According to National Democratic Congress (NDC) member and private lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, the Akufo-Addo administration that Ghanaians elected has turned into an issue for Ghanaians to solve rather than a one that the government addresses on their behalf.
According to Edudzi, the government did a poor job of controlling the economy.
Edudzi said on the Big Issue on TV3 during a discussion on the criticism Kennedy Agaypong, a member of parliament for Assin Central, made of the government over the country’s economic challenges, by saying, “The economy was struggling before Covid.”
For his part the Member of Parliament for Sekondi Andrew Egyapa Mercer urged persons who are measuring the performance of Vice President Dr Mahama Bawumia as head of economic management to look at the entire period he has been the vice president.
Mercer mentioned that Dr Bawumia supervised an economy that was growing at an average rate of 7 percent in 2017 and 2018.
“If you are measuring him you need to start from 2017 and 2018 to date,” he said on the Big Issue on TV3 Monday, July 17 while responding to criticisms of the Vice President by Assin Member of Parliament Kennedy Agyapong over the management of the economy.
He further indicated that it is a fact that Ghana’s economy has struggled over the past few years due to exogenous factors, factors he said the Vice president had no role to play in their emergence.
“Dr Bawumia was superintending over an economy that was growing 7 percent on average 2017, 2018 and 2019 and so in 2020 what happened?
“[Kennedy Agyapong] can have his opinion but the Ghanaian people and delegates will look at the entire situation and recognize that 2020, and 2021 were outliers and what caused those outliers.
“They recognize the issues that have taken us to where we are that are not attributed to Bawumia, that is not to say that he is reneging on his duties. He did not bring covid and if you think covid did not have an impact on the economy, that is your beef. He stands tall and he is the one to help us break the 8,” the Deputy Energy Minister said.
Mr Kennedgy Agyapong who is an aspiring flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) fired the government for the poor management of the local currency.
He stated that in March 2022, he had $40 million in Cedi equivalent, but by August of that same year, the value had dropped to $16 million because of the depreciation of the Cedi.
Although Mr Agyapong did not mention any name, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who is also the head of the economic management team and an aspiring flagbearer of the NPP is usually blamed for the poor performance of the Cedi against the major trading ones, especially the Dollar.
As part of his campaign tour at Kintampo East on Sunday, July 16 to be elected flagbearer, Mr Ken Agyapong who is also an Assin Central lawmaker said “We will have troubles if we don’t do a clean campaign because I will reply to every claim made against me.
“You call yourself a strategist, but the Dollar was 4 Cedis when we took power, and the current exchange rate for the Dollar is 12 Cedis, yet you all yourself a strategist.
“In March 2022, I had the equivalent of 40 million dollars in Cedi. By August 2022, the value of the 40 million dollars had fallen to 16 million.”
