Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the current vice president of the Republic of Ghana and
he is on record to have famously said, “You can engage in all the propaganda
you want, but if the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will be exposed."
Arguably, this is the most powerful, memorable, and compelling quote by
any politician in Ghana in the past two decades.
At the time he made this pronouncement, the exchange rate was USD1 to GHC4 under the Presidency of John Dramani Mahama. John Mahama and the late president John Evans Atta Mills came to power when the exchange rate was USD1 to GHC2, and it depreciated from USD1 to GHC4 from 2009 to 2016. In simple terms, that is 200% depreciation, yet their performances were condemned as ciphers of incompetence,
hence the above famous quote from Dr. Bawumia. The quote resonated with the Ghanaian populace, the media, academia, the middle class, the business community, and civil service organizations.
Dr. Bawumia was touted as one of the best economic brains in Ghana; this was
the main reason he was chosen by President Akufo-Addo in 2009 and received
a waiver from the party’s then-General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow, to partner
Akufo-Addo as his running mate, even though he was not a member of the
New Patriotic Party.
In the lead-up to the 2016 general elections, he delivered a series of compelling economic lectures with captivating presentations, and he espoused his knowledge of economic theories and how he would use the same to turn around things.
It is important to note that, on May 25, 2014, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia
delivered a lecture at Central University College. The title of the lecture was “How to Restore the Value of the Cedi.” At the time, USD1 was GHC3.60. Dr.
Bawumia uploaded the lecture on Twitter (now X) and referred former president Mahama to go and learn from his uploaded lecture how to restore the value of the cedi.
He promised to make the Ghanaian currency one of the strongest currencies in
Africa. The general conviction amongst Ghanaians was that the economics
Messiah had arrived. His wife, Mrs. Samira Bawumia, stated that “My husband is
an economic wizkid”. The NPP was voted into power largely because of these
narratives and the conviction.
Almost eight years after being in the helms of affairs as head of the Economic
Management Team EMT, the Ghanaian currency has depreciated beyond belief. Currently, USD1 is equal to GHC15.5; this is about 1,100% depreciation in simple terms, under the economic management of the economic Messiah.
Mr. Vice President, are the fundamentals strong or weak?
Isn’t it an irony that the Cedi depreciated 200% under Mahama and Mills? It
depreciated 1,100% under Dr. Bawumia’s watch when the latter was the one
claiming to teach the former how to restore the value of the cedi. The saddest part of this unfolding episode is that the man who was selected to partner Akufo-Addo due to his economic mastery has deliberately and disingenuously stopped talking about the economy. Nana Ohene Ntow has recently stated that Dr. Bawumia always runs away at the mention of the word "economy.”
The Ghanaian economy is in tatters, businesses are at their lowest ebb, and there is no hope or assurance from the government. The head of the EMT, the finance minister, and the trade minister are all quiet on the current depreciation of the cedi.
Ghanaians have been left to their fate by the very people who promised to
better manage the economy, lower their cost of living, and enhance their
standards of living. The vice president is busy on his campaign tour but has not
for ones addressed the current unprecedented depreciation of the cedi and its
subsequent effect on businesses and the general cost of living.
The fact that Dr. Bawumia has decided to ignore the current economic challenges and still engage in campaigning and making promises is an insult to the sensibility of Ghanaians; it shows how little or no respect he has for
Ghanaians. He should be rejected to prove that Ghanaians cannot be taken for
granted.
