Contradiction-king Bawumia, whose Ghana Card comment is regrettable

Contradiction-king Bawumia, whose Ghana Card comment is regrettable-US based Economist

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has been called a “wizkid” of contradictions by a US-based economist named Dr. Sa-ad Iddrisu. He has also been criticized for his recent statements on the Ghana card.

On Wednesday, July 20, Dr. Iddrisu gave these remarks on Ghana’s economy in a zoom lecture with certain groups of Ghanaian students studying in the US.

According to Dr. Iddrisu, “Dr. Bawumia made his famous statement that the exchange rate would expose you when the fundamentals of the economy are weak before the 2016 election. When in office from 2017 to 2022, he returns to explain that a declining exchange rate doesn’t always indicate negative economic fundamentals. This individual undoubtedly has no principles and many inconsistencies.

“This is just one example, and if we go back and look at all of Dr. Bawumia’s pre-election 2016 pronouncements on the economy and compare them to the statements he is making now in government, you will find hundreds of discrepancies, with zero principles,” Dr. Iddrisu added.

Dr. Iddrisu said that Dr. Bawumia’s recent comments on the Ghana Card was regrettable. It is sad that a vice president in office would remark that the Ghana card is superior than 1000 interchanges.

Dr. Iddrisu claims that since the Ghana card registration is connected to a Tax Identification Number, it may contribute to an increase in tax payers in the unorganized sector of the economy (TIN). However, an economy that lacks even the most basic access to better highways and interchanges to make it simpler for farmers and merchants to carry their products to markets for sale shouldn’t believe it can earn enough taxes just by registering people for Ghana cards. People with empty wallets and grumbling stomachs cannot be taxed. You must provide them better highways so that their products and services can be transported easily. This will increase production, revenues, and maybe tax collection rates. As a result, 1000 interchanges are preferable to a million Ghana cards, not the other way around. But it doesn’t mean the Ghana card isn’t a crucial step in the digitization process. What is regrettable and out of context about the analogy Dr. Bawumia made is that it shouldn’t have been made in the first place.

Additionally, Dr. Iddrisu urged Dr. Bawumia and the NPP administration not to minimize the progress that previous administrations had done in terms of infrastructure.

“The NPP and Dr. Bawumia should not minimize the advancements in infrastructure achieved by earlier administrations since Ghana’s independence and under John Mahama. The administration of Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia should invest more in our current infrastructure by allocating a larger portion of the national budget to capital expenditures as opposed to consumer spending, as is the case at the moment, according to Dr. Iddrisu.

On the issue of Ghana going to the IMF, Dr. Iddrisu believe it may not solve Ghana’s economic woes if corruption and mismanagement are not eliminated under this government.

According to the Bank of Ghana’s monetary policy reports from 2017 to date, Nana Addo’s administration has borrowed more money than all of the other administrations put together since independence. Even still, there has been very little infrastructure development, according to Dr. Iddrisu.

“The IMF is providing the government of Ghana with a loan facility of around $1 billion, which has not yet been authorized by parliament. Unfortunately, even if the IMF grants Ghana a $5 billion or $10 billion credit facility under this government, a large portion of the funds will be blown away in corruption and mismanagement. Nana Addo must fight corruption and mismanagement under his government with all the seriousness it deserves, if it intends to achieve the needed infrastructural development and fiscal discipline”, Dr. Iddrisu added.