Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has assured that the Akufo-Addo NPP government is focused on tackling problems, which have come about as a result of the global pandemic.
In an apparent, friendly response to a section of Ghanaians who have taken to social media to complain about rising cost of fuel and other goods such as cement and iron rods, the Vice President on his Facebook page yesterday acknowledged the concerns and also assured them of the government’s commitment to solve problems, which he said has been heightened by the effects of the pandemic on world economies.
“We are four months into our four year mandate. The job of government is to fix problems. This is what we have been doing since 2017,” Dr. Bawumia posted.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the global economy and caused increases in prices of commodities such as oil, cement and iron rods, as well as overall cost of shipping,” he explained.
Dr. Bawumia, however, expressed optimism about the way forward, saying the NPP government has a track record of fixing problems and would not shirk its responsibility.
He then said humorously that “Nevertheless, it is very important to place the performance of our government over the last four years after inheriting an economy with ‘no meat on the bone’, on record,” and added that “the facts and data speak for themselves.”
Dr. Bawumia then went on to list several problems, which the Akufo-Addo government has ‘fixed’ or in the process of ‘fixing’, to demonstrate the government’s ability to overcome the present challenges.
He also assured the public of the government’s commitment to do more for the people.
The list of problems the Akufo-Addo government has fixed, which the Vice President listed, included; social intervention programmes to reduce the suffering of the people, positive economic indicators, job creation, increased agriculture output, critical infrastructure development, and digitisation of the economy to make things easy for people, among others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the global economy and caused increases in prices of commodities such as oil, cement and iron rods as well as overall cost of shipping. Ours is a government that listens and cares.The facts and data speak for themselves.Trust President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to fix the problems,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
Court Order
In the ensuing heat, an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, has restrained conveners of ‘Fix The Country’ from embarking on a planned demonstration which was slated for Sunday, May 9, 2021, or any other date until the restriction on public gathering is lifted.
A statement signed by DSP Effia Tenge, Head of Accra Public Affairs Unit said “the restraining order follows an affidavit filed by the police against conveners of ‘Fix The Country’ protest march pursuant to Section 1(6) of the Public Order Act, 1994 (491).
“The Accra Regional Police Command is hereby drawing the attention of the general public, especially organisers or conveners of ‘Fix The Country’ protest march, their associates, officers, agents, assigns and workmen, to the restriction order and compliance.”
Meeting With Protestors
The conveners of the protest yesterday posted on social media that they met top government ministers over their intended ‘Fix The Country’ demonstration.
“Meeting over! Reps Safe and Sound. May 9th Protest Going Forward! We went for a meeting with IGP we ended up meetingMinister for Defence, Minister for Interior, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Finance, Minister for National Security, Joe Anokye, Director of National Communications Authority, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice.”
They added that “about 10 other people from various National Security Institutions. There was no Minister for Health at that meeting.”
They also said that “according to Minister for National Security, this is the best, most detailed and comprehensive notice for a protest they have ever seen!” adding “we will keep updating you! Expect press statement soon!”
Below are slides of challenges/problems Dr Bawumia claimed have been solved:
By Ernest Kofi Adu