Contrary to claims by President John Mahama that the election petition in 2013 affected the performance of his government, that period rather saw his best economic performance in office, the vice presidential nominee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said.

“For President Mahama, 2013, the year of the election petition, represents his best economic performance,” Dr Bawumia said on Thursday at a lecture.

Mr. Mahama accused the opposition NPP of wasting one full year of his first term in office with the petition to the Supreme Court that challenged the outcome of the 2012 presidential results at the Supreme Court.

Addressing some chiefs in the Volta Region as part of his Accounting to the People tour on Tuesday April 19, Mr. Mahama said what he had been able to achieve in two-and-a-half years was “phenomenal” given that the NPP “wasted” his first year in office with litigation.

“Three-and-a-half years ago, you swore me in as your president. You swore me in based on a manifesto that we presented to the people of Ghana and in that manifesto we said we were going to improve the infrastructural development of this country in the areas of electricity, water, healthcare, education, road network, economy and all those other areas that we presented to you. On the basis of that you gave us a mandate to rule for four years,” he stated.

“Unfortunately, one year of that period was taken in court litigation, and, so, one year of our mandate was wasted in litigation in the court. And, so, a lot of what we have achieved really is on the basis of the two-and-a-half years we have had the peace of mind to work in this country. And if you look at the track record and what we have been able to achieve, it is phenomenal.”

However, Dr. Bawumia has rebuffed those claims. In his public lecture at the National Theatre on September 8, under the theme: ‘State of Ghana’s Economy – Foundation of Concrete or Straw?’ the three-time vice presidential nominee pointed out that rather than admitting his failure to hold the country’s economy together, President Mahama has resorted to providing excuses with “corruption and incompetence” leading to poor performance of the economy. “According to the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), most of Ghana’s borrowing has been used for consumption and not for investment."

In his view, “overpricing of contracts, corruption and the absence of value-for-money considerations is partly responsible,” for Ghana’s poor development.