The cedi gains: - whose glory, whose blame?

The cedi now gains some value and the piercing and irritating NDC goons are making noise to take glory for bringing the cedi down and resuscitating it. I am at a loss. At the height of the cedi fall, these illiterate and deceitful Govt Communicators quoted some main reasons that accounted for the depreciation of the cedi that:- Ghanaians import too much, it was due to Kufuor’s redenomination of the cedi in 2006, Ghana is still managing Guggisberg economy, Ghanaians have acquired new sophisticated tastes. One nasty reason given by the irrational Anita De Zoo was that, dwarfs have invaded vaults of BOG to siphon dollars away.

The fact is, these factors still exist so why is the cedi gaining strength now as reported? The majority NDC just takes delight in deceiving and bamboozling the electorate for votes. For how long can Ghanaians tolerate such NDC tomfoolery in our body politics? Ghanaians seem to be very cheap for them. The minority view that foreign exchange shortage arising from executive recklessness was the cause of the cedi depreciating is more scientific and rational and has held sway. The cedi’s performance has now been boosted by the IMF and the Eurobond intervention which have helped in renewed investor confidence in the Ghanaian economy vindicating the NPP rational stand. Let NDC continue to gloat in their arbitrariness and deceit.

Dr. Mahmadu Bawumia pointed out and warned them early this year that they might have to resort to IMF to save the economy having carefully studied and identified the problem in the Ghana economic administration and satisfied himself that the economy is not being well managed.. Dr. Bawumia was patriotic and objective and suggested the way to go in the unstable circumstances—enveloped by Mahama’s executive recklessness, indiscipline and wanton dissipation of public funds on frivolities and projects with very little economic dividends coupled with ‘ by-heart’ unnecessary borrowing.. He also warned of the negative consequences of the Seth Terkper/Dr Nii Moi Thompson - supported fiscal policies, baked in President Mahama kitchen whereby, ridiculous restrictions were imposed on private foreign account holders with regard to withdrawals. The meticulous monetary guru called for a reversal of the obnoxious policy which was detrimental to the growth of a developing economy like Ghana’s including, for example the accelerated downgrading of the cedi value. Dr. Bawumia was called monkee names -dubbing him amongst others as an agent of some MATEMEHO, a doomsayer who did not want Ghana to progress.

Surreptitiously, just after that and before the June Senchi conference, President Mahama had begun contacts with the IMF apparently taking cues from Dr. Bawumia’s earlier prescriptions. The surprising aspect is how President Mahama openly displayed the shamefacedness, confusion and treachery at the Senchi conference and declared there that, his administration did not have any intention to contact IMF on possible bailout. That was disgraceful and barefaced treachery because the President had already done the IMF contact and he still refused to admit that act - is President Mahama a liar? Is he a man of high moral worth fit to occupy the high office of President?

Readers are reminded of such Mahama devilish turnarounds when the 2012 Akufo Ado and NPP inspired Northern Accelerated Development Agency NADA scheme suddenly appeared in the 2012 NDC manifesto as SADA, two months to the elections. Similarly, the dynamic Free SHS scheme of NPP which was lambasted and shot down in pre- 2012 elections in Mahama/NDC dirty campaigns appeared from nowhere as NDC post-elections new educational cornerstone policy. He also lied at the IEA debate in 2012 that the 250 Ghanaian medical students on scholarship in Cuba were receiving $5,000 instead of the documented $50,000 annually. Executive lies all over.

Now, back to the substantive point, clearly with regard to the criticisms of Dr Bawumia, Mahama and his communicators did not know what they were talking about -- including Dr. Wampah the BOG governor, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson, the all talk but do-nothing government economic policy advisor, Ofosu Kwakye the Deputy Minister of Communications and the other voodoo theorists. My uncle tells me that they were just being mischievous, deliberately doing politics with the subject to hide their stinking shame. Now that Dr Wampah has reversed his own damnable foreign exchange holding and withdrawal policy and the government is openly flirting with IMF to breathe sense and responsibility in the reckless environment, some positive effects are showing and the cedi is gaining grounds. So the big question is who is to be blamed and who is to be given the glory for the cedi gain after the fall?

The NDC communicators are all over the place now wanting to take credit for the good results but giving excuses and blaming NPP for the failures occurring in their 6- year stinking rule including the cedi fall. The Editor-in-Chief of the Crusading Guide Newspaper Kwaku Baako Junior has already advised government communicators to desist from what he says is their “needless” gloating over the appreciation of the Cedi- and that they must be cautious about taking glory for the seeming stability of the local currency as several factors could be responsible for the current situation. Are NDC still going to pay dubious judgement debts? Are they still going to inflate project costs? Are they going to use monies which can build four schools to build one school or four regional hospitals to build one hospital? Are we going to still maintain the - GYEEDAS, SADA, CP, Woyome, ATTL, SUBA – foul smelling cultures and pay out free monies?

The economy is simply not being well managed. A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Vladmir Antwi-Danso has observed that Ghana has had to resort to an IMF bailout because the economy is being managed poorly. He said – ‘“If you are running good policies, you wouldn’t have to go to the IMF. Everyone is going for judgment debt because the economy is bad. People who are supposed to protect us are helping people to take 51 million cedis judgment debt from us’ - The Christian Council is virtually asking – ‘Where are the wise men to manage our economy?’ - So someone should tell the NDC communicators to rather sit up and advise Mahama to manage the economy well and stop bashing in undeserved glory. These NDC infantile minds are thinking Mahama has borrowed heavily to pay our bills, and thereby stop the cedi depreciation, so Ghana is now rich and debt-free.

Mahama/NDC have created all these problems and it is an insult and gross immorality to solve the problems and then cite it as a criterion for success. The question is; are the Ghana economic problems really solved in the long run—in the face of Mahama and his gaping sycophants’ steepness in the blatant on-going ad-hocism, arbitrariness, deceitism, voodooism and unscietificism? Sooner and perhaps soonest, Jehovah will smite them out. Yes soonest.

John Yawose