Ghana's Economy Must Be Re-Engineered- Dr. Bawumia

Mahamudu Bawumia

Ghana’s economy has been described by running mate of the New Patriotic Party, Mahamudu Bawumia has one that needs re-engineering. 

This, he said, is because the economy has contracted following close to eight years of mismanagement by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by President John Dramani Mahama.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, Dr. Bawumia observed that the economy currently is bedeviled with high interest rates, depreciating currency, joblessness, poverty, declining agriculture rate as well as power crisis which he said has led to the collapse of numerous businesses in the country. 

“You need to re-engineer the economy to provide the incentives for growth that will create the jobs,” he added. 


Dr. Bawumia also called on Ghanaians to vote massively for the NPP part in the upcoming November polls since they have the solution to Ghana’s problems. 

“We have a plan to transform this economy to build a very people and business friendly economy in various areas. Our number one priority in that contest is job creation because you go around the country and the issue of jobs is really the number issue for a lot of our youths who have finished school. 

The economy is not growing, that is the problem. If the economy is not growing you cannot grow jobs so you cannot get jobs for our people.” “If agriculture is growing at 0.0% and manufacturing is growing at -2% then you will have a problem with job creation. 

How can you create jobs when your key sectors are contracting or stagnating and this is really the problem” he questioned. 

Businesses confident in economy 

A 2016 first quarter Business Barometer report released by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), has shown that business confidence among business operators shot up in the first quarter of 2016. 

According to the report, business confidence among corporate leaders in the country in the first quarter of 2016 increased from that of the fourth quarter of 2015. 

The report revealed that business confidence increased from the 95.9 points recorded in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 101.9 points in the first quarter of 2016. 

Cote d’lvoire’s economy now better than ours

But flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo, has said Ghana’s economy under President Mahama has worsened to the point that Cote d’Ivoire, which only recently came out of a civil war, is now doing much better with cocoa and a few other resources. 

“President Ouattara’s leadership has been such that Cote d’Ivoire has been growing at 8% to 9% over the last five years. Whilst we have been going like this [declining], they are going like that [experiencing a boom.”