Kwasi Koranteng, an independent presidential candidate for the 2024 election, has demanded the resignation of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as Chairman of the Economic Management Team. Mr. Koranteng argued in a statement that, given the Vice President’s poor performance, he does not deserve to be on the team.
“It is true that this administration has performed poorly and led us deeper into economic disaster, but they did not bring the nation to this point by themselves. I ask you all, and especially the young people who will spend their lives in abject poverty paying for yet another government program that will ravage our nation’s wealth, ” he said.
His call comes days after the former president, John Dramani Mahama, made similar calls. The current state of the country’s economy necessitates that a new face be hired to assume his position.
He stated that the economic management team led by Dr. Bawumia was responsible for the country’s worst international credit rating downgrade, diminished confidence in the local economy, and contributed to the cedi’s poor performance on the international market.
The following is Dr. Koranteng’s complete statement.
Greetings, My Fellow Ghanaians, Members of the Press, Members of the IMF committee, and most importantly, the youth of this nation, whose future is in greater jeopardy than ever before.
We appreciate your attendance today. On the verge of yet another mortgage financed by the IMF with guarantees provided by the future blood, sweat, tears, and toil of every working Ghanaian, I am here to call for the resignation of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as chairman of the Economic Management Team. Unless he voluntarily resigns, I urge every member of Parliament to remove him from office for the good of the nation. Former President and NDC presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama issued a similar call for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s resignation days ago.
Under Dr. Bawumia’s leadership, the economic leadership team has led Ghana to its worst international credit rating downgrade, he explained.
I concur with former President John Dramani Mahama on this rare occasion.
My reasons, however, are more systematic than those cited by the former president.
It is true that this administration has underperformed and led us deeper into economic disaster, but they did not bring the nation to this point on their own.
The hole was begun decades ago, and both the NDC and the NPP have contributed equally to its deepening. The NPP and NDC have committed and continue to commit blatant and systematic thefts of the wealth, resources, and labor of Ghana and its people.
Yes, I concur with the former president’s call for the resignation or removal of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and the Economic Management Team, but I do not support replacing them with incompetent NDC members.
In his announcement of the eleven-member squad, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo referred to it as his dream team.
Because he knows that this cabal will devise a system to profit from another IMF bailout, I would like to know if he means that he produced these members in a dream or if it is his dream team.
I implore you everyone, and especially the young people who will spend their entire lives in abject poverty paying for yet another government program that will trash our nation’s wealth, to reject this plan.
Will this new IMF money be used to build new schools, new hospitals, innovative centers of technology and commerce, or provide you with living wage jobs, secure housing, running clean water, or any of the other essentials of life in the twenty-first century?
Will it fund improvements in agricultural output and efficiency? Will it create jobs, prosperity, and security for Ghanaians and provide the youth with a future they can cherish, or will it once again pad the bank accounts and enhance the luxurious lifestyles of the NDC, NPP, and their industrial cronies who support and pay homage to them?
Here’s the deal.
In order for this government to accept yet another loan from the IMF, its function, purpose, mission, and objectives must be drastically altered. I have been working with the diaspora and the Progressive Alliance Movement to alter the dynamics of the Ghanaian government for over a decade. My fight to have the Representation of the Peoples Amendment Act implemented in accordance with the law and my removal from the 2020 ballot by the Electoral Commission are evidence of the cozy relationship between the two parties.
The unequal salaries, stipends, living expenses, luxury travel, vehicles, household help, and sweetheart deals with corporations and foreign governments must end.
The average Ghanaian would be ecstatic to receive free housing, transportation, and food.
In truth, they would be grateful for safe, inexpensive housing, running water, an effective educational system for their children, health care, and a living salary. Consider if this IMF loan is intended to benefit Ghana or whether it is merely another bonus payout for government officials.
Since I formally launched my independent presidential campaign for the 2020 election, I have proposed creative government solutions. This involves reducing the needless number of ministries that consume a disproportionate share of Ghana’s revenue.
How much of the current IMF loan will be deposited into the foreign investment accounts of ministers and their aides? Does President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-economic Addo’s dream team have a strategy for a fair tax system, employment possibilities, entrepreneurial incentives, and programs for the people of Ghana, or is it really a complicated Ponzi scheme to feed the money into government excess and waste? I do not have all the solutions to the problems of this nation, which has been infected by the disease of government corruption, but I do have concise, viable suggestions. I need all citizens, and especially the youth, to join me in rescuing our country from the economic collapse that both parties have sparked.
Before I take questions, I’d want to pose a few for all Ghanaians to consider.
Is Ghana’s tax code equitable? Ex-Gratia and Article 71: Are they just when the nation’s children are hungry and their parents are unemployed?
Is the National Cathedral a National Treasure or a treasure trove for Ghanaian pirates?
To combat the COVID-19 Pandemic, the IMF Executive Board approved a $1 billion disbursement to Ghana. For what purpose was the money used? Was it used for projects such as clean running water? Vaccinations?
Testing? More physicians, nurses, health facilities, or community engagement? Can President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-economic Addo’s dream team explain us where the $1 billion was hidden?