Don’t Blame Me: Economic Management Team No Decision- Making Powers– Bawumia

Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who heads the Economic Management Team (EMT), has stated that the EMT lacks the authority to make decisions. “They only advise the cabinet,” he claims. His remarks are made because he is being held responsible for Ghana’s current economic woes.

The Economic Management Team Does Not Have Decision- Making Powers

The question Ghanaians are asking is: How can Economic Management Team Not Have Decision-Making Powers when Dr. Bawumia described it as a solid team

Considering the difficulties, it is worth noting that former President John Dramani Mahama requested his removal as head of the EMT. While the EMT committee does not have decision-making authority, Dr. Bawumia, a flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), expressed great pride in the high quality of advice that the committee has provided to Cainet over the years during his speech at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Wednesday, February 7. The president requested me, in my role as vice president, to help resolve the issues weighing down the economy. As promised in our 2016 platform, I intended to contribute to the economy’s formalization via digitization.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia went on to say that the criticism the Bank of Ghana (BoG) endured for lending money to the government amid the economic downturn was baseless. He claims that by choosing to back the government in handling the crisis, the Central Bank of Ghana was acting responsibly and prioritizing the interest of Ghanaians.
Recall that the Minority in Parliament voiced severe disapproval of the Bank of Ghana, claiming that the central bank was unfit for its intended mission.

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The fact that the BoG could not implement monetary policy without creating new money was something they griped about. The recent audited report from the Bank of Ghana revealed that the debt restructuring effort had cost the institution GH¢60 billion.
The money that they were compelled to save with the Bank of Ghana, which is referred to as the Prudential Reserve, has been frittered away, according to Isaac Adongo, the ranking member of the finance committee.

The foreign currency funds that the Bank of Ghana had been using to prop up the cedi have all but vanished. Even after deducting the GH¢48 billion in government debt, a deficit of GH¢22 billion remains. The Bank is unfit for its intended mission since it cannot implement monetary policies without resorting to money printing, which is impossible given its current financial situation. The Bank of Ghana, however, supplied the government with much-needed funding during a crucial period, according to Bawumia’s speech. He praised the BoG’s actions, calling them “very responsible” because they prioritized the needs of the people.

Dr. Bawumia went on to say that the world economy, including Ghana’s, was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

He detailed how, despite inheriting several problems from the Mahama administration, the Akufo-Addo government was able to stabilize the economy and get all of the economic indices moving in the correct direction.

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He did say, though, that these metrics took a hit due to the pandemic and the conflict.
“Despite the challenges we were handed, we had to move forward with…” We must address several issues, including but not limited to dimsor, national health insurance, debt repayment, and the availability and affordability of education. Every single statistic, including GDP growth, industrial output, government spending, and the currency rate, was trending upwards from 2017 to 2019. He made the statement while speaking at UPSA on February 7th: “In 2020 and 2022, we experienced several challenges triggered by the pandemic, which brought the world to a halt.” So went his speech.