Amissah-Arthur is no 'slouch' – Arthur Kennedy

Former presidential hopeful of the New Patriotic Party Dr. Arthur Kennedy has downplayed suggestions that Vice President Amissah-Arthur cannot analyse the economy as has been done by Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia.

Some members of the New Patriotic Party have dared the former governor of the Central Bank to take up the challenge and present a government counter of the diagnosis of the financial status of the state as was done by the New Patriotic Party running mate Thursday.

But in a Facebook post , Dr. Kennedy said the Vice President has nothing to prove to anyone since his credentials speak for him.

“There have been a lot of comment on Dr. Bawumia's lecture on the economy yesterday. The partisan commentary began with claims that he had been denied a venue by the government. It is a shame that our media houses could not untangle that to let us know the truth.

“Then following the lecture, some in the NPP, who should know better, went into overdrive with praise. Prof. HKP talked of picking a running mate who could "carry his weight" etc., leaving the unfortunate impression that the NDC running could not carry his weight. VP Amissah-Arthur, Bawumia's credentials notwithstanding, is no slouch. He has been a lecturer, a governor of the Bank of Ghana and a World Bank consultant. Politically, he helped the NDC to retain Central region while the NPP lost the Northern region and Walewale! So there, my friends, is the weight issue,” he wrote.

Below are details of the post by Arthur K

There have been a lot of comment on Dr. Bawumia's lecture on the economy yesterday. The partisan commentary began with claims that he had been denied a venue by the government. It is a shame that our media houses could not untangle that to let us know the truth.

Then following the lecture, some in the NPP, who should know better, went into overdrive with praise. Prof. HKP talked of picking a running mate who could "carry his weight" etc., leaving the unfortunate impression that the NDC running could not carry his weight. VP Amissah-Arthur, Bawumia's credentials notwithstanding, is no slouch. He has been a lecturer, a governor of the Bank of Ghana and a World Bank consultant. Politically, he helped the NDC to retain Central region while the NPP lost the Northern region and Walewale! So there, my friends, is the weight issue!

To return to the lecture, Dr. Bawumia deserves congratulations for turning this campaign to a discussion od substantive issues. The competing promises about dams, etc and insults back and forth were making both the President and the NPP Presidential candidate look and sound a bit silly. Dr. Bawumia drew my ire with his work on Togo and ill-fated attempt to join Dzifa Attivor in the ethno-religious gutter but he was solid gold yesterday.

Mr. Terkper has responded, albeit not with the same eloquence, to the issues raised by Dr. Bawumia.

To date though, my top marks go to IMANI Ghana. Their response was timely, substantive and balanced. I have had ocassion to take IMANI to task recently but they get an A on this one. While their presentation was undermined by their attempts to respond to NPP attacks, it was excellent from beginning to end.

I urge the media and academia to weigh in, to give us light, not heat. Let this debate and the rest of this campaign be substantive and make us all proud.

Finally, I can't wait for the VP debate between Dr. Bawumia and V.P. Amissah-Arthur. Just a caveat though. They should remember their audience are ordinary people at Suame, Esikado, Kolungugu and Anloga, etc. Let the language be the language of the streets and the people.

God bless you all.