MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has received criticism for his recent comments targeting Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia concerning Ghana’s economic challenges.
Agyapong is among nine contenders vying for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearership.
Bawumia, considered the primary frontrunner, enjoys widespread support from numerous MPs who have been accompanying him on campaign trails nationwide.
Four pro-Bawumia MPs responded to Kennedy Agyapong’s criticism, deeming it baseless and unjustified, as the economic challenges were a result of external factors.
Currently, Ghana is under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, aiming to secure US$3 billion over three years. The initial tranche of US$600 million was disbursed earlier this year, with more tranches scheduled for release.
1. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, MP for Sekondi
Egyapa-Mercer emphasized that any assessment of the Vice President’s performance should begin from 2017 and 2018 until the present.
He firmly stated that the economic downturn was influenced by global factors beyond the Vice President’s control, absolving him of responsibility for the country’s economic challenges.
“Dr Bawumia was superintending over an economy that was growing 7 percent on average in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and so in 2020 what happened? They recognize the issues that have taken us to where we are that are not attributed to Bawumia, that is not to say that he is reneging on his duties.
“He did not bring covid and if you think covid did not have an impact on the economy, that is your beef. He stands tall and he is the one to help us break the 8,” the Deputy Energy Minister said.
2. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, MP for Takoradi
Darko-Mensah firmly asserted that the economic downturn was primarily caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He pointed out that this fact has been confirmed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is currently providing financial assistance to Ghana through a bailout program.
“..we were all in the country when COVID broke. Were you the one who manufactured COVID? Even the IMF who are giving us a bailout said we (NPP) did not create the problem, as our economic challenges are as a result of COVID,” he stressed.
In addition, Darko-Mensah highlighted take-or-pay energy-sector contracts signed during the previous government’s tenure as a significant contributor to the economic challenges.
He questioned the connection between these contracts and the decision made by Dr. Bawumia, himself, or Ken Ofori-Atta to seek assistance from the IMF. Darko-Mensah implied that these contracts were separate issues from the necessity of seeking IMF support.
3. Kofi Amankwa-Manu, Atwima-Kwanwoma Constituency
Amankwa-Manu, from the Atwima-Kwanwoma Constituency, stated that all NPP MPs, including Kennedy Agyapong, who voted in favor of various revenue measures to secure the bailout deal, cannot now criticize Bawumia for the economic situation as he is not an MP.
In response to Kennedy Agyapong’s critique of Bawumia’s economic management, Amankwa-Manu posed a rhetorical question in an interview with Oyerepa TV: “If you were against our IMF approach, wouldn’t you have voted against it?” He implied that Agyapong, having supported the IMF approach, cannot now shift blame onto Bawumia.
“But if you were part of the decision and you claim that because of an internal election (NPP flagbearership race), now that we have voted and agreed on the issue, it is now that some people want to walk back their steps? Are we in Parliament with Bawumia?” he quizzed.
“I don’t belong to that school of thought, what is not good for me, I will strictly state so from the onset. He cannot absolve himself now having voted for the E-Levy, an IMF conditionality. He has no moral right to absolve himself having gone with the team to agree on the issue,” he added.