Mahamudu Bawumia (left) and John Mahama (right)
Let’s face it, it is not an insult to stress somewhat inexorably that an individual has no competence to hold a particular position or slanderous to assert that someone is devoid of the qualities requisite for effective conduct of a position, such as the president of a nation.
It cannot also be deemed as a character assassination to suggest for instance, that someone is an excellent communicator but a terrible president.
While we do not want to buy the widely held assertion that politics is a dirty game, one would not be far from right to suggest that the political terrain is full of inveterate propagandists and manipulating geezers.
Of course, roguish politicians are not limited to Africa, it is a global phenomenon, as a matter of fact.
However, in our humble opinion, it is our part of the world (Africa), where political gimmicks and vague rhetoric are so prevalent.
Perhaps, this is so because we have greater number of unlettered folks, many of whom cannot choose between tricksters and morally upstanding politicians.
Of course, the opposition is obliged to put the incumbent government on its toes. But does the opposition NDC have to grumble and criticise for criticising sake?
I cannot for the life of me, comprehend how and why anyone calling him/her self a reflective thinker can proclaim somewhat pitifully that Ghana’s economy under Mahama/Amissah (3.4% growth and 15.4% inflation) was better than Akufo-Addo/Bawumia record before the insidious coronavirus (8.6% growth and 9.1% inflation).
Apparently, Ghana’s economy received thumbs-up from the likes of the Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),Christine Lagarde, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, and other reputable international organisations, who had earlier commended the Akufo-
Addo/Bawumia administration on the excellent economic performance in the three and half years in office.
In 2017, the Bloomberg News, for example, predicted Ghana to become “Africa’s fastest-growing economy in 2018 “and Ghana was proclaimed “Star of Africa in 2018 Lenders’ Economic Forecasts”.
Reporting on the same fiscal policy achievements, Le Monde pointed out that “Ghana’s economic success is not just as the result of an oil- driven boom, but is also due to prudent economic management, an entrepreneurial population, the role of traditional leaders, and good governance.”
The next on the list of observers on Ghana’s auspicious economy is the Nigerian scholar, who gave a presentation at the NDC’s forum, in which he emphasised Ghana’s thriving economic growth under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration.
The Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde observed that the Ghanaian economy, before the pernicious coronavirus, was in a better place than it was in the previous years under the John Dramani Mahama’s administration.
Ms Lagarde opined that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration made important gains towards macroeconomic stability, including inflation, which declined to a single digit and within the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG’s) tolerance band; buoyant growth, averaging about five per cent between 2015 and 2018, and, over six per cent in 2017-18) and a primary surplus in 2017 for the first time in 15 years (IMF 2018).
The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, observed: “Ghana met the targets for halving extreme poverty and halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, and it achieved the goals relating to universal primary education and gender parity in primary school".
The seasoned journalist, Kweku Baako Jnr hit the nail on the head when he pointed out on Joy FM’s political show (News File) on Saturday 6/04/2019 that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration performed exceedingly better in the first two years than the erstwhile NDC government led by former President Mahama.
Juxtaposing the state of the economy in first two years of the two administrations, Kweku Baako Jnr aptly concluded that the economy is in a better shape under the Akufo- Addo/Bawumia administration than it was under the Mahama administration.
Baako Jnr, therefore, asserted poignantly: “There’s no doubt that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has done far better than the Mahama/Amissah administration; it’s as simple as that, the figures and the records support it (myjoyonline.com, 6/04/2019).”
Before the insidious coronavirus, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration efficiently raised the economic growth. Ghana’s economy grew provisionally by 8.5 percent in 2017 compared to 3.7 percent in 2016 under Mahama/Amissah(Ghana Statistical Service, 2018).
Ghana’s economic growth, just before the pernicious coronavirus, stood at around 8.6% from 3.4% in December 2016.
Interestingly, in the first two years of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, the Industry sector recorded the highest growth rate of 16.7 percent, followed by Agriculture 8.4 percent and the Services 4.3 percent.
Services share of GDP decreased from 56.8 percent in 2016 to 56.2 percent in 2017. The sector's growth rate also decreased from 5.7 percent in 2016 to 4.3 percent in 2017.
However, two of the subsectors in the services sector recorded double-digit growth rates, including Information and Communication 13.2 percent and Health and Social Work 14.4 percent.
The Industry sector, the highest growing sector with a GDP share of 25.5 percent, had its growth rate increasing from -0.5 percent in 2016 to 16.7 percent in 2017.
The Mining and Quarrying subsector recorded the highest growth of 46.7 percent in 2017.
The Agriculture sector expanded from a growth rate of 3.0 percent in 2016 to 8.4 percent in 2017. Its share of GDP, however, declined from 18.7 percent in 2016 to 18.3 percent in 2017. Crops remain the largest activity with a share of 14.2 percent of GDP.
The Non-Oil annual GDP growth rate decreased from 5.0 percent in 2016 to 4.9 percent in 2017. The 2017 Non-oil GDP for industry recorded a growth rate of 0.4 percent, compared with 4.9 percent in 2016. Growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 reached 8.1 percent compared to 9.7 percent in the third quarter (GNA, 2018).
Some of us have always held an unwavering conviction that governance is a serious business and as such it requires forward thinking, serious and committed group of people to bring about the needed progress.
However, it has not always been the case in Ghana’s democratic dispensation. The multi- party democracy has given birth to both purposeful and coarse political parties.
As a consequence, we have been relying on lousy economic managers who have only
succeeded in sinking the economy deeper and deeper into the mire.
With all due respect, it was during the Mahama administration that Ghana came under the throes of economic collapse without any pandemic or Ukraine/Russia impasse.
