General News of Friday, 22 November 2013

Source: The Observer

Bawumia’s critics exposed: Kufuor praised his speech

The attempt by the National Democratic Congress press to suggest that Former President Kufuor was unhappy with the speech delivered by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia during the 1st Alhaji Aliu Mahama Lecture falls flat in light of available evidence to all who were present at the International Conference Centre when Dr. Bawumia delivered the lecture.

Former President Kufuor, who was the Chairman for the occasion, in his Chairman’s remarks on the lecture, said “I will appeal that this lecture presented by Dr. Bawumia be documented, published and well circulated especially to students in our various institutions as it is a wonderful intellectual work on the history of our economic management”.

The former President also urged all assembled to get copies and read, praising Dr. Bawumia highly for delivering such a masterful piece and displaying his brilliance one more time.

However, due to the fact that the live broadcast of the lecture on radio ended immediately after the main lecture by Dr. Bawumia, some section of the press in their attempt to mar the lecture delivered by Dr. Bawumia knowing the large Ghanaian audience did not listen to the comments of former President Kufuor have produced a number of stories which claims without naming any specific source that the former President is unhappy with the lecture delivered by Dr. Bawumia.

They initially pushed the suggestion that Dr. Bawumia had deviated from the topic, however, when the Aliu Mahama foundation publicly stated the falsity of those claims, the next path embarked upon was this suggestion which clearly flies in the face of the reality and the events on the day.

Dr. Bawumia on the 13th of November delivered the much praised and talked about lecture on the topic: Discipline in Economic Management: The Key to Sustainable Growth and Prosperity during which he chronicled the history of economic discipline and indiscipline since independence which had cost the country dearly in the area of development and the fallen standards of living.

The lecture which inevitably exposed NDC’s unprecedented economic mismanagement and indiscipline which had led to the serious economic challenges and hardships being faced by the country currently; seemed to have ruffled hugely the ruling government with immediate attacks on Dr. Bawumia’s personality and credentials without any serious attempt to debate the facts put out by the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana and two time Vice – Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party.