Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party has officially launched his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential election at the University of Professional Studies and outlined his vision, policy priorities, and a detailed account of the country’s economic challenges and recovery.
In a comprehensive speech delivered at the University of Professional Studies, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia presented a thorough overview of the economic challenges faced by the nation and his role in steering Ghana towards recovery.
The speech according to the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer serves as the starting point for his 2024 presidential candidacy.
The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia began by acknowledging the difficulties inherited when the New Patriotic Party assumed office in 2017 and emphasized that it faced declining economic growth and multiple challenges.
According to Dr Bawumia, despite the daunting task, the New Patriotic Party administration led by President Akufo-Addo and himself has chalked countless successes which include the stabilization of the economy, addressing power outages (dumsor), improving the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), enhancing infrastructure, and implementing free and accessible education.
“Three months ago, I was elected as leader and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to lead the party into the 2024 Elections. I am eternally grateful to His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for giving me the opportunity to serve as Vice-President.
“I believe the time has now come for me to speak to you, the good people of Ghana, about my candidature, what we have experienced as a nation, my vision and priorities, and why I believe I am the best candidate for the presidency of this country in the 2024 Presidential election”.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
The New Patriotic Party flagbearer for the 2024 general elections further outlined a range of indicators that demonstrated positive economic growth and progress between 2017 and 2019.
Dr. Bawumia however, acknowledged the significant setbacks experienced between 2020 and 2022, primarily due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
These events according to the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia led to a severe economic downturn worldwide, with Ghana facing its own set of challenges, including supply chain disruptions, rising oil prices, and increased costs of fuel, freight, and food.
“We may be tired of hearing it but there is no avoiding the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war, resulted in the greatest economic depression in the world since the 1930s, with most countries recording negative GDP growth.
“The severity, especially of the Pandemic, was captured in the words of the IMF Managing Director then thus: ‘This is a crisis like no other…Pandemics don’t respect borders, neither do the economic shocks they cause. The outlook is dire. We expect global economic activity to decline on a scale we have not seen since the Great Depression”
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
Moreover, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia underscored the impact of two major expenditures that the current government has made since it assumed office in 2017 which include the banking sector cleanup and energy sector excess capacity payments – totalling GHC50.1 billion, which was financed through borrowing.
Dr Bawumia also noted that the fiscal deficit, which had been reduced to 4.1% by 2019, rose to 10.8% in 2020 due to revenue declines amid increasing expenditures, leading to an unsustainable debt situation.
According to Dr Bawumia, Ghana sought International Monetary Fund support to stabilize the economy due to the balance of payments crisis and loss of access to international capital markets it faced at the time.
In addition, Dr. Bawumia commended the Bank of Ghana for its responsible measures and emphasized that the financing provided by the Bank of Ghana to the government was temporary and crucial for averting a deeper crisis.
Amid these challenges, the Vice President expressed gratitude for the support and understanding of the Ghanaian people. He noted that the economy is now showing signs of recovery, with inflation decreasing from 54% in January to 23% in December 2023.
He noted that economic growth is rebounding, while fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP has declined to 4.2%, and the debt-to-GDP ratio is down to 66.4%.
The Vice President, Dr Bawumia concluded his speech by asserting that despite the recent crises, the current economic performance surpasses that of the 2013-2016 period when there was no global crisis.
