New Patriotic Party (NPP) Vice-Presidential candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says President John Mahama’s display of economic understanding is getting embarrassing.
He says Mahama has misinterpreted international Credit Ratings Agency Moody’s latest rating of the health of the economy which is now considered B3 with a positive outlook.
It had been rated B3 with a negative outlook in March 2015, a tag that has lasted for 18 months.
The news of a revised outlook for Ghana’s economy has been hailed by government as a sign of economic progress.
“We have fought to try and restore confidence in the economy,” the President pointed out while on the campaign trail in the Brong Ahafo region last Friday.
He criticised the opposition for deliberately ignoring the Moody’s report and urged the opposition to swallow their pride and admit progress.
“They were happy when we were being downgraded now the same Moody’s upgrades us and an opposition leader says Moody’s does not know what it is talking about,” President Mahama said.
The President also stressed that the constant refrain from the NPP that the economy is in crisis is a fabricated mischief.
“…when somebody sits and says the economy is in a crisis you fail to understand where he is seeing that crisis. He probably has some lens that sees a crisis where crisis does not exist”.
Seizing an opportunity to respond to the President at the launch of the NPP 2016 manifesto, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who is a former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana insisted that the President got it wrong.
“Moody’s did not upgrade Ghana’s rating. Ghana’s rating under Moody’s is still B/Negative. It is only the outlook that has been revised, and that is not equivalent to a rating upgrade.
Dr. Bawumia asked the President to seek an explanation on economic matters.
“Sometimes one wonders whether they don’t read or they don’t understand. So, let me give Mr. President a free piece of advice.
“Mr. President, please desist from embarrassing yourself by stating that Moody’s has upgraded Ghana. Your economic management team should explain that difference to you,” he jabbed.
Drawing attention to the NPP’s record in government, Dr Bawumia said Moody rated the economy favourably in the last year of the NPP government in 2008.
” Without oil, Ghana was being rated at B+ Positive under the NPP. We’ve now come down with oil under the NDC and John Mahama to B – (negative) with a stable outlook in 2016″
He said if President continues to insist that economic crisis is an imagined creation by the NPP, then he is “clearly out of touch”.
“Mr. President the economic crisis is out there if you care to look out of the Flagstaff House,” the former deputy governor of the Central Bank said.
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