Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has said the government’s performance so far will be bases on which Ghanaians will vote for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024 General Election.
According to him, it is better to judge politicians not by what they say but by what they have done to solve the problems when they were given the opportunity to serve.
Speaking at the NPP International Women’s Conference held at London, UK, the Vice President stated that the NPP in office we have chalked some successes as a government and unprecedented in many regards in the history of Ghana.
“While recognizing at the same time there is always room for improvement. We have not had it all rosy and delivered everything that we set out to do from our day of initiation into office. But the setbacks notwithstanding, we have produced a solid track record of achievements.
“Fellow Patriots, as we gather like this in our colourful blue, white and red dresses and paraphernalia, one thing occupies our mind – how to position our party in a manner that engenders hope, trust and confidence, both in ourselves and the larger Ghanaian community. Seven years ago, we were given a mandate to oversee the governance of our country Ghana through a resounding victory. Four years later, our mandate was renewed,” Mr. Bawumia stated.
He continued: “As has been the mantra of most of us, we seek to do what has not happened in our country before by breaking the eight-year cycle of democratic political rule. We are very much convinced that we will be able to do this, by the grace of God, because of our performance.”
The Vice President however recounted some of the difficulties they have faces as a government.
“As those of you in the UK and other European countries are keenly aware, in the last couple of years the whole world has been hit mainly by two major external forces and Ghana has been no exception.
“The Covid-19 pandemic affected global supply chains and the response put a burden on public finances. The war between Russia and Ukraine hit fertilizer and grain prices, among others, and increased the prices of commodities back home. Inflation, exchange rate depreciation and debt levels globally hit a 40 year high as countries scrambled to cope with the impact on lives and livelihoods. In Ghana, inflation increased from 12.9% in December 2021 to 54% by December 2022 with an attendant depreciation of the Ghana cedi by 30% in 2022,” Mr. Bawumia stated.
According to him, these crises (COVID and Russia-Ukraine) came at a time when the government was yet to fully recover from some major challenges inherited.
“In particular, we inherited excess energy capacity payments resulting from power purchase agreements entered into by the previous government. I said last year, and the World Bank has also recently pointed out the reckless nature and the catastrophic implications of these contracts. Under these PPAs we have been required to pay some $1 billion annually for power we did not consume over the last six years.
“The combined effects of these phenomena blighted an economy that grew at an average rate of about 7% between 2017-2019. Our debt became unsustainable, and the government had to undertake a domestic debt restructuring and seek IMF support to stabilize our economy.
“These developments have been latched on by our political opponents in an attempt to play down the achievements of our government in the last six years. There has been so much talk from politicians and commentators alike. It is said that Politicians have a habit of talking a lot, but they hardly talk about what they have done.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM
