Former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has taken a swipe at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, describing Ghana’s current economy as a tale of two economies – a paper economy and a pocket economy.
Speaking at the NPP’s National Thanksgiving Service at the Church of Pentecost in Sunyani this morning, Dr. Bawumia said despite government’s claim of lower inflation and a stronger Cedi, life is still hard for Ghanaians.
“As you can all attest, things are not going on well. Things are really hard for the people. And when you ask them what they have done, they will tell you that inflation is down and dollar is down. The reason we all want inflation and dollar to go down is because we want it to have a positive impact and make life and cost of living easier. But if inflation and dollar go down and the people are suffering, is that how we want it?” he quizzed.
“You cannot have a stable economy with people suffering. The stability should be a way of improving the lives of the people. So what is the use of the stability they are talking about when the people are suffering?”
Farmers, teachers, traders deceived
Dr. Bawumia questioned who has benefited from the so-called stability, listing a number of sectors he said have been deceived, alongside Ghanaians.
“Have cocoa farmers benefited? They told them they will pay them GH¢6,000 per bag. Has that happened? Have cashew farmers benefited? They told cashew farmers to look for land and expand their farms because they will pay them more but that has not happened. Soybean, rice and maize farmers have all been deceived. Teachers too, the same. Same with nurses and doctors. Traders are also complaining because people are not buying their goods,” he said.
He added that electricity bills, water bills, petrol and transport fares have all increased, worsening the cost of living.
On education, Dr. Bawumia accused the government of collapsing Free SHS, failing to cancel double track, failing to cancel the teacher licensure exam, and failing to post teachers automatically as promised.
The NPP flagbearer also took on government over galamsey and the 24-hour economy policy.
“Galamsey is even worse. Maybe when they mentioned 1:3:3 they meant galamsey because galamsey has now more than tripled. Dr. Sam Jonah said our river bodies now look like chocolate milk. They said they would end galamsey within one month but they have failed.
“They promised Ghanaians a new economy called 24-hour economy. We have been waiting for nearly 2 years to see it but it has not happened. Clearly they did not even understand what they were talking about. It was a campaign propaganda to deceive Ghanaians. They said 1:3:3 – one job for three people and the question Ghanaians are asking is, where are the jobs? They also promised to complete Agenda 111 hospitals but they have failed,” he added.
Paper economy vs pocket economy
Summing up, Dr. Bawumia said Ghana now has two economies.
“One is a paper economy – they say inflation is down and exchange rate is down. The second economy is the pocket economy – the high cost of living and your sufferings. That is more important to the people of Ghana. The stability of the economy is meaningless if it cannot be linked to the liberation of the suffering of our people.”
Dr. Bawumia concluded by saying that towards 2028, the NPP will not promise what it cannot do.
“We are going with ideas, costed ideas, practical ideas, workable ideas,” he stressed.