A presidential ticket without an economist is suicidal for a post Covid-19 republic
The economy, they say, is the cause, and every other thing is the effect. Throughout history, this statement has proven to be true in all jurisdictions. It was true yesterday, it is true today, and it shall remain true forever.
So, get your economy right and every other thing will be right and vice versa. It takes a strong economy to support the implementation of a Free SHS intervention. It takes a strong economy to support and sustain the restoration of teacher trainee and nursing trainee allowance.
It takes a strong economy to successfully exit an IMF programme and all its draconian conditionality. It takes a strong economy to support and sustain the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO). It takes a strong economy to support a government’s digitization agenda.
And indeed, it takes a strong economy to sustain every sector of our national life including the Agric, Industry, Health, and Education sectors among others.
Fortunately, every person living in Ghana and abroad who has followed developments in the country, at least in the last decade or two, will attest to this undisputed Ghanaian reality. It certainly cannot be doubted that during the entire 8-year period of the Mills and Mahama NDC administration, none of the aforementioned interventions as possible.
This is because, as the then President, H.E. John Mahama said one time in Parliament, the economy [Ghana] was down to the bone, and so, there was little to support the government’s pro-poor policies and interventions.
And please, do not get it twisted. A strong economy is not achieved by chance or luck. It is not achieved by mere coincidence. It takes competent men with a strong economic background and foresight at the helm of affairs to be able to achieve a strong economy.
This was what the NDC lacked, and as we all know, it is exactly what the current NPP government and indeed the Bawumia-led Economic Management Team is providing. And it is the reason why this government has been able to implement almost all of its flagship campaign promises.
Another statement of fact is that the need to have competent economist(s) run this country at the highest level of governance has been made even more COMPELLING following the outbreak of Covid-19, which has had and continues to have huge debilitating impacts on the economies of countries across the globe.
Even the world’s biggest economic superpowers like the United States, the Germanys, and the Chinas are struggling to survive the ravaging impact of COVID.
Of course, the Ghanaian economy, just like every other economy in the world, has also been hit hard by COVID. There is however the indication that COVID will not be with us forever.
But, the biggest concern of all countries is how to reorganize themselves to withstand the deadly impact of COVID now and in its aftermath. In other words, the biggest priority of all countries is how to fix their economies.
And likewise, here in Ghana, if we ever needed an economist to manage the affairs of this country, either as a President or Vice, then it is NOW. If we ever needed an economist to help in the socio-economic reconstruction of our country, then it is NOW.
In response to this, whereas the NPP is presenting a presidential ticket involving a distinguished lawyer [H.E Nana Akufo-Addo] and a consummate economist of great international repute [H.E Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia] for election 2020, the alternative that we have in the NDC is a Presidential ticket involving a communications expert [H.E John Mahama] and an educationalist [Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyemeng].
Clearly, it doesn’t take rocket science for one to know that the second option of a communicator and an educationist is not what we need at this very critical moment of our economic life. A challenging economy like ours [obviously, owing to COVID] certainly does not need a communications guru to salvage it.
Equally, it does not need an educationist to salvage it, because education, itself, depends on the economy to survive. Of course, it does not also necessarily need a gender ticket.
In any case, political scientists and researchers have established that the two most critical expertise needed in the enterprise of governance is expertise in LAW and ECONOMY.
A fine balance of the two is exactly what every country needs to chart on the path of progress and prosperity. It is thus one of the many reasons why the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Presidential ticket rather than the alternative is the best for Ghana in 2020, and I hope and trust that the Ghanaian electorates, conscious of this fact, will do the needful on December 7, for the love of country.
Assalamu alaikum
Iddi Muhayu-Deen
#ForGodAndCountry