If all economic indices show you did worse, why propose an upgrade? – Seth Terkper taunts Bawumia

A former finance minister Seth Terkper has torn into Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s economic upgrade campaign mantra insisting upgrading an ailing economy makes no logic.

According to Mr. Terkper, the Nana Akufo Addo-Bawumia administration will not survive any critical macroeconomic test in all its eight years of handling the Ghanaian economy, to warrant an upgrade.

Speaking to host Julius Caesar Anadem on the Ultimate Breakfast Show on Ultimate 106.9 FM in Kumasi, Seth Terkper pointed to figures from the IMF to show that the current administration had failed woefully even on the back of inheriting three oil fields.

Seth Terkper argued, “The scorecard is showing. If you brought debt to GDP to over hundred percent; if you took a deficit of 6.1% at a point to 15% and your best in recent times is 12%; if you have taken money from depositors and defaulted; if your debt is suspended for future governments to pay…”

“You can continue saying you are doing well; but the IMF and the figures you have agreed with are saying that your best, given the trajectory, will leave you handing over with a debt to GDP of 68%. You’re leaving with almost 70% on the new basis when you took over an economy with a debt of 57%. Remember we are even going down to the 68% because part of the debt is waived because of haircut, suspension, and the rest,” he added.

The former finance minister contended that if any upgrade were to happen, it would be upgrading the country from the economic indicators of 2016 when the opposition National Democratic Congress was voted out of office.

“What we are doing is to reset. There is nothing for us to upgrade. If we should set where the economy is today with default, high deficit, Bank of Ghana deficit financing and all that, we will be setting a very low bar for ourselves.”

“If there is anything to upgrade at all, we are going back to 2016 to upgrade and he should be humble enough to know that. Or probably go back to President Kuffour’s era,” he insisted.

Countering the excuse of exogenous factors, he directed the former president to revisit the IMF reports which highlighted negative preexisting conditions before COVID-19, and endeavour to be truthful in admitting the overwhelming support that Ghana received as support.

“Ghana is the first country which receives six billion dollars to help resolve COVID. Our Bank of Ghana financed the deficit to the tune of 1.7 billion dollars. We took 250 million dollars from the stabilization fund. We took an IMF loan of 1 billion dollars; the IMF SDR gave us another 1 billion. World Bank, Africa Development Bank, and the rest gave us another 1 billion.

“You can add up the other sources including what we pay when we travel. And all the rest which cannot be accounted for. Nearly 6 billion dollars and more and you are still blaming COVID?” he questioned.

His comments sharply contradict the views of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who has been on the campaign trail insisting the country’s economic performance under a Nana Addo–Bawumia administration has been the best in the history of the fourth republic.