NPP engenders hope for Ghanaians — Dr Bawumia
The Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said the time has come to position the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in a manner that engendered hope, trust and confidence, “both in ourselves and the larger Ghanaian community in order to break the eight.”
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That, he said, had become paramount due to the socio-economic hardships faced by the nation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We have not had it all rosy and delivered everything that we set out to do from our day of initiation into office.
But the setbacks notwithstanding, we have produced a solid track record of achievements,” Dr Bawumia said.
The Vice-President was speaking at a conference held in London and organised by the United Kingdom Chapter of the NPP.
Dr Bawumia was in the UK to attend on one hand the 3rd Ghana Investments and Opportunities Summit (GHIOS) jointly organised by the Ghana Investments Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the Ghana High Commission in UK and on the other hand, co-chair the 8th UK-Ghana Business Council (UKGBC) meeting.
Crisis
He said the pandemic affected global supply chains and the response put a burden on public finances.
“The war hit fertiliser and grain prices among others and increased the prices of commodities in the country caused by an inflation from 12.9 per cent in December 2021 to 54 per cent by December 2022 with an attendant depreciation of the cedi by 30 per cent in 2022,” he said.
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The two crises, he said, came at a time when the nation was still paying $1 billion annually for power it did not consume over the last six years under dubious energy Power Purschase Agreement inherited from the previous government.
“The combined effects of these phenomena blighted an economy that grew at an average rate of about seven per cent between 2017-2019. Our debt became unsustainable and the government had to undertake a domestic debt restructuring and seek International Monetary Fund (IMF) support to stabilise our economy,” he stressed.
Judge by achievement
The Vice-President said the dire developments had been latched on by the government’s main opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to downplay the achievements of the government in the last six years.
“There has been so much talk from politicians and commentators alike.
It is said that politicians have a habit of talking a lot but they hardly talk about what they have done,” he said.
He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to judge the NPP government based on its achievements, adding that it inherited a terrible economy from the previous government.
The Vice-President stated that many of the government’s programmes and policies adopted after the NPP’s assumption of office in 2017 were being implemented for the first time in the Fourth Republic’s.
Among several other remarkable measures, he cited the digitisation of the economy and the implementation of social intervention programmes such as the Free Senior High School.
“It is important to note that many of the transformational policy initiatives that we have introduced since 2017 are being done for the first time since independence and most have benefited women,” he stressed.
He stated that since many of the policies had never been done before, many people, bound by an impossible mindset, claimed that they were not conceivable, but the government made them possible.
He said about 100 programmes and projects have already being implemented by the government.
Message
Dr Bawumia, one of the 11 flagbearer hopefuls of the NPP, urged party members to reject claims that the party would have no message to persuade voters.
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Election Message
“Let nobody tell you that we don’t have a message for 2024.
I must hasten to add that this does not mean we have done everything we intended to do or ought to have done.
There is clearly a lot more to do and we will work hard to do more,” he intimated.
Dr Bawumia said the NPP government led by President Nana Akufo-Addo has achieved a lot with the introduction of problem-solving policy initiatives, and mentioned some of them as the Ghana Card, Tax Identification Number (TIN), National Health Insurance Number, and construction of the Elmina Fishing Harbour.
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