The vicious lies that gave Akufo-Addo power: Part 2

This article examines the normalization of lies in Ghana’s politics by the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government. Then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
and the NPP, after losing the 2008 and 2012 elections, became desperate.
Realising that the 2016 general election was his final shot at the presidency,
they resorted to malicious and fabricated lies.

As Vice President Dr. Bawumia has started going around the country and making
frivolous and unrealistic promises, it is important to revisit the lies that gave the NPP power in 2016 in order for Ghanaians to make informed decisions on
December 7, 2024.

Their lies were in two taxonomies: unrealistic promises and fabricated lies
about President John Dramani Mahama.

In part one of this article, I focused on the latter, i.e., the fabricated lies that were told about President Mahama. In this article, I’m focusing on the former, i.e., a few of the lies and unfulfilled promises that were used by then-candidate Akufo-Addo to gain power.

I will stabilise the Cedi:

Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia accused the then government of poor economic management, which led to the depreciation of the Ghanaian currency. This was the reason Dr. Bawumia churned his famous quote, “You can engage in all the propaganda you want, but if the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you.”

At the time he made this pronouncement, the exchange rate was USD1 to GHC4 under the Presidency of John Dramani Mahama. On 25th May 2014, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia delivered a lecture at the Central University College. the theme of the lecture was “How to restore the value of the cedi” and at that time, USD1 was GHC3.60.
Dr. Bawumia uploaded the lecture on Twitter (now X) and referred former president Mahama to go and learn from his uploaded lecture how to restore the value of the cedi.

Almost eight years after being in the helms of affairs as head of the Economic
Management Team EMT, the Ghanaian currency has depreciated beyond belief. Currently, USD1 is equal to GHC14.59.

Shift from taxation to production:

While in opposition, Nana Akufo-Addo and his running mate Dr. Mahamudu
Bawumia accused the then government of overtaxing Ghanaians and promised
to shift the economy from taxation to production. Almost eight years after
their presidency, Ghanaians have been hit with a series of taxes, existing taxes
have been increased while additional taxes have been introduced.

Two of the most ridiculous taxes ever introduced by any government are the E-Levy which directly taxes monies from the pockets of Ghanaians and the COVID-Levy despite the end of the COVID-19 pandemic some years back.

I will not run a family and friends’ government:

During John Mahama’s presidency, only one member of his family, Joyce Bawa
Mogtari was appointed in his government as a deputy minister for Transport.
Yet the NPP accused the president of running a family and friends’ government. Nana Akufo-Addo jumped on this and promised Ghanaians that “I will not run a family and friends’ government”. Today, he has established himself as the most nepotistic president in the history of Ghana. State institutions are saturated with families and friends of the President and his associates.

We will never go to the IMF:

Ghana has been to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on several occasions
for several reasons since Independence. None of these were used for political
mischief. However, when the then government of John Dramani Mahama went
to the IMF for policy credibility, the then-opposition “smelt blood” and went
for the meat. They accused the government of incompetence and ineptitude. They claimed the economy was badly managed and the result of that was the decision to approach the Breton Wood institution. Nana Akufo-Addo promised Ghanaians that, he would manage the economy so well that he would never go to the IMF. After winning the 2016 election, President Akufo-Addo extended the existing IMF programme for an extra year, from 2018 to 2019. After that agreement ended, the President ran back to the IMF in 2023 for a financial bailout.

I will develop Ghana without borrowing:

Candidate Akufo-Addo accused President Mahama of over-borrowing and promised to develop Ghana without borrowing because the money was here in Ghana. His running mate amplified this by stating that having previously worked at the Bank of Ghana, he was aware that Ghana was rich and didn’t need to borrow to develop. At the time these pronouncements were made, the country’s national debt stock had reached GHC 122.6 billion including all interests accrued. Almost eight years into their presidency, the country’s debt stock is currently close to GHC 700 billion including all interests accrued.

Ghana’s politics has become saturated with deception, thanks to the NPP. This
is driven by their desperation for power, partisanship, or self-interest, NPP
politicians frequently propagate lies and falsehoods to manipulate Ghanaians.
It is important to not trust the NPP as we go into the 2024 general elections,
because their lies and deception know no bounds.