Reading Literature on Yahoo Does Not Make You Expert in Digitalisation – Isaac Adongo tells Bawumia

Ranking member of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Hon Isaac Adongo has chided Vice President Dr Mohamoud Bawumia, for messing up Ghana economy despite claimed of been an economist.

According to him, the Vice President sudden U-turn as an economist to digitalisation expert is moved by reading of some literature on Yahoo network and that, that alone could not make him expert in that field.

Hon Adongo made the this comments when the Minority address the press in parliament on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.

“After years of economic mismanagement leading to untold hardships, massive job losses and unemployment, instead of Government coming clean and apologising to the good people of Ghana, it rather resorted to self-denial, concealment and cooking up of economic and financial data amidst the deployment of heavy PR to deceive the people of Ghana until Covid-19 arrived and badly expose the fragility of the so-called robust economy.”

“In the midst of this gargantuan economic mismanagement, I heard Dr. Bawumia saying he has a vision for Ghana. I’m wondering what vision he has other than what he and his boss, Nana Addo, have contracted with IMF for the good people of Ghana. What is Dr Mahamudu Bawumia going to do that he couldn’t do in this government? It is annoying to hear those who drove a car in perfect condition into a ditch now talking about “vision”. If they had vision, Ghana wouldn’t have sunk this low in the first place.”

“After achieving the unenviable record of leading Ghana to the IMF, breaking all negative records of economic management and running away from his trained specialisation of economics to digitalisation what has he to offer?

“What training in economics at “O” Level for 5 years. ‘A’ Level for 2 years, first degree 3years, and masters for 2 years. PhD for At least 3 years, teaching and practising economics for several years of his adult life, this mess has put us in and now running away from his field of training.

“How can reading some literature on Yahoo turn Dr Bawumia into a digitalisation expert?”,Hon Adongo chided the VEEP.

Below is Minority Full Statement

A PRESS STATEMENT READ BY HON ISAAC ADONGO, RANKING MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT’S FINANCE COMMITTEE ON THE UPDATE OF THE FINANCE MINISTER AND COMMENTS MADE BY DR. MAHMOUD BAWUMIA.

1. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, we have invited you today to update you on Ghana’s IMF economy and to respond to some of the shameless comments made by Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia on the occasion of filing his nominations to contest for the NPP flagbeareship race to run the 2024 presidential elections.
2. We wish to state in no uncertain terms that the Minister for Finance on behalf of the Head of the Economic Management Team, failed, refused or neglected to inform Ghanaians about the true nature of the hardships they have signed unto with the IMF. This so-called bailout can be nothing more than a heap of miseries contracted by the Nana Addo/Bawumia government and imposed on an already suffering Ghanaian populace.
3. After years of economic mismanagement leading to untold hardships, massive job losses and unemployment, instead of Government coming clean and apologising to the good people of Ghana, it rather resorted to self-denial, concealment and cooking up of economic and financial data amidst the deployment of heavy PR to deceive the people of Ghana until Covid-19 arrived and badly expose the fragility of the so-called robust economy.
4. By 2019, Ghana’s debt burden was already hurting the economy so badly. Ghana was reeling under a burden of over 91% of debt service to tax revenue accompanied by high external vulnerability. At the same time, the government was visibly struggling to generate net international reserves to cover massive offshore debt service obligations that were due.
5. The true deficit of Ghana’s primary balance, debt position, and net international reserves were being consistently cooked to show unrealistic economic indicators. While this charade was on government, was in difficulties in raising money domestically or in the Capital market to refinance maturing debts amidst unsustainable gross financing needs in excess of 20% of GDP. This invariably created fear and panic across global capital markets about the eminent insolvency, bankruptcy, and the palpable collapse of the Ghanaian bubble. This led to the unanimity among rating agencies about Ghana’s grim economic outlook and dire reality.
6. The signs were very clear on the wall that Ghana’s economy was in trouble from economic mismanagement. At some point, the government was seen picking up excessive printed money from the BoG. The unfolding scenarios led to non-resident investors aggressively selling off their domestic bonds and repatriating the foreign currency, leading to dwindling foreign reserves.
7. The end result was that the cedi gave up the ghost, depreciating by 54%, interest rates hit 45%, and inflation went on a galloping spree reaching 54%. Even at this late hour, the government was still playing tricks with the good people of Ghana. They were never prepared to succumb and speak the truth after years of deception.
8. Government officials took turns to declare that they would never go to the IMF. They were so impervious to good counsel and common sense from NDC, Academia, and civil society. The Government only eventually went to the IMF after things had gone out of hand and so bad that they could no longer hide anything as their Diabetic economy exposed them with heavy stench.
   When they finally arrived at the doors of IMF requesting to be bailed-out, they were declared unfit and unqualified to be accepted by the IMF for a funded program. The Nana Addo and Bawumia government had run the country into a deep hole and had been sitting on it to hide it.
9. In December 2022, as Ghana’s foreign reserves disappeared and they facing a $3billion debt service obligations they didn’t have money to pay, they subjected our sovereign to humiliation when they posted a notice rather shamefully that Ghana was bankrupt, Insolvent and had therefore suspended its debt service payments.
10. Ghana’s peculiar emergency situation is so unprecedented that It compelled the fund to handle her as a special patient seeking treatment. Government of Ghana was earlier forced to restructure domestic bonds with dreaded haircuts before approaching the IMF.
11. This scenario can be likened to the situation where the doctors asks chronic diabetic patient to amputate his leg before coming to the hospital for help. It is, therefore, unsurprising that many analysts had to silently watch how IMF waived off many of its conditions precedent (financing assurances) to have a deal for Ghana to save it from total disappearance as an economy. This is how cluelessness, indecision, incompetence and ignorance of economic management has brought Ghana.
12. This week, the Minister for Finance effectively announced that Ghana’s position as a bankrupt and insolvent Country whose sovereign is now worth a worthless sheet of paper will be officially achieved and announced in September ahead of the next IMF review in October and an IMF board consideration in November 2023. It therefore shocks that such an embarrassing “achievement” is being celebrated as an update of Nkrumah’s Ghana.
13. As if that was not enough, he also announced that they are still considering restructuring bonds held by pension funds to the tune of $2.6 billion or some Ghc260billion. This will turn many of our working middle class into paupers and beggars at pension after so many years of meritorious service to mother Ghana.
14. It is sad to note that matured bonds and interest payments of about Ghc8 billion remain unpaid while the interest of Ghc2 billion on the newly issued DDEP bonds are due in August 2023 without any payment plan in sight. The incompetence that brought us here is still operating. How can you be governing without planning for your maturing debt obligations?

14.Government has agreed with IMF to further reduce statutory funds transfers to Get fund, NHIL etc by 0.4% of GDP, reduce infrastructure development by 0.9% of GDP and reduce the wage bill and compensation of employees by 0.4% of GDP through hiring and salary restrictions.

15. As if the collapse of the 9 banks and over 400 financial institutions leading to unemployment and locking up of people’s monies were not enough, they have signed up to spend a whopping Ghc30 billion to collapse and resolve more banks and financial institutions under the IMF program.

Every 3 months they will increase electricity and water bills without due regard to its impact on individuals, households and businesses. This will definitely impact badly on the cost of doing business and feed into the current debilitating inflation and suffering being experienced by the Ghanaian.

16. In the midst of this gargantuan economic mismanagement, I heard Dr. Bawumia saying he has a vision for Ghana. I’m wondering what vision he has other than what he and his boss, Nana Addo, have contracted with IMF for the good people of Ghana. What is Dr Mahamudu Bawumia going to do that he couldn’t do in this government? It is annoying to hear those who drove a car in perfect condition into a ditch now talking about “vision”. If they had vision, Ghana wouldn’t have sunk this low in the first place.
17. Before we go ahead to evaluate his vision over the past 6 years, let’s remember that, prior to 20217, Nana Addo had told Ghanaians that he was relying on the intellectual capacity of Dr Bawumia to transform Ghana. Was Dr Bawumia not head of the Economic Management Team that created this mess? Which vision is left to be talked about? Check the NPP manifesto for the 2016 elections and compare with Dr Bawumia’s propaganda but naive experimental lecture notes from 2014 to 2015 and you will see that was his vision that metamorphosed into Ghana’s Vision and Economic Policies since 2017 to date:

• Moving the economy from taxation to production. This is one of the fanciful visions of Dr. Bawumia that led to the collapse of production after they somersaulted and introduced over 24 taxes.
• I village 1 dam is yet another vision Dr Bawumia espoused while in opposition. It was subsequently implemented in government. Dr. Bawumia should speak to this and tell us what this vision has brought to the economy of Ghana. We can only remember these dugouts as one of wasteful ventures that had become death-traps, killing people in rural areas.
• Dr. Bawumia’s naive 1$million per constituency a year has rather led to massive arrears and commitments.

-Has Dr. Bawumia ‘s Establishment of development authorities not become a conduit for siphoning and the looting of public funds? He should speak to it and tell us what the achievements are.

• 1 district 1 factory became a source of fleecing the public purse through the granting of ridiculous tax waivers and painting and co-opting of factories that could be “colonial era” factories as 1D1F factories.
• tolling the toads without borrowing led to bankrupt and insolvent Ghana.
• Naive benchmark regimes and frivolous discounts to ignorantly drive container volumes at the port from Togo has led to a collapse of imports with empty terminals in Tema and Takoradi.
• A policy to clean up and strengthen the financial sector rather led to the collapse of about 422 financial institutions with the remaining ones extremely malnourished waiting to be crashed under the IMF program with a planned Ghc30 billion.
  -IPEP. What has this policy espoused by Dr. Mahmoud Bawumia brought?
  -By the end of Nana Addo’s first four years, there shall be no community with toilet problems? When all the man can think of, is toilets, which he couldn’t even execute, who takes such a person seriously.

1. Dr Bawumia is the first economist in Ghana with the most venomous vision that has landed all of us on life support. He now wants to be president with a vision to discount us from the last support to kill us completely.
2. If Dr. Bawumia had any iota of credibility, a modicum of shame in the eye, and respect for Ghanaians, he would have stayed away from contemplating to be president.
3. After achieving the unenviable record of leading Ghana to the IMF, breaking all negative records of economic management and running away from his trained specialisation of economics to digitalisation what has he to offer?
4. What training in economics at “O” Level for 5 years. ‘A’ Level for 2 years, first degree 3years, and masters for 2 years. PhD for At least 3 years, teaching and practising economics for several years of his adult life, this mess has put us in and now running away from his field of training.
5. How can reading some literature on Yahoo turn Dr Bawumia into a digitalisation expert?
6. Just in case your google search did not equip you enough to understand digitization, let me help you understand that digitalisation thrived on internet and telecom infrastrure and to demonstrate the unparrelled record of the NDC and John Dramani to anchor Ghana’s digital economy and challenge you to show us your record of investment in digital infrastrure.

Source: expressnewsghana.com

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