General News of 2012-09-20

Don’t blame textbooks and economic theory for your failure – Bawumia

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party, has called on the ruling National Democratic Congress and its economic managers to accept the blame for the poor shape of the Ghanaian economy and to stop offering excuses and blaming textbooks and economic theories as was heard when the NDC unveiled its running mate days ago.

Dr. Bawumia who is on a 16 day tour of the Northern Region made the comment while speaking to a charged crowd of thousands of NPP supporters in Chereponi on Wednesday afternoon.

Touching on the current state of the economy, he said “just yesterday, I heard that some blame was being put on economic theory and text books for Ghana’s woeful economic performance. Economic mismanagement and wrong economic policies are at the heart of the NDC failure to manage the Ghanaian economy. It isn’t textbooks or economic theory that should be blamed for the economic mismanagement of the NDC

It is not text books or economic theory that is causing high cost of living in Ghana; it is not text books or economic theory that is causing high interest rates in Ghana. Government is supposed to have single digit inflation but government is borrowing at over 20%. How do you blame that on economic theory? It is not economic theory or textbooks that are causing high youth unemployment in Ghana. It is not economic theory that is causing the collapse of the cedi. It is not economic theory or textbooks that are asking us to pursue an economic policy of ‘woyomization’. I don’t know of a textbook that has been written on ‘woyomization’, so you cannot blame ‘woyomization’ or your own poor management of the economy on any textbook. You cannot blame the collapse of the NHIS on a textbook or theory” he said.

Dr. Bawumia likened the NDCs new excuse of blaming textbooks and economic theories to a doctor who after administering the wrong treatment to a patient leading to the death of the particular patient attempts to blame the books he read in medical school or claim that he or she is using his or her own methods to treat patients.

“One would have taken this doctor seriously if the patient was actually alive and kicking. But if the patient is dying or dead why should anyone believe that this doctor knows what he is doing or his left from his right?” He quizzed.

The former Country Representative of the African Development Bank in Zimbabwe reminded the current managers of the Ghanaian economy that the economy cannot and must not be managed on a trial and error basis and assured them that New Patriotic Party (NPP) is not going to sit idle and watch while the people of Ghana are misled.

The Chereponi constituency is the fifth constituency to have been visited by the NPP Vice-Presidential candidate since the commencement of his Northern Regional Tour.

The Running Mate to Nana Akufo-Addo was accompanied to Chereponi by former Vice – President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Sheik T B Damba, 2nd National Chairman of the NPP, Mustapha Hamid, spokesperson to Nana Akufo-Addo, Hajia Alima Mahama, former Minister under the Kufuor administration, Mohammed Amin Anta, former Chief Executive of the Tamale Metropolis among many others.