We have a strong track record of accomplishments – Says Vice President Bawumia

Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has praised the accomplishments of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, claiming that the Akufo-Addo administration’s record is unsurpassed despite the current global challenges.

The COVID-19 epidemic, which impacted global supply networks and strained national coffers, severely damaged Ghana’s economy. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine affected the prices of grains, fertilisers, and other commodities just as the economy was beginning to slowly recover.

Global debt and inflation reached record highs as nations struggled to deal with the effects on people’s lives and livelihoods. The Ghana cedi depreciated about 30% in 2022 as a result of a rise in inflation from 12.9% in December 2021 to 54% in December 2022.

Speaking on Saturday, June 10, at the NPP International Women’s Conference in the UK, Bawumia claimed that without these two significant external factors, Ghana’s economic prospects would have been admirable.

“While acknowledging that there is always space for improvement, we have been able to deliver as a government, which is unique in many aspects in the history of Ghana. We didn’t always have it easy and accomplish what we set out to do on the day we were sworn into office. However, despite the difficulties, we have a strong record of accomplishments, according to Vice President Bawumia.

“These crises—COVID and Russia-Ukraine—came as we were still working through some significant problems we were given as an inheritance. We were given too much vitality.

As I mentioned last year, as the World Bank has also only lately done, these contracts are foolish and have disastrous ramifications. For the last six years, we have been obliged to pay around $1 billion per year under these PPAs for power that we did not use.

“These events’ combined consequences harmed an economy that expanded at an average rate of nearly 7% between 2017 and 2019. Our debt became unmanageable, forcing the government to restructure domestic debt and request assistance from the IMF to stabilize our economy, he continued.

Over 100 crippling issues that the government inherited from the John Mahama administration have been resolved, according to Vice President Bawumia, and others are being worked on. Low GDP growth is one of the issues.