Mahama left a tattered economy, not a robust one - Dr. George Domfe

Development Economist and a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS) at the College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Dr. George Domfe, has rubbished John Dramani Mahama’s claim that he bequeathed a robust economy to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Speaking at ABC News’ Economic Symposium held in Winneba, Central Region, on Monday, September 16, 2024, Dr. Domfe pointed out that the former president lied when he said he left a better economy for Akufo-Addo.

“It is an outright lie and the height of dishonesty on the part of former president John Dramani Mahama to proclaim that he left a robust economy in 2016 when leaving power. I was shocked when the former president made this statement when he met the TUC. His performance was worse than any other regime apart from the Rawlings government”, Domfe stated.

“Despite the challenges faced by the country as a result of COVID-19 and the war in Europe, Akufo-Addo has done better. The economy grew at 4.7% during the first quarter of this year. Mahama left office with a 3.4% growth rate. How can this person claim to have performed better than Akufo-Addo?”

“By September 2019, inflation came down to 7.6% under Akufo-Addo, and that’s the lowest level achieved since March 1992. Akufo-Addo performed better even in the face of the global economic downturn”, he added.

He wondered why an administration that performed poorly when there was no major economic crisis on the global scale should be elected against the one that has performed better in the face of global economic meltdown.

“Under Mahama, there was no COVID-19, and there was no war in Europe, but they left a growth rate of 3.4%. In the face of COVID-19 and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Akufo-Addo’s economic figures have outpaced those of Mahama. Under such conditions, why should the one who performed poorly be elected? The one doing well in these trying times deserves to be re-elected”, he said.

Dr. Domfe charged Ghanaians to support and vote for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia whose Economics background can help the country grow in leaps and bounds.