Dr Bawumia Must Be Sincere...

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the two times running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), last week questioned the credibility of the country�s inflation and exchange rate figures, churned out by both the Statistical Service and the Bank of Ghana (BoG). Dr. Bawumia in 2012, when he appeared on Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV, hosted by Paul Adom Okyere, he doubted the single digit inflation Government had attained that year, he indicated among other things that it was not reflecting in the pockets of Ghanaians. When it was single digit, he questioned it, now we are doing about 15 per cent; he still doubts the figures mandated bodies that have been doing this at the time he was a Deputy Governor, unless of course he is telling us that when he was there they use to massage figures. The actions of Dr. Bawumia depicts somebody who is so desperate for power, he does not care who or what institutions his comments are hurting. These double standards on the part of politicians, depending on where they stand to be questioning the credibility of state institutions must stop. The same methodology and the basket of goods that was used to calculate inflation, when the NPP was in office is the one being used now. If as a people, we think there is something wrong with the methodology and we want to change the basket of goods and services used in calculating inflation, let do that, but we cannot continue on this tangent and expect our institutions to function well. What message are we sending to investors� desirous of coming to do business in this country. Dr. Bawumia must know that what goes around comes around; today he is in opposition, tomorrow he could be in government. Nothing has changed at the Statistical Service and the BoG, the staffs who were there yesterday, are the same staff who are there today. What we have done at the turn of every new Government is to change the people at the top, who most often than not, are picked from within those same institutions.