I bet, Bawumia is much more competent than Mahama (XII)

After perusing through the numerous comments on the previous series, I have come to a sad realisation that Ghana indeed has a long way to go.

Of course, in a democracy such as ours, governments will pop in and out. And, considering the political dynamics in Ghana, it is a trend we can expect to continue unabated.

But the crucial question we should be asking is: should we trust every adult Ghanaian with an excuse of ascending to the presidency to steer the nation to the right direction?

While some people may have good intentions for entering into politics, others just view power as an excellent opportunity to amass wealth.

It would, therefore, appear that some politicians do not care about the plight of the masses. They only scramble for power in order to pursue their parochial interests.

If that was not the case, what else would make a leader dole out large portions of our scarce resources to inveterate apologists like the founder of Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Madam Akua Donkor, who in all honesty, contributed nothing meaningful towards Ghana’s wellbeing, and yet received a melodious gift of two four wheel drive vehicles and a luxurious bungalow purported to cost a staggering $475,000?

The Mahama administration fecklessly doled out Ghana’s scarce resources to party apologists instead of purchasing fuel to generate power and for well over four years, dumsor unfortunately crippled businesses.

The dumsor was so irritating to the extent that my uneducated, albeit reflective thinking mum, who had a soft spot for NDC, underwent a carefully considered reflection and graciously detached herself from the Umbrella fraternity.

Despite Mahama’s coarse leadership, the NDC loyalists would never agree with some of us for persistently criticising their beloved leader.

Dearest reader, considering the fact that there was no ecumenically diffused corona virus or Ukraine/Russia impasse during the Mahama administration, and yet Ghanaians experienced extreme harsh conditions amid corruption allegations (Bus branding, Brazil World Cup, SADA, SUBA, GYEEDA, SSNIT, MASLOC, NCA, Ford Expedition Vehicle, amongst others), it was not surprising a bit when the unhappy 56.5 % of the electorates consciously voted Mahama out in 2016 and 51.2% voted against him in 2020.

If you may recall, in his last days in government, former President Mahama embarrassingly told Ghanaians that his NDC administration had licentiously ‘consumed all the meat on the bone’.

The former president was apparently conveying to Ghanaians that his administration had engaged in profligate spending and thereby emptying the national coffers.

Former President Mahama disappointingly managed to uproot the good foundation laid by President Kufuor and the late Mills.

Some of us have always held an unadulterated 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.

Apparently, it was during the Mahama administration that Ghana came under the throes of economic collapse in the absence of pandemic or Ukraine/Russia impasse.

Dearest reader, tell me, if Mahama is not taking Ghanaians for granted, how on earth would he consider returning to the presidency given the dreadful errors in judgement during his tenure in office?

Where was the unprecedented economic foundation when the Mahama administration wilfully dragged 14% economic growth in 2011 to 3.4% by December 2016 in the absence of the pernicious coronavirus?

Suffice it to stress that before the insidious coronavirus, Bawumia dutifully assisted Akufo-Addo and raised Ghana’s economic growth from 3.4% to 8.6%.

How can Mahama and cohort claim excellence in economic management when single digit inflation took a flight to 15.4% by December 2016 in the absence of a Russia/Ukraine war?

In fact, it was Bawumia who ably assisted Akufo-Addo and within a short space of time reversed the inflation from 15.4% to 7.5%.

How can Mahama evocatively claim a solid economic foundation when the agricultural sector regrettably grew in negative figures consistently in the absence of the armyworm invasion?

Interestingly, in the first two years of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumiah administration, the Agriculture sector recorded the highest growth rate of 8.4%.

Indeed, the Agriculture sector expanded from a growth rate of 3.0 percent in 2016 to 8.4 percent in 2017 (GSS, 2018).

Where was the propitious economic foundation when the industry sector grew appallingly over the years?

The Akufo-Addo/Bawumiah administration, before the unspeakable coronavirus, recorded the highest growth rate of 16.7 % in the Industry sector.

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 (GSS, 2018).

Where was the solid economic foundation when former President Mahama unabashedly claimed that his administration had edaciously consumed all the meat on the bone?

The fact of the matter is that the late Mills left a sound economic growth of 14% and Mahama reversed it to 3.4%, the late Mills left the agricultural growth of 7.4% and Mahama dragged it to 2.5%, the late Mills single digit inflation was reversed to 15.4%, GDP of GH47 billion shrunk to GH40 billion by Mahama.

It was, therefore, not quite surprising when the unhappy 56.5 % of the electorates voted Mahama out in 2016 and 51.2% voted against him in 2020.