Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
VICE PRESIDENT Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia yesterday mesmerised the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) by recounting achievements chalked by the Akufo-Addo administration despite the challenges posed by the Russian-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Vice President, who gave facts and figures to buttress government’s economic management successes, explained the current global happenings in simple terms for the digestion of the ordinary person in the street.
The abolition of the 18 taxes by the NPP administration mesmerised the opposition, while the touting of achievements of the government especially, in the area of multiple digitisation, had them panting for breath.
“In fulfillment of our manifesto promise to move the economy from a focus on taxation to a focus on production, we have thus far reduced or abolished at least 18 separate taxes and levies, most of them being manifesto promises,” he said.
The lecture covered Ghana’s economy from 1990 till date. The Vice President gave the assurance that despite the present difficulties, government is working assiduously to restore the country onto the path of growth and accelerated development.
He told his audience that currently, Ghana has the largest drone medical delivery system in the world.
Dr. Bawumia was speaking at the TESCON conference in Yesukrom, Kasoa in the Central Region.
The presentation was an opportunity for the Vice President to present to Ghanaians the effects of the global economic challenges on the country and how government is addressing these.
With verifiable figures, he was able to show why even in the face of challenges, the current state of the economy is still better than in the heyday of the former administration.
The refrain in his presentation “and they still do not understand,” attracted applause when he told his audience about the multiple advantages of digitisation in every aspect of life; from pharmacy to even buying tickets for football matches.
Stronger Economy
Regardless of the fallouts of COVID-19 on the country’s economic growth, he said “the growth of the economy is fundamentally stronger than it was in the 2013-2016 period.”
On the state of inflation, he said “the path of inflation in Ghana has been similar to those of other countries following the COVID pandemic. Inflation had declined from an average of 17.5% in 2016 to an average of 7.2% in 2020. Since the pandemic, inflation has increased to an average of 10% in 2021.”
In response to the recent increase in inflation, the Bank of Ghana has increased the policy rate by 2.5% from 14.5% to 17.0%, he said, adding that the robust fiscal discipline under the Akufo-Addo-led administration is a contributing factor to the country’s strong economic fundamentals.
“The developments in the fiscal balance show a remarkable and sharp dichotomy between the fiscal deficit (i.e. the differences between government revenue and government expenditure) before the COVID-19 and after COVID-19. The fiscal deficit between 2013 and 2016 averaged 7% of GDP. Between 2017 and 2019 (before COVID-19), the fiscal deficit declined to an average of 4.5%.”
The country, he said “can only build a vibrant modern nation if we have strong systems and institutions that work, otherwise we will be stuck in a vicious cycle of rhetoric and underdevelopment.”
The free SHS arrangement, he said, is helping households which would have suffered the impact of the current economic challenges even more.
Mobile money interoperability, he said, has made it possible to transfer money seamlessly across different mobile money providers and between bank accounts as well as mobile wallets adding that “because of mobile money interoperability (MMI), you can transfer money from a customer of one mobile money service provider to a customer of a different mobile money service provider, and also make payments from your mobile money account into any bank account, and you can receive payments from any bank account into your mobile money account. You can also receive remittances from abroad directly onto your mobile phone without the need to go to a bank or Western Union Money Transfer. Because the mobile money account performs just like a bank account, as a result of MMI, over 90% of Ghanaians have bank accounts or mobile money accounts that function like bank accounts. We have practically solved the problem of financial exclusion in Ghana.”
He said it is important to point out that “notwithstanding the revenue challenges we inherited at the time of taking office, we took the decision to reduce taxes in the economy. We were aware that our decision to reduce the taxes could worsen our revenue challenges in the short term, but we were of the firm conviction that this would spur growth and increase tax revenues in the medium to long term.”
He continued: “The economy was on the verge of collapse and a legacy of take or pay contracts saddled our economy with annual excess capacity charges of close to $1 billion. … We were confronted with a banking crisis that starred at us with deadly stints. Not dealing decisively with the banking crisis would have meant disaster for the economy as the entire banking system would have collapsed. In addition, not keeping up with the excess capacity payments would have meant throwing the country back into a new bout of ‘dumsor’.
“The government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo put in much effort to turn things around and elevate the standards of living of the Ghanaian people above what the situation used to be at the time this government was formed in 2017. Taking over from them meant we had to do our best also to make things work and better.
“In the midst of the current economic challenges we face, we are putting in place the key pillars for the economic transformation of Ghana. We may not yet be where we want to be, and we may be buffeted by the winds of the pandemic and the war for yet a little while, but we have made a great start and, together, we shall finish what we started.”
Message For Youth
“We understand your desires for a bright and prosperous future; a future that would have the resilience to better withstand shocks of the nature we are currently experiencing. I am excited about the prospects of the nation we are building, the brilliant minds being nurtured, who are contributing towards this vision.
“We may not achieve everything we set out to achieve, but that must not stop us from trying. We must celebrate our achievements, big or small and not seek to tarnish or belittle them for the sake of politics. I look forward to all of you playing a role in making our nation great and strong,” he stated.
BY A.R. Gomda