We are in the 21st century and our problems require 21st-century solutions. We have to stand up and demand that from our politicians now, and Bawumia is head and shoulders ahead of his peers in steering the country in that direction already.
Ya-Naa Abubakari Mahama II says he is always proud to notice that the Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia continues to stick to the training he got from his elders.
He observes the vice president, regardless of his position, has stuck with his principles and values imbibed in him by his elders, which is commendable.
The Overlord of Dagbon made this known when the Vice President paid a courtesy call on him at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi as part of his two-day working visit to the Northern Region.
“Your exceptional humility is worth emulating and makes us proud of you for that. You have not departed from the training your elders gave you.” He said.
He used the opportunity to acknowledge the hard work Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is doing to ensure that Ghana develops.
“Again, since your occupation of the second most important political seat in Ghana, you have shown sterling performance with your sacrifice and hard work, which has achieved so much for mother Ghana,” he said.
According to him, the money was used to settle upfront, a loan taken from the ministry of finance by GNPC Subsidiaries, to acquire a seven per cent stake in the TEN and Jubilee oil fields on behalf of the state.
In his view, therefore, even though administrative processes may not have been followed, in terms of lodging the money in the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF), no harm was done to the state by the upfront payment of the loan taken by GNPC Subsidiaries using that quantum of petroleum receipts.
The minority caucus in parliament had noted with “serious concern” the “inability or refusal of the AkufoAddo/Bawumia-led government” to account for over $100 million of oil funds that accrued to the state coffers concerning petroleum lifting in the first quarter of 2022.
In a statement dated Thursday, 29 September 2022 signed by Mr John Abdulai Jinapor, the ranking member of the mines and energy committee of parliament, the caucus said: “The decision by the current NPP government to transfer revenues accruing from about 944,164 bbls of crude lifting in the Jubilee and TEN fields to a company established in a safe haven (outside Ghana) without parliamentary approval, amounts to a gross violation of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act, 2011 (Act 815) and Public Financial Management Act (Act 921)”.
“We have become aware that following the acquisition of a 7-per cent interest in the Occidental (Oxy) transaction in respect of the Jubilee and TEN fields by the government, ostensibly for GNPC in 2021, the Minister of Finance has clandestinely ceded the shares to an offshore company known as JOHL (a company set-up in the Cayman Islands) in a very surreptitious and opaque manner”, the statement said.
The minority said it is “very much alarmed” that contrary to requirements of the PRMA, revenues accruing from the nation’s oil fields “are not being paid into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF), which has been confirmed in the 2022 semi-annual report on petroleum receipts by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC)”.
“As if this is not enough, the report further reveals that Capital Gains Tax was not assessed and collected by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in the sale of the 7% interest by Anadarko in the Jubilee and TEN fields in 2021”.
“This NPP government is proving by the day, that the nation’s oil resources cannot be entrusted in their care because not long ago, the PIAC, under the chairmanship of Dr Steve Manteaw, accused them over their inability to account for about GHȼ2 billion of Ghana’s oil cash for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 fiscal years”, the minority added.
It said this is “surely another ‘Agyapa’ deal in the making and we, as a minority, will not sit aloof for this government to raid the national purse, especially at a time when the nation is struggling to raise much-needed revenues for critical expenditure”, noted the caucus.
The minority demanded that the Minister of Finance and the government, “with immediate effect, repatriate all such illegal transfer payments back into the Petroleum Holding Fund (PHF)”.
“Failure to comply with our ultimatum will compel the Minority to use the necessary parliamentary processes to haul the Minister of Finance to parliament for possible censure”.
However, Mr Atta Akyea told Kofi Oppong Asamoah on Class91.3FM’s breakfast show on Friday, 30 September 2020: “Well, I think it’s a storm in a teacup because sometimes the impression is being given that the money has been spirited away”.
According to him, “there’s a whole debate, as to whether or not some money should be lodged in the petroleum holding fund, so, it’s an interpretation and accounting”.
The former minister of Works and Housing said his crosschecks show that “there was an opinion from the attorney general to the effect that they needn’t place the money in that account for the simple reason that there’s a seven-per cent equity acquisition in the TEN and Jubilee fields by GNPC Subsidiary and they didn’t have the money so the ministry of finance borrowed them the money so they do this acquisition; they are trying to improve the governmental stakes in these petroleum blocks”.
“When they [GNPC Subsidiaries] took the loan, they were unable to pay, so, they used the petroleum receipts due them to settle it, so, the ministry of finance took the money and paid for the loan upfront”, Mr Atta Akyea explained.
“The whole problem is simple: that the sheer fact that the money was not lodged in the PHF does not mean the money has been spirited away or stolen. … It’s all a balancing account but when push it to the political dimension that some money has been spirited away, it leaves much to be desired”, he added.
He said: “The sum of money, if you look at it, is equal to the seven per cent equity stake that the government, through GNPC Subsidiary has acquired. Let’s look at it from that perspective. So, when somebody is using his ingenuity to confer advantage and benefit to Ghana, ultimately, how can that be a problem?”
“And if the money was not so lodged in the PHF but it is shown that, indeed, the shares have been acquired, and the shares have been paid for, how can that be anything to undermine this country, financially?” he wondered
He continued: “Are we looking at the substance or the form? The sheer fact that the money was not lodged in the account but the money has been applied as it can be applied in the share acquisition to the benefit of Ghana”.
Mr Atta Akyea, who is the MP for Akim Abuakwa South in the Eastern Region, said: “My concern, with the greatest of respect, is that even if administrative processes were not followed, is there any disadvantage to Ghana when seven per cent shares have been acquired in the TEN and Jubilee fields?”
“That is the point of the matter. If administrative procedures were not followed, has it caused any financial loss to the state or it has helped us financially because if we are not careful, anything becomes political and propaganda”.
He added: “My joy is that no money has been lost to the state yet because we have gained. If there are any tax implications on this transition then they should be called upon to pay the tax”.
Vice president, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has lamented the failure of opponents of government to read about or seek clarification on projects being carried out.
He holds that it is not good enough that despite their failure to seek information on issues, they only resort to accusing those in government of lying.
Bawumia was speaking at a durbar of chiefs on Monday, September 26 at the commissioning of the Cape Coast roads, as part of Sinohydro projects.
“Today, marks yet another day of the commissioning of yet another Sinohydro project fiili fiili (sic). Unfortunately for some of our opponents, when we say something and they don’t understand, instead of asking for an explanation and also reading about it, they don’t like to read, they don’t ask for explanation, they just say you are lying.”
He continued: “But today as we commission the project, they are silent, they are no longer saying it is not possible.”
He disclosed that a total of 441 km of road and two interchanges are to be constructed, to “help intra urban, regional and national traffic flow and to strengthen regional economic integration.”
Bawumia cut the sod for the project on 21st November 2019, work started in December 2019 over 30 months duration and had been completed on schedule.
The Minister of Roads spoke about government’s plan to continually increase the road network and ease movement of goods and persons.
The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, for his part, stressed that such projects continue to deepen the warm ties between the two countries.
Can we really toe this path as a people whose very essence is premised on freedom, equality, and accountability? Can we? Have we suddenly stooped too low to make some people more equal and greater than the rest of the family?
Background
On August 13, 2022, an event was held in the Metropolis of Kumasi, Ashanti Region. The program, which was an all-inclusive health walk for friends of Alan Kyeremanteng climaxed with speeches from great party men.
Hon. Hopeson Adorye, a party stalwart and a former parliamentary candidate for Kpone Katamanso also spoke. Sadly, however, his speech which was a rallying cry for patriots was misconstrued by opponents as a divisive and bigot statement —a development that generated widespread condemnation and chastisement so much so that, he had to make a press release.
Mr. Hopeson Adorye has since been referred to codes of the party which sort of outlaw his utterance and or any other utterances of that magnitude in the party. In fact, the office of the General Secretary of the party has supposedly called him to order and is currently exploring befitting sanctions for his action.
Our take
How these protocols and codes suddenly appeared from nowhere to implicate and discipline Mr. Adorye is a development that cast doubt over our widely touted democracy spirited in freedom. Sincerely, this smack was meant for someone bigger, not Mr. Hopeson Adorye. I mean, who has not seen or heard Chairman Wontumi talk about the obvious romance he has for the Vice President? Who hasn’t heard the campaign songs he is singing for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia?
What about the declaration Mr. Aziz Futah, the National Nasara coordinator made? What disciplinary actions or chastisements were reserved for these people? Hon. Samuel Atta-Kyea suggested that the Vice President be made the flagbearer and Alan Kyeremanteng his running mate, we were asked to laugh over it; Nana Obiri Boahen, the former Deputy General Secretary is very public about his wish for the Vice President’s candidature; we see and hear all of these, but we mostly label them as mere praises born out of venerations for the Vice President.
All these people and many other party faithfuls, publicly made varied statements which to a large extent, supported or endorsed Dr. Bawumia for the flagbearership race; these, they did and still do without any malice and without having the all-embracing arms of the law clamp down on them. But when someone from Alan’s bloc says something, he is taken on and the long and sharp claws of the party’s structures begin to clatter for action. Is this the kind of party we wish to build going forward? I mean, for a party that is preparing to secure an unprecedented feat, divisive administration aimed at victimizing other Patriots is definitely way below the bar. We are not breaking anything with this attitude, for whoever wins the race, will need the other bloc for the long battle that neighs.
It has always been long service, commitment, and loyalty —so it shall remain! The God of Alan will speak…
Source: Ghanaweb
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
The main mistake Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen’s camp is making is comparing the 2023 presidential primaries to the 2007 one and thinking that just as Alan Kyerematen and Aliu Mahama didn’t get the nod and it went to Akufo-Addo, so, this time, Kyeremantenwould get it easily.
They are very wrong, because, unlike Vice President Aliu Mahama, Dr Muhammadu Bawumia is a very active player who has contributed strategically and openly from 2008 to Nana Akufo-Addo and NPP’s 2016 victory.
That is why many NPP members and supporters genuinely sympathize with him. From that perspective, he deserves the nod because he has worked hard for it. We saw his role in the 2012 elections and 2013 election petition hearing. He and Lawyer Addison were the star players of NPP. Nobody can forget that.
We saw the impact of his lectures and how he pulled the middle class to campaign for Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP. Many NPP supporters cannot forget that and they may support him as a reciprocating gesture. This explains a lot of the support he has in the NPP.
Another factor one cannot lose sight of is Nana Akufo-Addo’s role and determination to reward Dr Bawumia for helping him realise his childhood ambition.
It is also no secret that the President and his family are committed to consolidating their legacies, securing themselves and extending their reign through Bawumia. Unlike John Kufuor, Nana Akufo-Addo is capable of employing every power and resource at his disposal to achieve that. We saw how Alan Kyeremanten’s supporters were maltreated during and after the 2007 primaries.
So, Alan Kyerematen’s camp should not think that they can be doing inconsistent communication and sleepwalking until their candidate resigns to start his campaigns.
The candidature of NPP is nobody’s birthright. It has not been willed to Alan nor is it his birthright. They must get that clear before they come back crying for sympathy after the deal is completely done.
What they should know is that regardless of how long NPP has existed, Bawumia has contributed enough to deserve to represent the party just as Alan and any other candidate since the party is not a monarchy that has especially predetermined people to lead.
If Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen is serious to run, it must reflect in his strategy and the communications of his camp.
For now, his posture may give people the impression that he is either not serious or he is thinking that he automatically has the right to lead the party which, could go against him if his opponents do their propaganda work well.
As things stand, none of the candidates should be complacent the way Alan’s camp seems.
Source: Ghanaweb
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana.
The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George has been urged to eat humble pie and apologize to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu for calling him a liar, over an issue, which Sam George has rather been found to have lied.
The MP suggested on his Facebook page that Dr. Bawumia had said that holders of the Ghana Card could use the card to travel outside Ghana, and resulting from Sam George’s own claims, he went on and discredited the Ghana Card as a travel document and also insulted Dr. Bawumia with invectives.
However, following his insults to the Vice President, it has emerged that the Vice President has never said anywhere that the Ghana Card could be used to travel outside the country. What Dr. Bawumia has maintained, public records prove, is that the Ghana Card can be used by Ghanaians, and Ghanaian dual citizens, to travel back to Ghana from any part of the world.
Again, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming the Ghana Card as a travel document that Ghanaians, especially dual citizens, can be used to travel into Ghana, has further exposed Sam George’s claims, for which he insulted the Vice President and called him a liar.
It is this development that has drawn the attention of a political communication consultant, Dr. Ekow Acquah to call on Sam George to apologize.
In an article copied GhanaGuardian , Dr. Acquah described Sam George as one who has earned the title of honorable because of the people he represents and asked Sam George to do “what is expected of men of honor” and apologize to Bawumia after he was exposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and public records.
“Following the Foreign Ministry’s press release and Ghana Immigration releasing data on the number of arrivals with Ghana Cards at the airport, will those who insulted Dr. Bawumia and called him a liar apologize to him”? Dr. Acquah asked.
“If nobody will apologize to the Vice President, at least Hon. Sam George, who has earned the title of Hon. by being the representative of the good people of Ningo Prampram , must do what is expected of men with honor and apologize to Dr. Bawumia for insulting him on his Facebook page on issues he Sam George was clearly wrong and has been exposed.”
“The Vice President has never stated anywhere that the Ghana Card can be used for travels to other countries. He has always maintained that following its recognition by ICAO, Ghanaians, especially dual citizen Ghanaians with foreign passports, can use it to board flights back to Ghana without needing a visa.”
“It was therefore disingenuous and mischievous for a whole honorable member of parliament to launch public attacks on the Vice President and call him names for something he has not said.”
“Indeed if we were in a decent political environment, Sam George in particular, and all those who joined him to insult Dr.Bawumia and bastardize the Ghana Card as a travel document, would have apologized, the moment the Foreign Ministry issued a statement to expose them.”
Below is the full article:
Will those who called Dr. Bawumia a liar over Ghana’s card as a travel document do the honorable and apologize after being exposed?
By Dr. Ekow Acquah (Political Communications Consultant)
One of the most profound development-oriented proverbs in Akan is the saying that; the one who climbs a good tree deserves a push.
In other words, a person embarking on any useful endeavor, whose outcome will benefit all, deserves to be encouraged and supported.
This thought-provoking adage has been part of the daily Ghanaian lexicon, bequeathed to us by our forefathers, to inspire and encourage good deeds and profitable ventures in our societies.
However, on the national scale, the opposite has now become the case. Instead of supporting and pushing people who climb good trees, our society now rather cuts down the tree to see the fall of both the tree and the climber.
The above scenario is the case in the commitment of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to champion a digitized Ghana, using the Ghana Card launch pad.
Rather than providing a joint, patriotic effort to support the fruitful effort of Dr. Bawumia, some Ghanaians have become the proverbial crab that won’t allow any other crab to climb up the basin. Others are even cutting down the good tree Bawumia is climbing so that both the tree and the Vice President will fall.
For the umpteenth time in recent times, certain elements, within the media and political front, this week, launched a sustained campaign to vilify Dr. Bawumia – all because he enumerated the immense benefits of the Ghana card, at the launch of the ePharmacy platform on Monday.
Among the benefits of the Ghana Card Dr. Bawumia mentioned, was its recognition by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as a travel document, thus making it possible for Ghanaians, especially dual citizen Ghanaians with foreign passports, to be able to use the card to board flights to Ghana without requiring a visa, as was the case.
This unique and remarkable function of the Ghana Card is public knowledge, following public ceremonies in Canada by ICAO earlier this year, and public directives by state institutions such as Ghana Immigration, Ghana Airports Company, and Ghana Civil Aviation, among others, that the Ghana Card has become a travel document.
In fact, Ghana Immigration recently held an event at the Kotoka International Airport to officially announce the setting up of special booths to process Ghanaians arriving in Ghana with the Ghana Card.
Despite all these facts, and the reality that Ghanaians based at home and in the diaspora, continue to return home using the Ghana Card, some people who ought to know better, including parliamentarians, launched scathing attacks on the Vice President and called him names, just for stating the true benefits and uses of the Ghana card.
People are so eager and desperate to run down Dr. Bawumia and the Ghana Card that, they even went to the extent of deliberately misinterpreting the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, to create a state that she had contradicted the Vice President of Ghana Card is a travel document for Ghanaians to travel back home.
Rightly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement to set the records straight and also to confirm that the Ghana Card, indeed, can be used by Ghanaians as a travel document to travel to Ghana from any airport in the world.
Following the Foreign Ministry’s press release and Ghana Immigration releasing data on the number of arrivals with Ghana Card at the airport, will those who insulted Dr. Bawumia and called him a liar apologize to him?
If nobody will apologize to the Vice President, at least Hon. Sam George, who has earned the title of Hon. by being the representative of the good people of Ningo Prampram, must do what is expected of men with honor and apologize to Dr. Bawumia for insulting him on his Facebook page on issues he Sam George was clearly wrong and has been exposed.
The Vice President has never stated anywhere that the Ghana Card can be used for travels to other countries. He has always maintained that following its recognition by ICAO, Ghanaians, especially dual citizen Ghanaians with foreign passports, can use it to board flights back to Ghana without needing a visa.
It was therefore disingenuous and mischievous for a whole honorable member of parliament to launch public attacks on the Vice President and call him names for something he has not said.
Indeed if we were in a decent political environment, Sam George in particular, and all those who joined him to insult Dr. Bawumia and bastardize the Ghana Card as a travel document, would have apologized, the moment the Foreign Ministry issued a statement to expose them.
How people take delight to bastardize the ongoing digital transformation in the country is amazing! But one has to understand the political critics. It is Bawumia leading it so since he will be credited for it, let us vilify him and also condemn the innovation, even if its benefits to the country and the people are immense.
That is what is happening! Attack Bawumia, vilify him, and attack the innovation. It is the reason every digital innovation he has led; Ghana Card, zipline drones, universal QR Code, mobile money interoperability, ePharmacy , and digitization of government services, among others, has been doubted and criticized.
In Dr. Bawumia’s own words, people with impossible mindsets have always doubted and frustrated every digital innovation he has announced.
I think the Vice President has been very charitable in labeling people with impossible mindsets. These are people with unpatriotic and destructive mindsets.
They don’t want to see anything good for the nation and the people, once it is not coming from them. No matter how beneficial every project, intervention, or innovation is, they will always attack and bastardize it.
I cannot understand how any progressive-minded person will attack Dr. Bawumia for being a champion of digitization, a new global phenomenon every serious country is pursuing.
As a country, we should be proud we have a passionate, committed, and smart leader in our Vice President making our country great in an area many African countries are way behind.
The full benefits of digitization won’t be realized now, but the glimpses we have seen, such as making things easy, boosting revenue, and helping in the fight against corruption, should encourage us to fully support him, regardless of political affiliation.
He is doing it for the country and generations to come, not for himself.
Despite all the vilifications, I am happy the Vice President has remained resilient and unfazed.
Continue to prove the naysayers wrong, Mr. Vice President. Progressive-minded citizens appreciate what you’re doing.
Remain focused and do it for God and your country.
