In a statement copied to citifmonline.com on Thursday, signed by Frank Ayei-Twum, Communications Director of the Office of the Vice President, he asked Ghanaians to ignore the posters and its content, claiming they are “meant to cause disaffection for the Vice President.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”3vmDdBaXQrjQCUalqNqeTPWenTuo5hLa”]“The attention of the Office of Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been drawn to posters purporting to indicate that H.E. Dr Bawumia has begun a campaign to lead the New Patriotic Party into the 2020 elections.”

“It is clear that the perpetrator(s) of this act intend to cause disaffection for the Vice President but their campaign will fail. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state unequivocally that the posters are the figment of the imagination of the originator(s), and we call on all Ghanaians and the general public to treat the poster campaign with the contempt it deserves” the statement concluded.

It is however unclear those behind the circulation of the posters.

Dr. Bawumia, a one-time former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, a respected economist and a technocrat, entered full-time politics in 2008, following his selection to be Nana Addo’s running mate in 2008.

Many political watchers believe he has matured into a vociferous and formidable politician, and has been very instrumental in the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) victory in the 2016 elections.

The watchers also believe that 52-year old Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has the appeal and the competence to eventually vie for the next contest to choose a leader for the NPP, once 73-year old Nana Akufo-Addo leaves the scene after a term or two.

The Vice President has been quite active in the first 10 months of the NPP administration, focusing largely on reforms in critical state agencies in a bid to block loopholes, and help the country generate more revenue for development projects.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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He said the plan will focus on the use of scientific skills and knowledge approaches, provision of fertilizers to farmers and requisite storage and irrigation facilities to ensure high productivity.

The Vice President said the nation had sufficient arable lands, water resources and space to increase production and it will tap into the experiences of other countries that had implemented similar plans in the past.

He said there were available road networks that would facilitate the process to leverage on the public-private partnerships to enhance the infrastructural needs.

Vice President Bawumia said this at a media briefing after the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) High Level Panel Discussion, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The panel discussion, organised by the UNCTAD was on the theme: “Accelerating Progress in Building Productive Capacities in Least Developing Countries and Other Vulnerable Developing Economies”.

Vice President Bawumia said the government would ensure inclusiveness in the implementation of the Plan by involving farmers, rural folks and all the relevant stakeholders to achieve success.

He noted that empirical research showed that human capital played a pivotal role in enhancing productivity, adding; “The Government of Ghana shared this vision in enhancing productivity”

“We cannot develop as a nation if a lot of the people don’t have the requisite knowledge, skills and education, therefore, we launched the Free Senior High School Policy, which we believe that with the right curriculum, we will produce the generation of people who are problem solvers,” he said.

To enhance the production capacity, he said, the nation must add value to the agricultural produce instead of exporting raw materials.

The Vice President said the “One District, One Factory,” initiative was a well thought-out plan for inclusive development of the 216 districts.

In the next few weeks, Dr Bawumia said, Government would launch the national digitisation of the economy, which would digitise the Public Address System, National Identification System and Interoperability of the Payment System, to boost the formalisation of the economy.

He said the digitisation of the economy would enhance quality delivery of services by state institutions and the private sector.

The implementation of the paperless clearing system at the ports from September 1, this year, had yielded positive dividend with 56 per cent increment of the ports revenue to the Government, he noted.

The Government, the Vice President said, will revamp the railway infrastructure to promote efficient transportation system that would accelerate national development.

UNCTAD is the United Nations body responsible for development issues, particularly international trade as the main driver of development.

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Source: GNA

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He said government has been compelled to borrow more in order to defray the debt the Mahama government left behind.

Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia at Monday’s press interaction justified government’s quest to borrow more money from the international and domestic markets.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xVs5mkfYnmljpLwDeLjONjSVC6gQmMl8″]The Vice President who in time past lambasted the Mahama government for its voracious appetite for loans which he said bloated the country’s debt stock when asked why six months into office they [NPP] have had to borrow over GH40 billion, Dr. Bawumia said under the NPP government, the debt to GDP ratio is instead stabilizing.

“…If you are borrowing rampantly in the domestic market, you will see that interest rate declines. So the simple answer is that, the debt stock in terms of its impact burden on the economy is not actually increasing. The debt to GDP ratio is actually stabilizing and we are hoping to bring it down by the end of the year even if marginally,” he added.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday,  Kwaku Kwarteng said securing the loans was necessary to retire mature debts the NPP government inherited from the previous administration.

Mr. Kwarteng further explained that government’s decision to borrow more prevented it from defaulting on its debt payments.

“We are having to measure the rate at which we are trying to reduce the borrowing. We are measure that with the need to expend on certain critical expenditures. When we assumed office, there were people who have been engaged to do things for the state, the contracts have been signed. In the case of vehicles, some have been telling us that have already procured the vehicle and we stand the risk of incurring judgment debts and other obligations if we abrogated these contracts.”

“We’ve met cases where in the last quarter of the year, so many people were engaged, we cannot dismiss them, we need to look at where the law allows us to do that. So we met those commitments. There were also people from who we had taken short term instruments – Treasury bill; there are some which are three months, six months, one year,” he said.

Kwaku Kwarteng further said government’s hands a tied because of debts and that they are working assiduously to put the economy back in track.

“You come into office you have a policy to reduce borrowing but after three months the people are coming to you that it is due and you have to redeem. What you do is that yes, I will keep my broad objective of succession of borrowing in place, but you may need to do some critical borrowings to deal with this immediate burden. That is what has, if you ask me; reduce the rate at which we wanted to reign in borrowing. But we will get there. When you inherit an economy in a shape that we did, you are not in a position to do things just as quickly as you would have love to do. But we are confident giving what we are seeing that ultimately, we will get there,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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This was revealed by the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who said the first pilot for the construction will be done on the Tema Steel Works road.

[contextly_sidebar id=”IuHDwqmfDxmsuGrdwhyZACXepaDM9a5w”]According to him, the government believes constructing concrete roads will save the country from spending more, as compared to the construction of asphalt and bitumen roads.

The Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference earlier this year in a document it said was God’s prophetic word to Ghana proposed among other things that government moved away from the construction of asphaltic roads to concrete roads which were cost effective, more durable and long-lasting.

It also urged the government to increase road tolls to a flat rate of $1 as an effective measure of raising revenue for various road projects in the country.

The Vice President, Dr. Bawumia, who took a keen interest in the proposal said at the dedication of a Harvest International Ministries temple in Accra on Saturday, July 15, that government has held many discussions on the matter and has involved Parliament for the discussion.

He added that cabinet took a decision last week to make the country move away from asphalt roads to the construction of concrete roads.

“Why is it that we are not building our roads with concrete and rather doing all this asphalt, bitumen stuff which gets washed away after about 2 seasons. If you look at Tema motorway which was built with concrete, it is lasting almost 50 years. We started that discussion, it is a simple idea but full of wisdom. I checked and realized that in India, they have the policy to build only concrete road and it works out to be cheaper. We have been discussing this as recently as last week in Parliament”.

“Cabinet did decide last week that we should move towards concrete roads as a country and they are going to do the Tema steel works roads as the pilot roads for concrete roads in this country,” Dr. Bawumia said.

The Vice President had earlier given an indication that government will seriously consider the suggestion at a similar address at Lighthouse Chapel’s 2017 Good Friday Miracle Service in April this year.

He said, “We will consider doing this and it will be transformational because as for laying concrete, we can all do it in Ghana. You don’t need to get anybody to come and lay concrete for you. Any mason from any village can come and lay the concrete and go on.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Bawumia has commended Churches in the country for their various efforts in helping the government provide quality education and healthcare to citizens.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Bawumia’s visit is upon the invitation of the Vice President of China, Li Yuanchao.

A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Vice President will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart as well as the Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Yu Zhengsheng. 

[contextly_sidebar id=”l3onVl0xzYFaL7fB4CGhJw1rJSk2lPoJ”]This will be the first official visit by a Ghanaian leader to China since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government assumed office in January this year [2017].

Ghana is part of the first group of Sub-Sahara African countries that established diplomatic relations with China.

Dr. Bawumia’s visit to the Asian country comes at a time when many Ghanaians are expressing concern over the involvement of Chinese in illegal mining, popularly known as ‘Galamsey’ in the country.

Although other nationals are involved in the illegal activity, the Chinese, are in the majority according to available statistics.

In the last decade, thousands of Chinese illegal immigrants and miners have been deported from Ghana.

‘Chinese mission angry’

At the onset of the new government’s anti-galamsey fight, the Chinese mission in Ghana expressed anger at the manner in which Ghana is dealing with the issue of illegal mining and criticized the media for targeting China in their reportage on the issue.

The mission in a letter addressed to John Peter Amewu, Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, said if nothing changes about the nature of campaigns against illegal mining in the country, bilateral relations between Ghana and China would be affected.

“The Chinese side is very concerned about this unhealthy tendency. We hope that the Ghanaian government will pay due attention to this situation, take the necessary action to stop such things from happening again and guide the media to give an objective coverage on the illegal mining issue so as to create a good environment for further development of our bilateral exchanges and cooperation,” the mission said.

Despite the development, the two countries continue to foster a good working relationship with, Ghana benefiting from loans and other resources from China for the country’s major infrastructural projects.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to Dr. Bawumia, the government is committed to ensuring that this year’s pilgrimage comes off without the hitches which have been associated with the process in the past.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iD8r8GTMcESEjcru0blRqaEuIVc0rpOT”]Addressing some Muslims at Shama in the Western Region, Dr. Bawumia said: “After the prayer and fasting this month, we’ll be preparing to leave for Hajj. We’ve instituted some measures to make this year’s pilgrimage a smooth one. We’ll prompt you before you get to the Hajj village by sending text messages to all who applied for this year’s pilgrimage. This is to remove all challenges that have been associated with the process in the past.”  

This will come as welcome news to pilgrims, who have over the years struggled to undertake this sacred trip due to the myriad of challenges that have characterized the process.

In 2016, hundreds of prospective pilgrims were left stranded at the Hajj Village, leading to fears that they would not be able to embark on the pilgrimage.

The immediate past National Hajj Board also confirmed that it left behind a debt of GHc23 million accrued from organizing the 2016 pilgrimage to Mecca.

First Batch to leave August 10

The National Hajj Board announced that the first batch of Muslims embarking on this year’s pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, will leave Ghana on August 10, 2017.

The board has said a total of six flights will fly directly from the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, to Saudi Arabia.

The board has also started publishing the names of Muslims who will be participating in this year’s exercise to minimize the challenges associated with the annual event.

The spokesperson for the Board told Citi News his outfit is introducing some new measures to ensure an incident free hajj.

“We’ll fulfill other promises”

Dr. Bawumia also assured the residents of the government’s continued commitment towards the fulfillment of the promises they had made prior to the 2016 elections.

He stated that money had already been allocated to the Zongo development Fund and also assured parents that the free SHS programme would commence for new students in September.

This, he said was in appreciation for the “overwhelming support” the NPP received in the 2016 polls.

“We promised a lot of things prior to the elections and we’re fulfilling them. We have allocated Ghc 219 million for the Zongo Development Fund,” Dr. Bawumia added.

“The President also promised free Senior High School Education. By the grace of God, we’ll start rolling out the policy this September.”

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The Minority at a recent press conference accused the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta of conflict of interest, for allegedly selling the $2.25 billion domestic bond to his cronies.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MekCm4gWEWGsaxdtMpFsLRN24dP8eSQU”]But Dr. Bawumia speaking to media at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meeting in Washington, described the Minority as ignorant for criticizing government over the bond.

A statement signed by the Deputy Ranking Member on Employment, Richard Quashigah, described the Vice President’s statement as “jaundiced.”

“If indeed those were his words, then it is not only unfortunate, but a very jaundiced conclusion to have been made by him,” Mr. Quashigah said.

Mr. Quashigah in the statement further cautioned Dr. Bawumia to be mindful of his comments saying his words could cause Ghana an international embarrassment.

“If indeed the reportage as put out by the media is accurate, then he is advised to learn to speak with diplomacy and dignity expected of a Vice President or else before long he could cause this nation an incalculable international embarrassment. Assuming without admitting that the minority got it wrong, couldn’t he have clarified without insults?”

He further called the Vice President to do the honourable thing by apologizing.

“Mr. Bawumia, the current Vice President of Ghana, must do the excellent thing by withdrawing and must apologize to the good people of Ghana. The use of intemperate language is unbecoming of the Vice President,” the statement added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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According to him, Dr. Bawumia prior to the New Patriotic Party’s victory in the December 7 polls accused the Mahama government of ignoring solutions he proffered to Ghana’s ailing economy and the cedi adding that now is the time to make a difference.

“…Before he became the Vice President, he had engaged Ghanaians both home and abroad as well as the international community on a series of lectures largely about the economy and what he and his party had perceived was not going well. And the impression we all got including many Ghanaians was that they had the solutions to the challenges we were facing. So if on the basis of these arguments persuasively, he and his boss, the President, are now in charge of the affairs of this country, then logically we have every reason to expect that he would be able to arrest the cedi as he has said on numerous occasions,” he argued on Citi FM’s News analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”v8OgicRsOaQXPYaWUoGVpQbVwmTC7Bx6″]There have been several complaints from some financial analysts concerning the health of the cedi which has been depreciating in the last few months.

Figures available to Citi News from the Bank of Ghana as well as some forex bureau across the country show that the cedi has depreciated by about 5.4 percent between January and February this year on the interbank forex exchange market.

Some financial observers including the GN Research have also described the cedi as “the worst performing currency on the African continent” in recent times.

The Minister Finance presented the 2017 budget statement to Parliament last week, however, the Minority in Parliament claimed that the document does not have a clear roadmap in stabilizing the cedi.

Mr. Apaak explained that although they [NDC] recognize the fundamental issues affecting the Ghanaian economy as well as implications on the performance of the cedi, the NPP disregarded their explanations when they [NPP] were in opposition.

“That is not to say that we don’t recognize…that there were some fundamental issues that go to the core and foundation of our economy which has implications on how well our currency performs vis-à-vis other global currencies particularly the dollar. We had always explained that we are largely an import dependent country, we don’t produce much of what we consume, we are also affected by global turbulence in terms of price vacillations. We had made all these arguments but they [NPP] said no, and that it was as a result of incompetence. Well we now have a competent team in place so arrest the cedi. That is the argument we are making,” he added.

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The Tema Port is a major backbone of the country’s revenue collection efforts, generating a significant percentage of annual domestic revenue.

The Tema Collection Point of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) however missed its 2016 target, mobilizing GHȼ7,334,174,613.10 against a target of GHȼ7,690.380.000.00. The shortfall was 4.63 percent.

Jacob Kwabla Adorkor, Director of Ports, and officials of the Customs Division including sector commander, Confidence Nyadzi conducted Dr. Bawumia round to observe the operations of the Nick TC Scan, Meridian Port Services (MPS), Golden Jubilee Car park, State Warehouse, and Atlas Copco, among others.

The Vice President also interacted with Clearing Agents, workers at the Port, security and other officers, and ordinary Ghanaians anxious to clear their goods on time.

He inspected seized goods stored in the State warehouse, including mattresses, fridges and other materials barred from importation.

In brief comments after the tour, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia indicated that, the Akufo-Addo government would take steps to consolidate some of the functions at the port that interface with the public in order to reduce the frustrations of agents and port users, while plugging any revenue leakages.

Bawumia pays unexpected visit to Registrar-General’s Department 

This is the second time Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has paid an unannounced visit to a key government facility since assuming office.

On January 18, 2017, Dr. Bawumia visited the Registrar General’s Department to identify the bottlenecks bedevilling the State outfit and also interacted with owners of businesses and Ghanaians who had gone to the Department to register their businesses.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Bawumia interacted with owners of businesses and Ghanaians who were at the Department to register their businesses.

He met a lot of people at the registry who also expressed their frustrations with the “bureaucratic processes” in registering their establishments.

According to Dr. Bawumia, the vision of the NPP administration is to make Ghana a “business friendly country” and that dream must begin with the Registrar-General’s Department.

Rwanda is currently ranked the most business-friendly country in Africa.

Speaking later with the acting Registrar General Mrs. Jemima Oware, who was visibly surprised about the visit, Dr. Bawumia noted that, the Akufo-Addo-led administration is hoping to use the East African country’s feat as a “benchmark.”

He thus urged authorities of the department to learn lessons from Rwanda, and implement same.

“It was a fulfilled visit and there will be follow-up discussions,” Dr. Bawumia told the media after being briefed about the business registration process.

He served notice there will be more of such surprise visits to other state institutions to make sure “things work in Ghana.”

Dr. Bawumia appealed to officials at the Department to speed up the processes and to do their best to position Ghana as a business-friendly environment.

Mrs. Oware complained about the three-month-old state attorneys strike which she said is taking a toll on the process because state lawyers are needed to review people’s applications.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/ citifmonline.com/Ghana

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