Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been largely credited for shifting the focus of the political debate away from insults and toward concerns, particularly those related to the economy.
Ahead of the 2016 elections, Dr. Bawumia mounted several platforms where he chastised the incumbent National Democratic Congress over its handling of the economy.
He said the NDC under the John Dramani Mahama-led administration had run down the economy, promising a restoration under the Nana Akufo-Addo/Bawumia ticket when voted into office.
On the Cedi depreciation, the NPP touted that former President Kufuor had done better in bringing the Cedi at par with the dollar however the NDC, whom they labelled as bad managers of the economy, had allowed it to depreciate when they assumed office in 2009.
Dr. Bawumia, who was hailed as an ‘economic messiah’ however promised to restore it once NPP was elected into office.
“We will stabilize the cedi and bring down interest rates. We will transform the financial sector,” he tweeted on August 25, 2012.
Having assumed office in 2017, Vice President Bawumia while giving an account of the first 100 days in office of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, indicated that they have been able to “arrest” the fall of the Ghana Cedi against the Dollar.
But the Cedi has largely lost more ground against the dollar, only intermittently stabilizing against the dollar in recent times.
The Vice President has been the target of public criticism as he doubles as the head of the Economic Management Team (EMT).
Felix Kwakye Ofosu, an aide to former President John Mahama, latched out at Dr. Bawumia describing him as a ‘liar in chief’ over failed promise to stabilize the Cedi.
He said the EMT led by the Vice President has become “hopeless and hapless” as the Cedi has fast crossed GH₵11.00 against the US dollar on the forex market
“The exchange rate is hurtling towards GHC12 to a dollar. The present managers of the economy led by Bawumia are both hopeless and hapless in the face of this unprecedented catastrophe,” Kwakye Ofosu wrote on his Facebook wall on October 13.
We will stabilize the cedi and bring down interest rates. We will transform the financial sector. #CampaignLaunchWeekend
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia