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04.05.2012 Editorial

Isolating The Chaff

By Daily Guide
Dr. Mahamudu BawumiaDr. Mahamudu Bawumia
04.05.2012 LISTEN

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia last Wednesday thrilled Ghanaians when he demystified the otherwise scary macro-economic figures of fiscal management to dissect the state of our economy.

By the time he was done with the discourse, he left even the street-side Ghanaian in no doubt about the truth and fallacies about the economy.

Sieving the realities of the economy from the chaff propagandists have paraded to their compatriots for the past three years was a welcome relief for many Ghanaians, a feat which earned him a deserved standing ovation from the elated crowd which graced the occasion.

This is what dealing with issues in politics and economics is about. It was devoid of insults and innuendos, just facts supported by annotated diagrams, alongside relevant juxtapositions with what the state of the economy was when President Mills took over the helms and what it is today.

It is our hope that the discourse would form the nucleus of how politics would henceforth be undertaken in the country; after all, politics determines what the economic policies would be.

An enlightened political campaign intended to win hearts and minds is educative and explanatory and devoid of vituperations.

That is the destination we wish to land on; when we finally do, we would pat each other on the back and heave sighs of relief that at long last, the evil of politics of insults is dead and interred with all its attendant evil.

If only we could de-politicise the contents of Dr. Bawumia's discourse and analyse it critically, we would have taken the necessary first step towards remedying the malaise that has afflicted the economy.

To attempt rubbishing the discourse, as some NDC propagandists have begun doing already, is not only a baseless project but a display of sheer hubris.

Let us appreciate the fantastic exposition without political lenses so that our distressed economy would get the necessary fillip and head for a lasting recovery.

A number of factors have accounted for the falling value of the cedi against the convertible currencies, especially the dollar and these were amply highlighted by the economist/banker-turned-politician for those with ears to hear.

Our appalling economic state calls for a serious reflection against the backdrop of the hints dropped by Dr. Bawumia, lest we head for the economic abyss which could be nearby.

Running the most endowed government in the history of post-independence Ghana, there is cause for concern when the economy refuses to respond to the treatment being meted out to it, a puzzlement which was given ample discussion during the conversation.

With the addition of oil to the export receipt and an all-time high price for gold, there is no reason why things are not adding up. There lies the cause for concern.

We continue to live in denial about the state of the economy at the peril of the country's fate. Dr. Bawumia's hints should be regarded as observations from a Ghanaian expert with a stake in the fate of the country to which he belongs and not as a politician, although he is one.

Anything short of this would be tantamount to maintaining the disturbing status quo of gutter politics which we should outlive now.

 

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