Former Vice President and New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has criticised the government’s economic management, insisting that economic stability is meaningless if it does not improve the living conditions of ordinary Ghanaians.

Speaking at the NPP’s National Thanksgiving Service at the Church of Pentecost in Sunyani, Dr Bawumia said the economic stability being touted by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was yet to translate into meaningful relief for struggling Ghanaians.

He argued that the country was experiencing what he described as two different economies: the official economic indicators and the economic realities confronting ordinary citizens.

“Our economy is a tale of two economies. One is a paper economy — they say inflation is down and exchange rate is down. The second economy is the pocket economy: the high cost of living and your sufferings. That is more important to the people of Ghana,” he said.

Dr Bawumia stressed that improvements in economic indicators must be reflected in the pockets of Ghanaians to make a meaningful difference in their lives.

“The stability of the economy is meaningless if it cannot be linked up to the liberation of the suffering of our people. If you claim you have stabilised the economy, and it is not reflecting on the lives of the people, it is meaningless.

“Stability by itself is meaningless unless it is linked up to the total liberation of the pockets of Ghanaians,” he stressed.

He explained that the purpose of reducing inflation and stabilising the exchange rate was to lower the cost of living and improve the welfare of citizens.

“The reason we all want inflation and dollar to go down is because we want it to have a positive impact and make life and cost of living easier and lower for the people. But if inflation and dollar go down and the people are suffering, is that how we want it? That’s not how we want it,” he said.

“You cannot have a stable economy with people suffering. The stability should be a way of improving the lives of the people,” he added.

Dr Bawumia further questioned the government's claims of economic progress, citing complaints from traders about low sales and concerns over the cost of electricity, water, fuel and transportation.

He also challenged the government to demonstrate how the reported economic improvements had benefited cocoa farmers, cashew farmers, producers of soybeans, rice and maize, as well as teachers, nurses, doctors and traders.

Referencing the government's commitments to farmers, he questioned whether cocoa farmers who had been promised GH¢6,000 per bag, alongside other agricultural producers encouraged to expand their operations, were experiencing tangible benefits from the economic situation.

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“Things are really hard for the people,” he stated.

The former Vice President also accused the government of misleading Ghanaians, arguing that several of its campaign promises had not been fulfilled.

He said old video clips circulating on the internet were bringing renewed attention to the government's previous promises and highlighting questions about their implementation.

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