The exposé by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on the true state of the Ghanaian economy during his recent public lecture, is still biting hard at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, as many of its appointees, including Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, are finding it difficult to comprehend the figures used in Bawumia’s analysis.
Mr Amissah-Arthur claims that the NPP guru had been lying with figures to paint a gloomy picture about the state of the economy.
Contrary to the NPP kingpin’s assertion that Ghana’s economy is speedily sinking – an observation which he (Bawumia) had always supported with figures – the vice president stated that there is no iota of truth in the statements that the NPP man had made about the economy so far.
He stated that Dr. Bawumia, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, had intentionally been using “wrong figures to bamboozle Ghanaians,” stressing that he (Bawumia) is doing politics with the economy, therefore the masses should disregard his arguments.
Mr. Amissah-Arthur, whose body language and utterances showed that he was worried about Dr. Bawumia’s continual critique of the state of the economy, vowed to expose Dr. Bawumia, whom he preferred to name as “Dr. B,” in the coming days as the 2016 campaign gathers momentum.
Bawumia Lies
“Don’t believe whatever you read from Dr. Bawumia because he is not doing economics. He is doing politics with the economy therefore, all his statements are lies,” he said to a rapturous applause from charged National Democratic Congress (NDC) members at Sunyani on Saturday.
Addressing scores of party members during the NDC manifesto launch in the Brong-Ahafo Regional capital, Mr. Amissah-Arthur said with a stern face, “The NPP wants to use figures to bamboozle us,” in apparent referral to Dr. Bawumia’s figures, noting that it is wrong for the NPP’s vice presidential candidate to use the state of the Ghana’s currency as it was eight years ago, to compare with what is transpiring today.
Mr. Amissah-Arthur stated that Dr. Bawumia’s claim that Ghana’s GDP grew by about 500 percent during the NPP’s eight years in political office “is palpable false,” arguing that “even if the GDP grew by 8 percent per annum, which was not the case – the GDP couldn’t have reached that level.”
The vice president stated that Dr. Bawumia had continually lied about the economy just to confuse Ghanaians to believe that the NDC is mismanaging the affairs of the state, especially the economy, stressing that he would henceforth expose the NPP man.
“Dr. Bawumia wants to confuse the people with wrong figures. I wanted to reply him but a certain Professor at the University of Ghana, Legon, who is a friend, told me that he (Bawumia) is not doing economics but he is doing politics so I should reply him on a political platform.
“From now onwards, I will expose one of his lies everywhere I will go to campaign. I have read his book about the economy and every line there is a lie. I can destroy all of them,” he claimed, adding that Dr. Bawumia seemed not to have the right figures to battle the NDC’s achievements.
According to him, the NDC’s “massive infrastructural developments” are visible for every Ghanaian to see therefore, adding that Dr. Bawumia and the NPP’s efforts to lie to discredit the NDC administration would not wash.
NDC Manifesto
Mr. Amissah-Arthur stated that the NDC manifesto is a perfect blueprint that has answers to the myriad challenges facing the country in the next four years, indicating that the crème-de-la-crème in the NDC made inputs into the manifesto.
He said the NDC manifesto would bring “peaceful and productive change not distractive change” to the country, saying whilst the NDC is a united, peaceful and progressive political party, its major opponents, particularly the NPP, are in turmoil, not peaceful and distractive so they cannot rule the country.
From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr, & Daniel Yao Dayee, Sunyani