Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia spoke about the economy in a speech he delivered at the Hogbetsotso Za festival which is taking place in the Volta Region.
On Saturday, November 5, 2022; Bawumia, leader of a government delegation, arrived at the venue of the grand durbar to cheers but it wasn’t before long that he was subjected to boo and jeers whiles delivering his address.
In a Joy News video cited by GhanaWeb, the Vice President is captured enumerating what he called accomplishments of the government. His listing was punctuated by boos and jeers from a section of the crowd.
It was at the end of his listing that he made comments relating to the state of the economy, admitting among others that times were hard and government had the task of ensuring that relief is brought to the populace.
After a list of infrastructure, technological and education sector deliverables of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government, he concluded thus:
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we have more to do. There is a lot more, Ghanaians are facing a major increase in the cost of living, the cost of fuel prices, food prices and so on. And we have to do more to make sure we can relieve the burdens of Ghanaians,” he stressed.
Bawumia suffers boos
Videos that circulated on social media showed Bawumia’s arrival amid cheers from onlookers who had gathered to celebrate the festival with the Awomefia Togbui Sri II and the people of Ho.
Bawumia did not appear disrupted or disturbed by the incident but it appears he sent a subtle message to the booing crowd at the end of his list of accomplishments.
“This is accomplishments, this is accomplishment. There are many people who don’t like to hear good news but it is good news. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have much more to do.”
What Akufo-Addo said about Ghana being in a crisis
Amid an economic downturn, calls for Akufo-Addo to resign has heightened with a November 5, 2022 protest dubbed ‘Kume Preko Reloaded’ making the loudest call as activists and politicians marched in Accra to press home that demand.
The government is meanwhile, grappling with an economic crisis, which along with the galamsey scourge and corruption are the major drivers for the call on Akufo-Addo to resign along with his Vice President, Mahamadu Bawumia.
Akufo-Addo in his October 30 address on the economy blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causes for the country’s economic woes.
While admitting that the country was in crisis and rallying support for various government interventions to stem the tide, he said the situation was not peculiar to the country as many nations across the world were also experiencing difficulties.
“We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.
“But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedeviled our economy,” he said.
But like before, President Akufo-Addo blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as causative factors for the economic woes.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President