"The good sign is that come January 7, whether I hand over to myself or to somebody, the person will inherit a stabilized economy, President Mahama told a breakfast meeting of religious leaders in Wa as part of his “Accounting to the People” tour of the Upper West Region.
According the President, whoever becomes President after this year's elections will inherit a stabilized economy, adding that the anticipated doom and gloom about the economy during election years as a result of overspending of the budget had stopped this year due to the government's prudent spending.
Though inflation is still high, for the first time in many years, Ghana’s currency, the cedi, ended the first half of 2016 with a minimal depreciation of 3.04 per cent against the US dollar, according to the Business Finder.
“The local currency has been trading at almost GH¢3.99 to the ‘green back’ at the forex bureau and GH¢3.93 on the interbank market . . . The local currency started 2015 at GH¢ 3.2001 to the American currency but ended the year at about GH¢3.80, depreciating by about 15.0 per cent.”
The cedi depreciated by 26.7 per cent between January and June 2014 but remained relatively stable during the second half, depreciating by 4.5 per cent. The cumulative depreciation of the cedi for 2014 was 31.2 per cent compared to 14.5 per cent in 2013, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) reported.
Signaling that he remains unfazed, particularly, with threats of economic challenges pose to his second term bid, Mr. Mahama said whoever would lead the country into the future should be able to build a prosperous nation.
The is the second time the president has signaled that he is unmoved by threats to vote him and his government out of office in the event economic challenges and power crisis remained unsolved before this year’s election.
Early last year, The aL-HAJJ quoted close associates of the president to have said "President Mahama is least moved by these incessant threats about we will vote your government out if dumsor spills over into 2016. What the president is currently worried about is how to find a permanent solution to the problem he inherited. That is more crucial for him than the political battle ahead…, the next presidential election.
"I can tell you on authority that President Mahama will be more than a happy man if he finds a permanent solution to dumsor and subsequently he is voted out of office. He is not scared of losing election 2016. His biggest concern now is to fulfill his covenant with the people…, solving the energy crisis," the source noted.
"President Mahama could have also chosen the path of past presidents.., to tackle the power challenges piecemeal, and that would have saved him all these threats of voting him out. His Excellency could have decided to adopt similar ad hoc measures in solving the problem just to make his chances in 2016 brighter but he said no, the best way to go is to take the bitter pill today even if it means sacrificing his second term bid to find an end to Ghana's unending and debilitating energy problem," the source added.
He said if by finding a permanent solution to the nation's power crisis is what will cause the President's defeat in 2016 election, so be it, "His Excellency is ready to bite that bullet, unfortunate as that may be though, but, President Mahama believes it would be the last reward Ghanaians will want to present him for the kind of legacy he will be leaving behind."
Meanwhile, a year down the line and barely four months to elections, the President himself has reiterated the point that he is not scared of losing the impending elections.
It will be recalled that not even threats to end his political career in 2016 due to some harsh decisions intended to put the country’s economy back on track has shaken the president, as he told some Senior Citizens at a Luncheon to mark the 55th Republic Day Anniversary that, he was ready to take all the tough decisions needed to make the economy buoyant.
The president assured the nation that his government has the political will to spend within its expenditure ahead of elections in November, “I have the political will to see this through. Despite the fact that we are in an election year, and thereby the political season…I am determined to end the economic boom and bust that comes with every election cycle no matter the political cost. I ask for the support of all Ghanaians to help government to strictly adhere to a disciplined expenditure even as election approaches, President Mahama stated.”
Source: The Al-Hajj
No comments:
Post a Comment