Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Minister for Government Communications, has slammed the former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for making a U-turn on exchange rate stability.
Kwakye Ofosu noted that Dr Bawumia previously placed considerable emphasis on the stability of the cedi but is now downplaying it in his assessment of the economy under Mahama.
According to Kwakye Ofosu, Dr Bawumia must resolve his current position with his previous public statements on exchange rate stability.
Speaking in an interview with Citi FM, Kwakye Ofosu stated, “Today, Bawumia says that stability is not important. I can send you about three different clips of him prior to the 2024 elections in which he stoutly defended stability”.
“Was he not the one who told us that the most important indicator in an economy like ours is the exchange rate? Was he not the one who told us this in 2014?”
Kwakye Ofosu further defended the Mahama administration’s economic record, saying, “The truth is that every single measure of economic performance today is better than he left it”.
“Of course, it can always get better. There is no dispute about that, and we will continue to work assiduously as a government to ensure that things get better than they are today,” he added.
His comment follows Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who jabbed the NDC government, describing Ghana’s current economy as a tale of two economies.
According to Dr Bawumia, Ghana now has a paper economy and a pocket economy.
Dr Bawumia argued that despite the NDC government’s claim of lower inflation and a stronger cedi, life is still hard for Ghanaians.
Speaking at the NPP’s National Thanksgiving Service at the Church of Pentecost in Sunyani, Dr Bawumia stated, “As you can all attest, things are not going 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 the dollar is down. The reason we all want inflation and the dollar to go down is that we want it to have a positive impact and make life and the cost of living easier. But if inflation and the dollar go down and the people are suffering, is that how we want it?”.
“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?”
Dr Bawumia added, “Have cocoa farmers benefited? They told them they will pay them 6000 cedis 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, are the same. Same with nurses and doctors. Traders are also complaining because people are not buying their goods”.
“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 a 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 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, “One is a paper economy – they say inflation is down and the 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”.
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