Two presidential staffers, Kow Essuman and Dennis Miracles Aboagye, have taken a swipe at Prof Kobby Mensah, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, for criticising Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's promise that Ghanaians would soon have access to credit to purchase cars using the Ghana Card.
In a post shared on X on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, the director of Local Government Services at the Office of the President, suggested that Prof Mensah has been paid to speak against the vice president.
He added that the academic now has no trustworthiness.
“@kaessuman our professor mocks an emerging credit scoring system but hails the other one. The Consultancy contract seems quite thick cos our man is now doing the Footsoldiering himself. Thrown every credibility out of the windows. Cos eeeiiii,” he wrote.
Kow Essuman, the counsel to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to whom Aboagye addressed his post, said that Prof Mensah, whom he described as ‘brilliant’ is allowed to be “footsoldiering”.
“Hahaha allow the Prof. Small footsoldiering is allowed. He is brilliant when he is not politicking though.”
What Prof Mensah said:
Prof Kobby Mensah cast doubt on Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's promise that Ghanaians would soon have access to credit and purchase cars using the Ghana Card.
In a post shared on X on November 28, 2023, Prof Mensah asked why the Ghana Card is not being used to acquire vehicles because there are garages in Ghana already.
He threw a challenge for someone to take his or her Ghana Card to a car dealership to see if s/he would be allowed to buy a car on credit.
“Are we not in Ghana? Are there no garages in Ghana? If the answers to these questions are yes, then the case is simple.
“Take your Ghana card to CFAO to pick up a Mercedes and let’s prove the theory,” the academic wrote.
What Dr Bawumia said:
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia announced plans for Ghanaians to access credit and purchase cars using the Ghana Card and the ongoing digitalization of the economy.
Speaking at the 57th Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on November 24, he revealed ongoing discussions with local automobile companies, including Solar Taxi, to facilitate this initiative.
"The Ghana Card will also become the anchor for a credit system in Ghana, and it will take a couple of car manufacturers in Ghana, notably Solar Taxi, to give cars on credit to people," asaaseradio.com quoted Bawumia as having said.
He stressed that the Ghana Card would be the sole requirement for transactions, enabling individuals to acquire cars and pay over time.
The vice president also disclosed plans to introduce a credit scoring system for individuals in 2024.
This system, he said, aims to provide a credible credit history for individuals, enhance the financial sector, address trust issues, reduce the cost of doing business, and promote financial discipline.
"Ghana next year will be introducing a credit scoring system for individuals. Every individual will have a credit score. Right now, our credit scoring system does not exist, so we are seen as risky," he added.
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Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Prof Kobby Mensah and Kow Essuman (from left to right)