3 weeks ago
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Former President, John Dramani Mahama, the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, has asked the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate, to answer questions posed to him.
Mr Mahana said the December 7 elections “is about the economy and the Vice President must respond to questions posed to him and stop hiding behind the call for a debate.”
The former president who is on a campaign tour of the Northern region, on Monday challenged Dr Bawumia to respond to four of the 170 questions he asked the late vice president, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, in the lead up to the 2016 elections.
In response, Vice President Bawumia posed 50 questions to the former president, and called him to a debate where he would provide the answers.
But, addressing a rally at Savelugu, on Wednesday, Mr Mahama stated that the Vice President must stop beating about the bush and respond to the questions which bothered on the economy.
The former president said: “I woke up this morning to 50 questions to me. It looks like our
vice president has just learnt those things in the question like we learnt rhymes in kindergarten.”
“I asked five simple questions that Ghanaians want you to answer, but our Vice President has gone to respond with how many compost plants I have built, why did I canceled nursing trainee allowance and all that. That is not what the issue is in Ghana today.”
Mr Mahama said: “This election is about the economy. It is not about who built what. Answer the five simple questions. You don’t need a debate to answer the five questions.
“When you asked Amissah-Arthur 170 questions, you did not agree to a debate for him to answer them. Ghanaians are asking you five simple questions. Just answer them,” the former president noted.
Moreover, Mr Mahama noted that Vice President Bawumia was brought in to fix the economy, and no amount of tactics to obfuscate the concerns of the people would be entertained.
“Even if you look at the 50 questions he asked me he has skillfully avoided the economy. There is nothing on the economy and that is why I gave him the questions. Why are you running away from the economy? You were brought in to fix the economy and the economy is in a terrible state, just answer the five questions,” the former president indicated.
The questions the former president asked Dr Bawumia were why the exchange rate is GH¢17 to the dollar from GH¢4 in 2016, why Ghana’s debt had risen from GH¢120 billion to GH¢768 billion in eight years.
Mr Mahama also asked “why inflation had risen to 54 per cent [and now 22 per cent from 15 per cent in 2016] and why the government borrowed GH¢42 billion from the Bank of Ghana.”
FROM JULIUS YAO PETETSI, SAVELUGU
