The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has expressed surprise at the assertions of Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) running-mate for Election 2012, on Ghana's economy.

“CPP is surprised that Dr Bawumia claimed that expenditure cuts and tight monetary policy to reduce deficits and control inflation in under developed and post colonial economies are not sufficient and do not necessarily lead to a reduction in the cost of living or improve the quality of life of the people.

“We are again surprised by the view expressed by Dr Bawumia in the light of the experience of researchers, policy makers and development managers in under-developed and post- colonial economies.

“The contemporary knowledge is that stabilisation measures by expenditure cuts and tight monetary policy only treat the symptoms of the deficits,” Mr Ekow Duncan, CPP Shadow Cabinet Member on Agriculture stated in a document made available to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Friday.

According to the CPP, Dr Bawumia has given an indication that there have been monumental policy and leadership failures in the economic management of the country by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The CPP claimed that Dr Bawumia tacitly admitted that after 29 years of implementation of tight fiscal and monetary policy by both the NDC and NPP, the deficits and currency depreciation were endemic.

“Dr. Bawumia has truthfully and correctly noted with dismay and regrets that in spite of these policy measures or because of it, we remain a dependent economy on “donor support”, a fragile peasant agricultural economy with mass unemployment and a low standard and high cost of living.

“What the Vice Presidential candidate did not say however, were the reasons for the adoption of the policy in the light of its patent failure,” the CPP said.

According to the CPP, “Dr. Bawumia’s assertion that we cannot do the same things and expect different results,” is an admission that the NPP and NDC have failed Ghanaians.... “Ghanaians cannot continue to vote for the NDC and NPP and expect to achieve economic transformation.

“Dr Bawumia has thrown in the towel, Ghanaians should now vote massively for the CPP in Election 2012 for accelerated development and for Nkrumaist development policy which focuses on price stability, the prosperity of the nation, an improvement in the quality of life of the people”.

The CPP asserted that, a less dependent economy in a post-colonial economy lie in a reduction of import expenditure, the substitution of imports with domestic production to create jobs and an increase in export earnings.

According to the CPP, Nkrumaist policy prescriptions from the standpoint of its development philosophy of decolonisation, included the development of the productive resources of the country to satisfy domestic demand and export.

The diversification of the agricultural export commodity sector, an increase in the production of food and raw material for food security and industrialisation, and the development of inter-regional and continental trade.

The rest are investments in the social sectors of education, health and housing; as the policy justification is that, fiscal and monetary policy for sustainable long term stability is complemented and underpinned by investments in the productive sectors of the economy to increase export receipts and reduce import expenditure, the CPP stated.

The CPP said its implementation strategy will be the development of a partnership between a CPP Government as provider of public goods and services, and the private sector as strategic investors in processing plants with government support where necessary and applicable.

The CPP said its policy outcomes will be the creation of jobs in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, modernisation of agriculture from subsistence to industrial and commercial agriculture, and increase in agricultural and rural incomes.

Other interventions would be the linkage of the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, growth and expansion of the manufacturing sector, reduction in balance of trade deficits and internally sustained and rigorous price stability.**