Bolgatanga Central MP Isaac Adongo and former Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, who speak for the Minority on finance and economy, do not pay attention to detail, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s Economic Adviser Dr Gideon Boako has said.
In his view, were Mr Ato Forson and Mr Adongo paying attention to detail, they would not be attacking Dr Bawumia the way they do as far as the management of the economy is concerned.
“… You see, what is most important is that people should pay attention to detail. If you don’t pay attention to detail, and you look at things the superficial way, you may get things wrong and that is why I pointed out to my colleagues in the NDC, Ato Forson and Adongo that they just don’t pay attention to detail.
“It is not as if I want to slur them, but, of course, I’m a technical person, when you get it wrong I have to point it out to you that you got it wrong. We should pay attention to detail, if you pay attention to detail on what this government has been able to do, in seven months of implementing its first budget, you should not be surprised that Ghana is heading in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, Dr Boako has revealed that he advised the Mahama administration on the economy even while he was a PhD student and, thus, wonders why now that the National Democratic Congress is in opposition, its members are raising doubts about his (Dr Boako’s) competence to serve as the Vice-President’s Economic Adviser.
The Oxford- and Yale-trained economist told Class FM Monday, 15 November just minutes before Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta presented the 2018 Budget to parliament, that: “I have been a university lecturer, lecturing at the KNUST, and, so, I joined the Vice-President somewhere in March and I was supporting the economic management team with technical assistance, developing economic policies and other general policies.”
According to him, “The nomenclature or the title is – you say Economic Adviser; what if it had been Economist or Senior Economist or whatever [at the office of the Vice-President?] It doesn’t change anything and that is why nobody completes PhD and comes to teach and he’s asked of his teaching experience. Nobody does that. When I completed my PhD and got a job, nobody asked me of my teaching experience because that is part of the training.
He then gave details of some economic advisory work he did for the Mahama administration while pursuing his PhD.
“Even while I was a student, I was advising the previous government. They didn’t know that it was me. Ato Forson and Co., when he was the [Deputy] Finance Minister, if he remembers in January 2015, we did a research, myself and my professor from Oxford University and they sponsored us to come to the Finance Ministry to present that research to them on Exchange Rate Volatility. They didn’t know me.
“When I was out of the country, I was doing research to advise the previous government,” he emphasised.
“I was working as a researcher, I’m an economic researcher and even just next month, 1 December, the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) is sponsoring me to Tanzania, Arusha. There is a research I’m doing for the African Economic Research Consortium. I’ve been part of a lot of research bodies internationally; the South African Reserve Bank, I used to do some work for them, so, even as a student I was researching and working for the World Bank and others, as part of the projects that you do as a PhD student, if you are lucky, and, so, for them to have said that I did not merit [that position], I don’t get it.
“Even the World Bank Governor has an adviser. But you see, to be an adviser or to be a technical person, you don’t need to go through so much as the PhD system is rigorous. If you go to a good school and you get a good training. And some of us had the training,” Dr Boako noted.
According to him, the Minority’s potshots at the Vice-President on economic issues are baseless and ill-informed, adding that in his estimation, Dr Bawumia is one of only two topnotch economists he admires in the entire country.
“We appreciate when people talk, but you want people to talk based on an informed point of view. I mean you may want to, for political reasons, try to slur the Vice-President’s economic prowess. … For me I may single out two economists I respect in this country: Prof Augustine Ofosu and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. If I want to single out two Ghanaian economists that I have high respect for, Prof Augustine Ofosu of ISSER and Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. They are not just theoretical economists but also practical economists,” Dr Boako noted.
Source: classfmonline.com
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IF THIS BOAKO GUY IS AN ADVISER TO BAWUMIA, THEN GOD HAVE MERCY ON THIS COUNTRY. EVEN AN SHS GRADUATE HAVE BETTER UNDERSTANDING TO ISSUES THAN THIS GUY CALLED BOAKO. IS HE ONE OF MEN NPP CLAIMED THEY HAVE? IF DR. BOAKO IS BAWUMIA 'S ADVISER THEN BAWUMIA IS NEXT NOTHING IN TERMS ECONOMICS.
Where is their chief economist who couldn't answer 110 questions raised by VP Dr. Bawumia? Amissah Arthur should put his guys on detailing reaction to the just read budget. Ato Forson and co are always throwing dust into Ghanaian eyes but thank Dr. Bawumia for making ordinary Ghanaian understand basic economics. If the Ghana economy didnt collapse under incompetent Ex-Prez Mahama watch, do you think it will under the leadership of Prez. Nana Akuffo-Addo?
It is ridiculous these ndc idi*ts with birdbrains are still full of themselves. If you had anything ood you wouldn't have been humiliated in the 2016 elections when you were in power which has caused you a post election defeat trauma and budget difficiency syndrome. Ndc are really sick! even Rawlings testified to that that they've lost their minds, its like politics is the end of their lives and they will gnash their teeth in opposition forever and ever. Let them deceive themselves like they did in 2016 with that JM TOASO ***barred word***, NPP is working for Ghana and Ghana is in the right hands our country is on cause and working again WE SHALL gradually get to where the world is going, we don't need prim*tive,uncultur*d and unco*th and unenlightened ndc in our country. They can go to TOGO and help their opposition parties to get power so ndc can enjoy the power they so love there after all there are some Togolese nationals in Ghana doing politics so why can't you also go there and join them. Nation wreckers and anti- Ghana elements.
It is unbelievable this NPP so called economists still don't get it. It is evident these NDC guys are more experienced than all these Nana school boys. So far nothing works for NPP in all their experimentations and instead of them to learn some sense they keep escalating things. This rush in implementing the half free SHS alone is sinking the country, That alone in 3 years will collapse Ghana. Then you talk of free factories and dams and now you are adding a promise of 100,000 graduates employment to your pay roll while you keep borrowing endlessly. I think Atto Forson is right, Ghana is heading to HIPC again soon.
If u are looking for people who don't think all those elements are in npp who claimedto be educated then any body who does not speak their language unfortunately they are de onlyrics people who understand themselves wen u are dealing with group of people who think dat they are forster class people and u are third class dat is how they talk but seriously bawumia and his likes are seriously a grace commodity which I will not tell anybody to waste his or her time on apuuuuuuuuuuu
NDC ----The only political party with PROPAGANDA portfolio.
NATURALLY WHEN THEY READ, THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND. BECAUSE OF PROPAGANDA, THEY CLOSE THEIR MINDS TO ANYTHING GOOD FROM NPP
In addition to not paying attention, they also don't read.....