The communication officer for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Savanna Region, Malik Basintale, has criticised Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia for losing focus on his mandate and rather resorting to purposeless, jocular politics at a time the country needs to be rallied around the flag to fight against COVID-19.

The NDC communicator, who was reacting to the invectives Bawumia threw at former president John Mahama, noted that the Vice President has not been on top of issues lately.

Dr Bawumia recently jabbed former president Mahama, who had suggested that the country’s economy the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) touted as robust could not survive a 3-week lockdown in the national capital in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.


“If you want to test the robustness of an economy, you test it in a time of crises. Thankfully, we have had two crises. Under the NDC, it was an internally-generated crisis, which was dumsor [frequent power cuts]. Under the presidency of Nana Akufo-Addo, there has been an externally generated crisis, which has been the global coronavirus pandemic… I just want you to ask yourself, how have these two crises been managed? The dumsor crisis which crippled this economy for four years,” said Bawumia.

“What were the mitigating measures offered to businesses and individuals during the dumsor, an internally generated crisis?” the Vice President quizzed as he sought to denigrate the opposition leader who tackled the power crisis he inherited before leaving office.

However, speaking on Inside Politics on Power 97.9 FM, Basintale, who described Bawumia’s jabs as propaganda, said the Akufo-Addo government has not tackled the fight against the Coronavirus outbreak in the country, and that the vice president should channel his energy toward gripping the bad situation.

“Bawumia has not done anything for his people in the north..He is from Walewale yet the health facilities in that area are crying for PPEs and what he is capable of doing is to attack the opposition,” Basintale disclosed.

“As we speak North East Region has recorded 2 COVID-19 cases yet PPEs are difficult to get,” he added.

He further admonished Bawumia to be serious and be seen working rather than focusing on his nightmare– the NDC flagbearer.

The North East and Northern Regions have recorded cases of the Coronavirus yet, to Basintale, the NPP has not prioritized containing the virus.

“If not for our flagbearer H.E John Mahama, who donated some PPEs and other items to the hospitals in the northern sector, the situation would have been worse than this,” Basintale noted.