Many people have credited Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with the title “Economic Wizard” and “Economic Magician” but the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt has begged to differ.
According to him, he says he is "not one" of those people “who see Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as a magician capable of performing wonders with the national economy; I don’t see him that way”.
Speaking on Radio Gold’s 'Alhaji and Alhaji' Morning Show, Kwesi Pratt said Dr. Bawumia is not a new phenomenon who just emerged on the political scene with the panacea to the country's economic challenges.
Alluding to Dr. Bawumia's earlier role as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Pratt was of the opinion that if the current Vice-President and head of the Economic Management Team (EMT) had any magic wand, he would probably have woven it to resolve our economic challenges during his years at the Central Bank.
“If he had any magic (wand), we should have seen those magic that earlier and so I am not one of those who think that he is a magician and has the solution to all the economic problems which confront us,” he indicated.
The local currency since the beginning of the year has seen over 8.6 percent depreciation, causing currency analysts to question measures put in place to stabilize the cedi.
The cedi, as at December 2018 was trading against the dollar at 4 cedis 86 pesewas. The currency then began to experience a drop by the third week in January.
In Mid December 2018, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) predicted that the local currency will hit 6 cedis 39 pesewas by 2023.
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, its forecast was premised on the cedi remaining prone to periods of volatility, given a dependence on commodity prices and a broader decline in investor sentiment towards emerging markets.
In February 2019, President Akufo-Addo expressed concerns over the depreciating rate of the currency assuring that government will do all it can to fix it.
Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]
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I trust your interest is in Fiifi Kwarttey.
INCOMPETENT MAHAMA IS YOUR ECONOMIC MAGICIAN.
Kwasi Pratt uses his propaganda mouth and long teeth to talk gibberish. I hope the Woyome scandal has not caught up with him knowing very well he will be prosecuted and probably jailed.
TALKATIVE GOVERNMENT SO SO TALK TALK. PRES NANA ADDO PLEASE YOU TRUST MR BAWUMIA TOO MUCH AND HE IS FAILING ON HIS CORE DUTY PLEASE DONT BRING HIM AGAIN AS VICE , YOU LOOK AT THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY DONT LET THEM LIE TO YOU THAT ALL IS WELL OOH. I AM LOOSING HOPE AND CHANGING MY MIND TO VOTE FOR YOU NEXT ELECTION.
Now we all can see who is more incompetent. U think we manage economy with text books? Bawumia should now answer his 170 questions. when we talk then these so called NPP boys and girls say it is eternal factor. Didn't u know external factors exist when u were insulting Mahama and his team. Lazy people
and look at long teeth
You succeeded in confusing yourself! Ghana has always faced external threats in the form of unfair trade practices and all these must reflect in the fundamentals. So in your ignorance you are trying to paint the picture as if these threats are new. The US Fed periodically reviews interests rates at their own prerogative and they don't need to consult anyone. As a matter of fact they have reviewed their interests rates during the NDC time so please chill!. Currency regulation is part of managing the forex and that is the duty of government through the Economic Management Team headed by the Vice President. They know this and they have done a very bad job of it and that explains our current situation. So all the things you have raised here are nothing new and in fact that is their basic duty. SO we will not leave Bawumia alone until he has discharged his duty to the good people of Ghana whose only crime was to put their trust in him and his empty lectures!
Truly, Bawumia's assertion on the state of the dollar during the NDC regime was right. The inflation rate, bank rate, short term import cover and all the basic economic fundamentals were in disarray. Rationally, these usually contribute to higher dollar rate. Bawumia and his team have been able to stabilise all these which made the dollar stable for some time. However, in business it is difficult to handle external threats in the short term until the whole scenario is well comprehended. Increase in the base rate in the US has not helped smaller and weaker economies. Also, the lack of checks on who buys the dollar in Ghana is another serious drain and something must be done on it as a matter of urgency. Further more, our export base is still weak, and this also cannot be solved in the short term. The most important point to note is that if with all these economic fundamentals in good shape there is still so much pressure on the cedi then what would the situation have been if those fundamentals were still weak? The major problem is that the hungry man has no patience for economic reasoning so the earlier the solution the better.
Many were those who touted Dr Bawumiah as an economic "Messaiah". Students and academics alike thronged lecture halls to listen to him prescribe economic solutions for Ghana with the kind of simplicity which had majority of us wondering how the heck NDC were "struggling" with such a "trivial" issue. "When the fundamentals are weak the exchange rate will expose you" is a familiar line from one of those lectures to which people applauded and hailed him to the highest heavens. Such phrases coupled with his so-called 170 questions about the Economy to his late predecessor catapulted him and his bidders to unprecedented popularity. And that subsequently weighed in during the elections in which NDC lost resoundingly. That chapter is closed and now a new chapter is opened. That new chapter is leading Ghana from the quagmire of NDC incompetence to the promised land of prosperity-driven NPP government. To cut a long story short....the fundamentals are now strong(or expected to be) but the exchange rate has gone totally berserk! And I hear Dr Bawumiah now speaks about the economy through his spokesperson or the finance minister! Hmmmmm. Somebody once quipped that learning to drive on ***barred word*** and on the road are totally different caboodles. Seems same goes for governance...just thinking aloud ooo. No vex!
Get someone who is a true professional, not one who has a lot of letters after their names necessarily. We have chartered this path for many decades but have not got any results. Chewing and pouring economic or financial theory is not enough for managing an economy. Those we go to for crumbs to feed ourselves are people who create practical economic and financial models to help their populations. Anyone can acquire letters after their names if the opportunity is available but to practice is a totally different thing we have to note my people.