DR.
BAWUMIA AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF GHANA'S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
By
Iddi Muhayu-Deen
The life of every nation begins
and ends with its economy. The economy, they say, is the CAUSE and every other
thing is an effect. If a nation gets its economic fundamentals right, then be
rest assured that everything would work perfectly well for that nation and the
vice versa. That is why a country like Malaysia, which got Independence around
the same period as Ghana, appears to be 200 years older than Ghana in terms of
structural and economic development.
Meanwhile, Ghana is much more
endowed with natural resources than Malaysia and the other developed countries
in the world including America, the United Kingdom, Germany and almighty China.
We have virtually everything a nation needs to turn around its economic fortunes
for accelerated growth and development. Just mention anything and you will find
it here in Ghana including oil and gold. But why are we where we are? Why have
we remained the hewers of wood and drawers of water in the comity of nations?
Why are things just not adding up in our part of the world? Why?
Maybe, it is because we haven't
had the right MEN to head our Economic Management Team over the period. Maybe,
it is because we have been applying the same economic model all the times and
expecting different results. Maybe, both. But one thing I'm 100% sure of, is
that, the application of the internationally acclaimed BAWUMIA MODEL is fast
changing the Ghanaian economic narrative. And what is this highly touted Model?
Well, the Bawumia Model is the economic model that has, in six months, brought
about a stabilized Ghanaian economy with rising GDP, stable currency, declining
inflation, declining interest/prime rates to unprecedented levels and growing
investor confidence.
The Bawumia Model is the model
that has, in 100 days, got this country a whopping $2.25 billion from the
issuance of a domestic bond. The Bawumia Model is the model that is today,
getting this country as much as $19 billion worth of investment [for emphasis,
investment NOT loan], which is the biggest economic support package received by
an African country from a single negotiation. If this doesn't make you happy as
a Ghanaian, I wonder what else will.
The alternative to the Bawumia Model
is what we call, the NDC ECONOMIC MODEL.
And what is it? It is the model that epitomizes exchange rate volatility,
rising interest rates, killer taxes and draconian business climate, economic
recession and reckless borrowing among other harsh economic conditions. The NDC
Model is the model that inherits an economic growth rate of 8.4% and after 8
years, brings it down to as low as 3.4%. The NDC Model is the model that used 8
years in negotiating and chasing some $3 billion Chinese loan but could only
manage to secure a paltry $1 billion in its entire 8 years.
Meanwhile, the proponents of the
Bawumia Model used ONLY FOUR DAYS of negotiations with the Chinese government
to get this country a whopping $19 billion including the NDC's outstanding $2
billion facility. The NDC Model is the model that decides to give out 58% of
Ghana's bauxite concession to a certain Ibrahim Mahama, brother to President
Mahama and yet, condemns the NPP government for leveraging less than 5% of this
bauxite deposit for a wanton $21 billion worth of investment TO EXPAND THE
PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF THE GHANAIAN ECONOMY TO BE ABLE TO SIGNIFICANTLY GROW
THE ECONOMY AND PROVIDE JOBS TO THE TEEMING UNEMPLOYED, which is what I call,
the Bawumia Model.
The critics of the Bawumia Model
accuse the proponents of the model of lying to the Ghanaian electorates because
according to them, Dr. Bawumia, whilst in opposition, promised that an NPP
government will NOT borrow. Meanwhile, they haven't been able to provide any aorta
of evidence to substantiate their claim. If somebody criticizes you for
engaging in reckless borrowing and chopping a chunk of the money, how does that
mean that the person will not borrow at all when given the mandate? I never
knew English could be this difficult.
The other thing he said was that,
it is possible to develop this country without engaging in the kind of reckless
borrowing the NDC was engaged in. I ask again, how does this suggest that an
NPP government will not borrow at all? In any case, which country in this world
doesn't borrow? Even the Americas and the Chinas, which happen to be the two biggest
economies in this world, borrow from other nations as well as the Britain Wood
Institutions. So, it would be highly preposterous and inconceivable to
make the argument that a poor country like Ghana can survive without borrowing.
The NDC tells us that they do not
borrow to chop but invest in infrastructure. Come with me and let's interrogate
this claim. In doing that however, we must bear in mind that, he who much is
given, much is expected. Whereas the previous NPP government used ONLY GHc20
billion to stabilize the Ghanaian economy; moved Ghana from HIPC to Middle
Income country; rolled out massive infrastructure projects and implemented not
less than 26 social intervention programmes, in the case of the NDC, they had
as much as GHc248 in their last 8 years.
In terms of borrowing, the NDC had
borrowed $38 billion [this figure is more than the entire debt stock of Ghana
from 1957 to 2008, which stood at $9.3 billion] within this period, whereas the
Kufour-led NPP government borrowed only $4.1 billion in their entire 8 years.
In other words, the NDC, in just 8 years, had quadrupled all the money that all
previous governments in the history of Ghana had borrowed from the days of
President Nkrumah to President Kufour.
Now, back to their infrastructure
debate, when the then Minority in Parliament challenged them to come clear with
the list of all the so called massive infrastructure projects they had executed
and they did, a forensic audit was commissioned into these projects. The audit
revealed that all these projects including the Circle and Kasoa interchanges,
the eastern corridor roads, the schools and the hospitals, ought to cost the
Ghanaian taxpayer, not more than $4.3 billion [out of the $38 billion they had
borrowed]. So, you ask, na sika no h) hen..?, to wit, where is the rest of the
money?
Maybe, the money is gone into the
building of stomach infrastructure as people were alleging. This was the kind
of wishy-washy economic governance of the NDC administration which Dr. Bawumia
and the NPP loudly criticized and proceeded to call for a regime change. The
clarion call for this regime change became highly pronounced in the buildup to
the 2016 polls because the Ghanaian people were fed-up with the recklessness
and needed some solace. They voted massively for the NPP to help achieve
economic and fiscal discipline and to restore hope in the Ghanaian.
And truly, when the mandate was
given to the NPP, the Ghanaian economy has since been picking up all the lost
pieces. Our economy has, in the past six months, seen a remarkable growth of up
to 6.6% from the 3.4% bequeathed to the NPP in January, 2017. Also, the
exchange rate, inflation and interest rates, have all assumed positive outlooks
in the period under review. That's not all; Dr. Bawumia's recent trip to China
is getting this country, a $21 billion worth of Chinese investment.
This money, which is the highest
economic support package to be received by an African country, would be used to
drastically INDUSTRIALIZE the Ghanaian economy and deliver economic prosperity
to the Ghanaian people. This is what you get when you have a Bawumia in charge
of your Economic Management Team. He doesn't only speak competence but also,
manifests same. You just can't ask for more.
From all indications, the Bawumia
Economic Model, rather than the NDC's, is the best economic model for Ghana.
Our current Vice President, His Excellency Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the
lead proponent of this international award winning tried, tested and proven
model. He is the man, in whose hands, lies the key to overcoming our economic
conundrum and USHERING GHANA INTO THE
GOLDEN AGE OF ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
AND PROSPERITY.
Assalamu alaikum
Iddi
Muhayu-Deen
#ForGodAndCountry
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