Bawumia is battling credibility deficit — Fiifi Kwetey

The General Secretary of the opposition NDC, Mr Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey says the flagbearer of the NPP, Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia is battling credibility crises following his use of subterfuge and propaganda to hoodwink Ghanaians in 2016.

Dr Bawumia, he explained, has been struggling to accept responsibility for his actions and inactions after he allegedly failed terribly to ameliorate the plights of Ghanaians as he promised in 2016.

Mr Kwetey, has therefore, urged Ghanaians to be more critical of the vice president and hold him responsible for the numerous promises he led the NPP to make in both 2016 and 2020.

This, he explained, would enable Ghanaians to appreciate the credibility deficit Dr Bawumia has to deal with in his quest to be elected to lead Ghana as a president in the December general polls.

Addressing the media at the party’s headquarters in Accra yesterday, Mr Kwetey mentioned that Dr Bawumia has refused to tout the achievements of his own ruling government because they have performed abysmally with unfulfilled promises which have caused him to run from his own shadows.

According to him, ex-president John Dramani Mahama has distinguished himself as a trustworthy candidate that the electorate could trust.

Bawumia’s public lecture.
At a recent public lecture, Dr Bawumia distanced himself from some of the outrageous taxes imposed by his government and promised that a government under him would abolish those taxes notably, the E-Levy.

He also promised a small government size which would be relatively smaller than the current one under which he has been serving as the vice president since 2017.

NDC’s reaction
Reacting to this, Mr Kwetey indicated that Dr Bawumia was aware that “The NPP has done enough damage to families through the destruction of livelihoods (Financial Haircuts, unprecedented unemployment etc.)”.

He explained further that NPP inherited a robust economy in 2017 following pragmatic initiatives implemented by the John Mahama administration which enabled the economy to grow at a predicted 7% in 2017.

“Note that John Mahama had access to revenue from only one oil field. Nevertheless, he handed over revenue from three (3) oil fields because Mahama added two more fields (TEN and Sankofa) before he left office.

"This is what experience and vision do and this is the experience Mahama is bringing to address the challenges Ghana is facing," he added.

According to the former propaganda secretary, a call on Ghanaians by Nana Akufo Addo to try him ahead of 2016, turned out to be catastrophic as his government has failed in all sectors.

He pointed out that the current state of the Ghanaian economy and its attendant hardship on Ghanaians meant that Ghanaians must be bold to reject any form of lies and vile propaganda going into the next general elections.

He said, “There is no time for Trial and Error, because Ghana is in a deep hole and Ghanaians are suffering. Ghanaians opted for A “Try Me” candidate and Running mate in 2016 and the verdict has been catastrophic.

"Fellow Ghanaians, we need a man with vision and experience to fix the mess. John Dramani Mahama is that man with the experience required to fix this mess and take Ghana to the next level of progress and prosperity”.

Robust economy by Mahama
He insisted that in 2017, the NPP inherited an economy that provided 100% funding of Government’s budget without recourse to the Eurobond market from the experienced John Dramani Mahama.

However, he said, “By 2018, the economy came under pressure due to NPP’s economic mismanagement. As a result, they resorted to borrowing from the Eurobond market until the economy gave up the ghost”.

This, he explained, was what led to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme and the cruel haircuts which were fiercely resisted by Ghanaian pensioners including former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo.

Bad management of the economy by the Nana Addo-Bawumia administration, he categorically stated, led to the free fall and worse depreciation of the local currency.

Why Mahama is the best for 2024
According to Mr Kwetey, Mr Mahama has so far, outlined policies and highly achievable initiatives that were not borne out of subterfuge and propaganda just to sway the electorate as the current regime did in 2016.

Economic Revitalization and Tax Reform

Mr Mahama has said that any future government under him would scrap all draconian taxes that have been imposed by this NPP government (e.g., E-Levy, port charges, betting tax) and increase government’s share of profit and revenue from natural resources to fund development and reduce tax burdens.

Anti-Corruption and Governance:

According to the former president, he would adopt a comprehensive approach to fight corruption at all levels and abolish the payment of ex-gratia to members of the executive under Article 71 and persuade other arms of government to accept the same.

Job Creation and Industrialization:

Mr Mahama intends to implement a 24-hour economy which he envisioned, would create more jobs for the teaming youth and ameliorate the plights of the ordinary Ghanaian.