Bawumia must stop calling himself a ‘mate’ and be realistic – Asante Otchere

A senior lecturer at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Mr. Jonathan Asante Otchere, has criticized Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s campaign strategy ahead of the December polls.

The political analyst believes it is time Dr. Bawumia, who is also the flagbearer of the governing NPP, accepts responsibility on the economic setbacks and stop blaming others for the ailing economy.

During his first address to the nation, after he was elected leader of the NPP, Dr. Bawumia asked Ghanaians to give him the opportunity to serve and pursue his own vision.

What stoked controversy was when he pledged to abolish the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy), betting tax, and Emissions Levy among others which his government imposed on Ghanaians despite stiff opposition from citizens.

Dr. Bawumia, who described himself as a driver’s mate (bus conductor), assured that when given the nod, he would drive the country to a path of growth and prosperity.

But Asante Otchere, who was speaking in an interview on New York-based Adinkra TV, lashed out at the vice president and asked him to be sincere to the people of Ghana.

“That driver-mate analogy is wrong. A vice president can never be a mate to the president; they are partners... They are colleagues. It is just that the president is the premus inter paris. A mate cannot drive when the driver isn’t around,” Otchere told host Daakyehene Ofosu Agyemang.

He argued that the vice president was an important figure in the government’s economic management team that drafted all the tax policies and other strategies that had an impact on the economy.

He wondered why Dr. Bawumia would want to take credit for some gains of the Akufo-Addo government and run away from the challenges of the government.

“Ahead of the 2020 elections, Bawumia read the NPP’s manifesto in Cape Coast and even promised the people an airport,” he said while emphasizing on the role Bawumia played in the government.

To Otchere, Dr. Bawumia can not pretend he was not part of the decisions the government took over the past 7 years that have crashed the economy.

Instead, he urged Dr. Bawumia to be honest with Ghanaians and not shift the blame on other members of his team including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.