Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has told his counterpart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Vice
Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has told his counterpart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia that he does not need a debate to answer the five questions Mr Mahama asked him.
“I woke up this morning and saw 50 questions to me but It looks like the Vice President has just learned those things in his 50 questions like the way we learned rhymes because I asked you five simple questions on the economy, that’s all, simple questions.
Ghanaians want you to answer and you go to respond with how many composite plants did you build, how many this did you build but that is not the issue in Ghana today.
Let me take you down memory lane, in 1992 there was the election in America, it was between Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior, at that time the American economy was in recession the way the Ghanaian economy is in crisis today, and people were talking about immigration and all kinds of useless things, you know what the Clinton people said, it’s about the economy.
Today I am repeating those words, this election is about the economy stupid, it’s not about all those other useless things about who built how many compost plants. Answer the five simple questions,” he said.
He added “You can hide behind a debate, you don’t need a debate to answer the five questions, when you asked Ammisah Authur 170 questions you didn’t agree to go debate for him to answer them. Akufo Addo too I have given him two questions he should come and answer them.
“You have destroyed the economy and that is true, even if you look at the 50 questions he asked me he has skillfully avoided the economy, there is nothing on the economy and that is why I gave him the question why are you running away from the economy because you were brought in to fix the economy and the economy is in a terrible state, just answer the five questions”.
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia had described the five questions asked him by former President John Dramani Mahama as flimsy.
Dr Bawumia said he thought Mr Mahama would have agreed to debate him one-on-one for these issues to be addressed however he has not accepted to debate him.
This was after the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) asked Dr Bawumia some five key questions.
Dr Bawumia’s comments follow some five key questions Mr Mahama asked him. The questions to Dr Bawumia centered on the current economic challenges, the foreign exchange rates, Ghana’s rising national debt, soaring inflation and Dr. Bawumia’s key focus on digitalisation as a solution to the economic crisis.
Recounting a time where, Dr. Bawumia posed 170 questions to the then-Vice President Paa Kwasi Amissah-Arthur regarding the state of the economy, John Mahama challenged Dr. Bawumia to demonstrate same transparency and accountability by answering these questions. John Mahama asked the questions while speaking to NDC supporters at Tatale in the Northern Region on Monday, October 28. How to run an economy, and how to fix the economy. He posed 170 questions to my Vice President Amissah Arthur. He should go and answer the 170 questions himself. Indeed, he shouldn’t answer 170 questions. He should answer only three questions.
”Question 1, he should come and answer. Why is the exchange rate GH¢17 to the dollar?
“Question 2, why has Ghana’s debt risen from GH¢120 billion to GH¢767 billion in eight years? He should come and answer.
“Question 3, why did inflation rise to where it is at 54% under your administration for eight years?
“Then let me add two more. Question 4, why did you borrow GH¢42 billion from the Bank of Ghana? He should come and answer those questions. We don’t need 170 questions. With the 170, if he wants, he can answer them himself. But Ghanaians are asking him four questions.
“He should come and answer those four questions and explain to Ghanaians why we are where we are. The last question is why has he run away from the economy to digitalisation? He used to be talking a lot about the economy. Today he can’t mention the economy, it’s not in his vocabulary.
“Anytime he opens his mouth, digitalisation. Come and talk about the economy. That’s question five.
Five questions. Tell him you should come and answer them,” he stated.
In response to him, Dr Bawumia said in a Facebook post that” I have just read questions posed to me by former President Mahama. I would have thought he would be man enough to face me in a one-on-one debate for the Ghanaian public to assess our respective policies, achievements and visions. He should not hide behind these flimsy questions to avoid a debate. Come for a debate and I can ask the moderators to ask me these five flimsy questions.”
“But I have many more substantive questions for him:
- Can you name any broad-based social intervention policy that you implemented in Ghana as President?
- Why did you run advertisements against free SHS?
- If you think your economic management was so good how come we experienced more than four years of Dumsor under your government?
- Why did the banking system almost collapse under your government?
- Why did you cancel teacher training allowances?
- Why did you cancel nursing training allowances
- Why did the National Ambulance service virtually collapse under your government?
- Why was your government unable to create even a quarter of the jobs that our government has created?
- How many nurses, teachers, police officers, immigration officers and service personnel did you recruit as President?
- Why did you implement the three-month pay policy for teachers under the government?
- Why did you cancel the car import duty waiver for teachers and nurses?
- Why was average agricultural growth under your government (2.9%) less than half what it is under our government
- Why was industry growth under your government lower than what it is under our government?
- Why was overall GDP growth under your government lower than under our government?
- Why did your government have no industrial policy for Ghana?
- Why do you think our government has constructed four times more roads than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more hospitals than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more schools than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more fish landing sites than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more courts than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more public libraries than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more sports facilities than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more airports than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing and equipping more TVET institutions than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more interchanges than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has overseen the provision of more NCA licensed fibre optic cable than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more sanitation facilities than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more waste recycling plants than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has provided 70% more scholarships to students than your government?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more infrastructure in the Zongo communities than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has provided more vehicles and equipment to the security services than your government did?
- Why do you think our government has constructed and is constructing more hospitals than your government did?
- How come your government was unable to issue any significant amount of the National Identity Card (Ghanacard)?
- Why was your government unable to deal with the problem of Ghost workers on government payroll?
- During your period as president only 4% of Ghanaian adults had Tax Identification Numbers. Our government has increased it to 85%. Why were you unable to do similar?
- Why was your government unable to digitalize the operations at the port to reduce corruption?
- Why was your government unable to solve the problem of the lack of a functioning Ghana-wide property address system?
- Why was your government not able to solve the problem of access to financial inclusion like we have?
- What help did your government provide children suffering from cancer, sickle cell patients and people needing kidney dialysis?
- Why did you fulfill only 28% of your promises in your 2012 Manifesto?
- What measures did your government implement to address the problem that people have in paying rent advance?
- What did you do to help people who had difficulty in enrolling for or renewing their National health insurance memberships?
- What did your government do specifically to promote the creative arts and tourism?
- How did your government address the problem of getting emergency drug, blood and vaccine delivery to remote parts of Ghana in times of emergency?
- How did your government address the problem of tertiary students who could not access student loans because they could not find guarantors?
- As Vice-President, I have initiated or championed policies such as One Constituency One Ambulance, Agenda 111, Medical Drones, Zongo Development Fund, E-Pharmacy, Ghanacard, Digital Property Address System, Mobile Money Interoperability, Paperless Ports, No Guarantor Student Loans, Ghana.Gov, Citizens App, Go-Ride, Gold for Oil, Bank of Ghana Gold Purchase Program, District Road Improvement Program (DRIP) etc. ? Can you tell Ghanaians what policies you championed or initiated as Vice-President?
- Why were you unable to implement Free Technical and Vocational Education as we have done?
- Why was your government unable to absorb examination registration fees for BECE and WACSSE students
- Can you provide one coherent explanation of your 24-hour economy proposal?
- What specific measures did you implement to combat corruption during your tenure as president?