A former Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsuta-Kwaman Beposo, Kwame Asafo-Adjei, has stated that there is no need for the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to pick forms to contest the flagbearer position of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) because he lacks credibility.
According to him, inasmuch as everybody is eligible and qualified to pick nomination forms to contest the flagbearer position of the party, the onus lies on each of the candidates to examine themselves to see if, when elected to contest, the larger Ghanaian populace will vote for them or not to become the next president.
Speaking on Ade Akye Abia with Kwame Nkrumah Tikese on Okay FM and monitored by GhanaWeb, Kwame Asafo-Adjei said that Vice President Bawumia has lost faith in the people since he has failed them with no message.
“… After delegates elect you to be the flagbearer of the party, the question is if you are credible enough to win the votes of the people. Check yourself, what message do you have for the people of Ghana,” he quizzed.
According to him, he has a problem with the vice president since he was brought in by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to fulfil a specific mandate, which he failed woefully at.
He added that the reason President Akufo-Addo chose Bawumia as his vice was to help stabilize the economy of the country, particularly because at the time, the currency was not performing well.
“President Akufo-Addo brought him to assist him to stabilize the cedi and make it better than what he inherited. So, the vice president was given that responsibility. The president had that confidence in him. Now that he is coming to pick his forms like any other person, was the mandate the president gave him achieved? Has the economy gone down well?” he further quizzed.
Kwame Asafo-Adjei also complained about the several promises of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, including the one about ensuring that Ghana will not go to the IMF to borrow again because the “money is here.”
He explained that “Bawumia said we won’t borrow to construct roads, now road constructors are not being paid. We won’t go to IMF and we haven’t heard of him, and now that the money has come, we are still yet to hear from him.”
The former MP added that if he was one of Bawumia’s advisors, he would have advised him against picking the forms to contest the primaries.
Also, Kwame Asafo-Adjei said that the Gold for Oil initiative, for instance, is a policy initiative by the vice president that failed because it brought inflation.
He stressed that it is a policy that is not feasible, hence the withdrawal of the Bank of Ghana from the whole deal.
He indicated that the withdrawal of the BoG from the Gold for Oil deal is evidence of the failure of the deal, adding that the fuel reduction currently being experienced is not as result of Gold for Oil.
He, however, commended the former Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, for doing a lot in his personal capacity to boost the Ghanaian economy.
He recounted the Kufuor regime when Alan Kyerematen was able to secure a $500 million grant from the Millennium Challenge Account, ensuring a trade surplus, boosting the automobile industry, and giving a heads-up to pharmaceutical companies, among others.
He described the contributions of the former minister to the economy as “huge,” making him a better candidate to lead the New Patriotic Party than any other person.
You can also watch the latest episode of People & Places:
