Vice-President Bawumia
Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said the December general election is going to be about comparison of records and not incitement of violence.
“The President has always made the point that we should make sure how we speak, and what we say to the public brings about peace and understanding. He wants a very fair and violence free election,” he said on Joy FM on Eid day in a special interview.
He said “we respect the EC’s independence. We won the mandate of the people when we were in opposition and so we just have to send the message of what we did when we had the opportunity to serve the people.”
“What exactly have we been able to do and that is what the election is to be fought on – the records. What we have been able to do and what we plan to do also,” he said, adding “I think if we all focus on that there should be no acrimony and allow the EC to do its work, and we will all come in to participate in this great expression of democracy during this election.”
When he was asked about the cedi performance, the Vice-President said “fundamentally, we have managed the cedi much better by all counts. We did arrest the runaway depreciation of the cedi and, therefore, if you look at the record in terms of the cedi depreciation in the past four, five years or eight years, you would see that since the NPP government came to power, the rate of depreciation is 50% less than what it was before. That is what the data shows.”
He was emphatic that “Yes, we have arrested the depreciation of the cedi, we have brought down inflation, we have brought down interest rate, we have reduced unemployment, we have reduced the suffering of the people in the context of paying for electricity and water, among other things.”
The Vice-President said that “we are willing to fight on the record in terms of what we have achieved.We are really looking forward to discussing the records.”
He said “the record of Nana Akufo-Addo is a fantastic record that we are willing to discuss and fight the election on those records,” adding “I’m looking forward for this opportunity to have a conversation on our record. It is a great record actually when you look at the history of the 4th Republic.”
The Vice-President said he was aware the media was eager to speak to him on the government’s performance, saying “I know you are eager to interview me on the whole economy, but today is a special day so let us celebrate Eid and at the right time if it is going to be about corruption, competence, economy; we will fight it clearly. We are looking forward to discussing the economic issues.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu