GH¢8.5m Deficit Can Fund Free SHS For 8Years

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

The vice presidential candidate for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, cannot fathom how Ghana can record a budget deficit estimated at GH¢8.7billion.

He believes that the amount, which was spent in excess of the budget of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government for the year 2012, could  have provided free secondary education for Ghanaian students for a period of not less than eight years.

On his Facebook social network platform yesterday, Dr Bawumia, who is also a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, posed a rhetorical question, 'Do you know that the budget deficit incurred for 2012, provisionally estimated at GH¢8.7 billion (and likely to be much higher) can provide free senior secondary education for at least 8 years?'

He thus asked Ghanaians to ponder over the government's excessive spending since 'we could have used this money to finance 8 years of free senior secondary school education!' insisting, 'At least we would have had something concrete to show for such a deficit.'

Yet, the celebrated economist stated, 'we were told that Ghana could not afford free senior secondary education'.

The post on his Facebook wall has since attracted hundreds of comments from Ghanaians, both home and abroad, and both sides of the political divide.

Whilst others, especially sympathizers of the NPP, sided with him, sympathizers of the NDC sought to rubbish his claims.

He described the situation as 'so sad', asking, 'What do we really have to show for the 2012 deficit?'

Dr Bawumia noted, 'When it comes to election campaigns, we somehow find the money but not when it comes to the education of our children', poking fun at the ruling NDC administration.

Failed Promises
In an article he wrote a couple of weeks ago, captioned 'The Economy Is On An Unsustainable Path With The Highest Budget Deficit In Ghana's History', the NPP running mate disclosed that the budget deficit, which was estimated at GH¢8.7billion, representing 12.1% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), using the rebased GDP numbers (or some 20% of GDP in terms of the old GDP series), was the highest recorded budget deficit in Ghana's history.

This, he said, was almost double the budget deficit of the year 2008 which the NDC described as reckless, upon assumption of office in January 2009.

'In 2008, Ghana was not an oil producer and the global economy was in crisis. In 2012, on the other hand, Ghana was an oil producer facing a favorable external environment for its exports and yet managed to double the 2008 budget (which this government described at the time as 'reckless') and in the process achieved what is a truly unprecedented budget deficit in Ghana's history,' he emphasized.

He noted, 'The government promised last year that its management of the economy would be more prudent than that of other governments in previous election years.

Despite all the favourable opportunities at its disposal, 2012 has turned out to be the worst election year outcome in Ghana's history in terms of the management of public finances.'

He could not but describe it as 'yet another failed NDC promise'.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu