Opinions of Monday, 9 October 2023

Columnist: Kwaku Badu

I bet, Bawumia is much more competent than Mahama (8)

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in a photo collage with former prez John Dramani Mahama Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in a photo collage with former prez John Dramani Mahama

Whilst some concerned Ghanaians are solemnly emitting their inexpressible apprehension over Mahama’s desperate and somewhat puzzling attempt to return to the presidency, the NDC loyalists seem unperturbed about the apocalypse of Mahama returning to the Jubilee House.

I do not want to believe it is somewhat impolitic to assert that an individual has no requisite skills, knowledge, experience, and qualifications to hold a particular position or slanderous to assert that someone is devoid of the qualities requisite for the effective conduct of an important position.

Let us be honest, we do not necessarily need politicians to run the country, we rather need patriotic and capable men and women to take charge of affairs.

So it is quite troubling when some Ghanaians decide to shrill, thrill, and clamor for the return of someone who had had the opportunity to steer the nation in the right direction but woefully failed to do so.

How can any patriotic Ghanaian emit somewhat incoherently that even if former President Mahama was perceived as corrupt and incompetent during his tenure in office, such despicable practices are allegedly widespread in the current administration and therefore he is the only Messiah with the ‘Midas touch’ to turn around the fortunes of the country?

Sadly, despite the conspicuous mismanagement during his time in office, the loyalist NDC supporters would want discerning Ghanaians to believe that the erstwhile Mahama administration provided exceptional governance.

The truth is, anybody with passing acquaintance with the erstwhile NDC administration would be extremely surprised to listen to Mahama praise singing bandwagon.

I cannot for the life of me, comprehend how and why anyone calling him/herself a reflective thinker can proclaim somewhat fecklessly that Ghana’s economy under Mahama/Amissah (3.4% growth and 15.4% inflation) was better than Akufo-Addo/Bawumiah record before the insidious coronavirus (8.6% growth and 9.1% inflation).

In Mahama’s time in office, the previously single-digit inflation and budget deficit doubled astronomically.

Ghana’s economic growth slowed for the fourth consecutive year to an estimated 3.4% in 2015 from 4% in 2014 as energy rationing (dumsor), high inflation, and ongoing fiscal consolidation weighed on economic activity (World Bank, 2016).

Besides, President Mahama’s administration nauseatingly dragged the economic growth from around 14%in 2011 to around 3.4% as of December 2016.

In addition, the high inflation rate remained elevated at 18.5% in February 2016 compared to 17.7% in February 2015, even after the Central Bank’s 500 bps policy rate hikes (the inflation stood at 15.4% as of October 2016).

Ex-President Mahama, as a matter of fact, did not pull his weight to improve the socio-economic living standards of Ghanaians.

Take, for example, former President Kufuor worked strenuously and quadrupled Ghana’s GDP to a staggering GH28 billion in 2008, and the late Mills inherited oil in commercial quantities and managed to increase the GDP to GH47 billion by 2011.

Regrettably, President Mahama dragged the GDP to an incredible GH40 billion as of December 2016.

The good people of Ghana witnessed so much balderdash, unbridled corruption, incompetence, and frequent abuse of power in the erstwhile Mahama administration, and hence the vast majority of Ghanaians have permanently lost trust in the NDC.

But despite the obvious economic meltdown back then, President Mahama and his apologists ridiculously kept trumpeting their vague rhetoric, political insobrieties, and meaningless slogans-‘Mahama Tuaso’; ‘We care for you’; ‘people matter, you matter’; ‘We are transforming lives’.

Meanwhile, Ghanaians struggled endlessly to pay their utility bills and could not even afford their children's school fees.

Incredibly, back then, whenever the suffering Ghanaians complained about the economic hardships, former President Mahama and his vociferous communicators would ungraciously chastise the same people who gave them the electoral mandate for expressing their grievances.

Shockingly, the NDC’s ‘Babies with sharp teeth’ (as described by the late President Rawlings) would brashly insult every Ghanaian who would dare complain about their laissez-faire style of leadership.

The discourteous NDC brats did not even spare their party founder, the late Rawlings, for voicing his opinion over the rampant bribery and corruption in the NDC administration.

The disrespectful apologists kept upbraiding their founder, the late Rawlings for expressing his arousing disgust over the rot in his party.

The NDC’s ‘Babies with sharp teeth’ (apologies to the late President Rawlings) disgustingly abused the then flagbearer of the NPP and the current President Nana Akufo-Addo day in and day out.

The brats spewed all sorts of wicked lies about the eminent lawyer. The good people of Ghana rightly became fed-up with the needless abuse the NDC apologists were directing towards the unwearied Nana Akufo-Addo.

Ironically, back then, President Mahama claimed to be a humble leader, a very patient leader, and a tolerant leader. And yet it was the same President Mahama who lividly told Dr. Bawumiah, the NPP’s presidential running mate for the 2016 general elections and now the vice president of Ghana to ‘shut up and cease criticizing him (Mahama) because he (Bawumiah) had not been a president before’.

Strangely, however, the much touted humble, patient, and tolerant President Mahama was reported to have told the people of the Ashanti Region that they are ungrateful and would never be appreciative even if all their roads were constructed with gold.

Consequently, the people of the Ashanti Region ineffaceably stencilled such an unfair comment at the back of their minds and waited for an appropriate time to express their arousing disgust. Indeed, the right time was 7th December 2016.

What is more, whenever the good people of Ghana expressed their doubts over the much touted numerous infrastructural projects, the humble, patient, and tolerant President Mahama and his vociferous communicators would reply: “It is only those that are blind that do not see the good work of the NDC government.”

The good people of Ghana put the needless attacks on their mental sheets and waited for an opportune time to teach the clamorous NDC ‘Babies with sharp teeth’ a great lesson.