Vice President Dr Mahamud Bawumia has said that the Akufo Administration has managed the local currency, the Cedi far better than the previous Mahama administration did.
He says the rate at which the Cedi falls against the major trading currencies especially the Dollar has lowered than what was being experienced under Mr Mahama
“The depreciation of the Cedi under our government is lower than what we inherited from the 2013-2016,” the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said during his address at the University of Professional Studies, Accra on Wednesday, February 7.
Dr Bawumia further pointed out that one cannot ignore the fact that the outbreak of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukrain war devasted global economies including Ghana.
He recounted that notwithstanding the challenges that the Akufo-Addo administration inherited from the Mahama administration, they managed to stabilize the economy with all economic indicators pointing in the right direction.
However, he said, the pandemic and the war impacted negatively on these indicators.
“Notwithstanding the difficulties we inherited, we had to get on with …we have to among other things fix dimsor, National Health Insurance, clear the arrears, make education free and accessible
“Between 2017 and 2019, all the indicators, economic growth, industry growth, fiscal deficits, and exchange rate were all moving in the right direction.
“In 2020 and 2022 we experienced several challenges triggered by the pandemic which brought the world to a halt,” he said.
Dr Bawumia also used the opportunity to commend the Bank of Ghan for the support it provided to the government during the crisis.
He described the criticisms against the central bank as unfair.
“The Bank of Ghana provided needed financing to the government at a critical moment. What the BoG did was very responsible in putting the interest of the citizens first,” he said.
