Bold Solutions: Bawumia tackles weak fundamentals - Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa writes
“If the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you”. These were the words of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, now flagbearer of governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), when he spoke about the state of the economy while in opposition.
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Many are asking whether Dr. Bawumia has departed from this statement, and why he has not dealt with the weak fundamentals nearly eight years in office as Vice President.
Dr. Bawumia insists he has not departed from the statement. When Africawatch Magazine (April/May, 2024 edition), asked him whether the statement is still true now in 2024 under his government, his response was: ‘Absolutely! It is still true and I will continue to stand by that statement’.
Bawumia's bold solutions
Short of using the exact expression, Dr. Bawumia reiterated the statement in various forms, and showed his resolve to deal with the weak fundamentals of our economy when he laid out his vision “Ghana’s Next Chapter: Selfless leadership and bold solutions for the future”, on Wednesday February 7, 2024 at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Accra.
The flagbearer of NPP outlined the numerous successes of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government in education, health, food and agriculture, technology and digitalization and e-governance as well as in the economy generally.
Though, glad of the government’s achievements in spite of some global and internal challenges, which he equally highlighted, Dr. Bawumia said: ‘… we have done many good things and I will be seeking to build on them’.
Dr. Bawumia has a broad vision to: ‘…build a country that assures a food self-sufficient, safe, prosperous, and dignified future for all Ghanaians, to create sustainable jobs with meaningful pay for all, and for Ghana to participate fully in the fourth industrial revolution using systems and data’.
On the specific issue of tackling the weak economic fundamentals, Dr. Bawumia’s strategy to stem the consistent depreciation of the cedi against foreign currencies, introduction of new tax regime, plans to boost agriculture and the introduction of electric vehicles are very instructive.
Stabilisation of Cedi
Like many Ghanaians, Dr. Bawumia bemoans our inability to harness the country’s huge gold reserves to strengthen and stabilise the cedi against foreign currencies. Drawing from the successes chalked from his ‘gold for oil’ and the domestic gold purchase programmes with Bank of Ghana, Dr. Bawumia proposes to ‘build Ghana’s gold reserves appreciably to reach a point when we have sufficient gold reserves to keep our external payment position sustainably strong’.
In addition to these measures, the introduction of a new tax system, which includes flat rate and the payment of import duties in the local currency, would help reduce the burden on foreign exchange.
Boosting Agriculture
The significant impact of the government’s ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ programme notwithstanding, Ghana still imports large quantities of some of the basic food items that could easily be produced in the country. On the Ghanaian market today, Burkina Faso onions, yam and tomato, Abidjan salmon, Nigeria beans, and, meat and poultry products from Europe, America and Asia abound and tend to be preferred to our local stuffs, although they are more expensive.
To address these age old fundamental challenges, Dr. Bawumia intends to apply technology and introduce large-scale commercial irrigation farming. In addition, he proposes to ‘promote the use of agricultural lime – which abounds locally – to reduce the acidity of our soils, enhance soil fertility and get more yield …’.
Beyond boosting food production, reducing food prices and stemming the rise in exchange rates, the proposal has a huge employment potential for the youth as this dovetails into Dr. Bawumia’s plans to establish more agro-based industries. It is the expectation that the use of technology and the partnering of private companies to establish large-scale commercial irrigation farms will offer direct and indirect employment. This will also help to address the challenge of aging workforce in the agricultural sector.
Electric Vehicles
Transportation, especially road transportation serves as indispensable tool in the pursuit of our economic and national development.
Indeed, the statement by Sir Fredrick Lugard, a British Governor, over a century ago that, ‘the material development of Africa can be summed in one word – transportation’, still holds today.
Commendably, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has enabled the establishment of six vehicle assembling plants in Ghana. This notwithstanding, the importation of used vehicles and spare parts is still a thriving business and continues to impact on the exchange rate.
The consistent fluctuations in fuel prices on the world market, tend to affect the ex-pump prices, leading to high transportation costs, which invariably cascades to other sectors to affect the cost of leaving.
Dr. Bawumia’s vision to introduce electric vehicles to reduce the cost of public transportation by between 30 – 40% is thus welcoming idea.
Positive mindset
The flagbearer of the NPP acknowledges the fact that his well knitted strategy can only be possible with the support of all Ghanaians. ‘The challenges we must overcome as a country are too important to let our political differences derail us’, he says. He however, raises concern about our declining interest in our core values – patriotism and principles within our society.
On his campaign rounds across the country, Dr. Bawumia consistently highlights the seminal role community leaders and religious bodies in national development and has signalled his intension to partner with them to invigorate the ‘can-do spirit of the Ghanaian’, instil positive attitudes and values – hard work, honesty, respect, discipline, accountability.
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On August 18, 2024, when the New Patriotic Party launches its manifesto for the upcoming elections, the Ghanaian electorate expects nothing more than how the brilliant ideas expressed in Dr. Bawumia’s “Ghana’s Next Chapter: Selfless leadership and bold solutions for the future”, and which he amplifies on his campaign rounds will be implemented when he is elected as President.
The writer is a retired Professor and a former Director-General of Ghana Education Service