We Must Aim At Building Nation For All - Bawumia

Dr Mahamadu Bawumia

Dr Mahamadu Bawumia Ghana must aim at building a nation in which none will be denied the opportunities for maximising his or her God-given potential, the 2012 Vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has declared.

In this connection, he said the country must be prepared to take long term plans and decisions for the benefit of all and not decisions driven by short term political advantage.

“We should be prepared to tap into the talents of Ghanaians within and outside Ghana regardless of political affiliation for the economic transformation of Ghana,” he told a high profiled gathering at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, when he delivered this year’s Ferdinand O. Ayim Memorial Lecture in Accra on Tuesday.

The fifth in a series of lectures, Dr Bawumia spoke on the topic “The State of our Economy”.

In attendance were former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who was the chairman of the occasion, and his Vice, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,Members of Parliament, chiefs and traditional leaders as well as members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of other political parties and the academia.

Delivering his first major public statement since being selected by Nana Akufo-Addo as his running mate for the December 2012 presidential elections, Dr Bawumia said in moving to this new development paradigm, it was important for Ghanaians to understand that they were in competition with countries like China, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, Brazil, India, Singapore and South Korea.

He said Ghana’s businessmen and women, contractors, teachers, nurses, engineers, among others, must be considered the players on the field of international competition.

“They are our Black Stars. We should support them and provide them opportunities regardless of which party they may happen to support. While we engage in healthy political competition as part of our democratic process, we should always remember that ultimately our competition is not with each other. It is with other countries in the global economic space,” Dr Bawumia stated.

According to Dr Bawumia, Ghanaians must also aim at building a country where access to quality healthcare and education should no longer be a luxury for the privileged few, but a right for every citizen; a Ghana where every young person desirous of working will find the skills and employment with a decent wage.

Dr Bawumia was of the view that a future should not only built for the youth, but they should be built for the future, “a Ghana where our hard-working entrepreneurs can easily access capital. A Ghana where our young people will be well-educated and empowered to better compete in the global economy. A Ghana where each will be his brother’s keeper.’

Dr Bawumia also provided detailed analysis of the current state of Ghana’s economy and insights into the economic issues that continue to confront us as a society and cautioned among others that Ghana could not be built or developed on the wings of

propaganda.
“The lesson from history for governments is that you cannot manage the economy with propaganda. In fact, you can engage in all the propaganda you want but if the macroeconomic fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you,”

His topic also underscored the importance of a vibrant economy to the wealth creation agenda of any nation.

He gave the assurance that under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo, economic transformation through dynamic and innovative management could be done again and pledged his full commitment to Akufo-Addo’s agenda and vision for the economic transformation of Ghana.

He described his selection as a running mate to Nana Akufo Addo as sending a message to the entire nation on the need for unity and to build bridges to each other and to the future.

“We are one people. We should not allow anybody or group of people to tear us apart. We should all recognize that notwithstanding our differences, Ghana remains a shining example in this world of a country where people live in harmony notwithstanding our ethnic, cultural or religious differences,” he stated.

In the view of Dr Bawumia,” an opportunity to serve Ghana should not be turned into an opportunity to serve oneself or one’s family, friends or tribe”

He said it was an opportunity and a privilege to serve all of Ghana, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, education, income among others saying “it is an opportunity to make Ghana better for all! Not a Better Ghana for a privileged few.“

This is what Nana Akufo-Addo means by building a society of opportunities and aspirations in Ghana and I am privileged to partner him to serve Ghana if our party is given the mandate, he assured the gathering.