‘Ghana’s economy grew 500% under Kufuor but 52% under NDC’

The vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says the NDC administration’s management of Ghana’s economy is the worst in the country’s history since independence.

According to him, Ghana’s economy has dwindled remarkably under the guidance of President John Dramani Mahama.

Speaking on the 2016 Budget statement presented by Finance Minister Seth Terkper last month, Dr. Bawumia said Ghana’s economy increased by 500 percent in the eight years of former President Kufuor’s rule, however, the economy would increase by only 52 percent under the eight years of the NDC administration.

“The NPP’s record on economic growth compares with the uneven and recently declining growth rates achieved by the NDC Mills-Mahama, Mahama administrations. In 2009 growth rate swung down to 4.0%; in 2010 it grew at 8.0% and upped to 14.0 per cent with the onset of oil production.

“For 2012 the GDP growth registered 8.8%, climbing down to 7.6 in 2013 and plummeting to 4.1% in 2014. The provisional 2015 GDP growth rate is 4.1% and for the first time since the inclusion of oil revenues beginning from 2011 the non-oil component of the GDP growth of 4.2% is higher than the overall real GDP growth rate of 4.1%. In 2014 the revised figures indicate that GDP growth rate was 4.0% same as the non-oil GDP growth.

“In the eight years of the NDC government, the size of the economy would have increased from $28.5 billion in 2008 to a projected $39.4 billion in 2016 (with oil), a 52% increase compared to the 500% increase witnessed under the NPP (without oil)”.