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Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah has differed with the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU's) report which suggests that the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) will win the November 2016 polls.

According to Dr. Boamah, the EIU report rather says that governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has prepared the economic grounds for take-off next year as the next government will be in good position to better the economy.

For the second time, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) has predicted victory for the opposition New Patriotic Party when Ghanaians go to the polls in November 2016.

The report says a stagnant economy is expected to feed into the NPP narrative that the governing party is not fit for re-election.

"There is little time for Mr Mahama and the NDC to turn the economy around before the November 2016 presidential and legislative elections. The Economic Intelligence Unit therefore expects Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP to be victorious.

"The outcome is by no means a foregone conclusion, however, with the results likely to be close. The NPP will need to work hard to attract votes from outside its heartlands in central Ghana while maintaining internal unity. Meanwhile, the NDC will continue to enjoy strong support in the east and north of the country, owing to historical and tribal allegiances. Greater Accra, a historical swing state, will be a key battleground, and so tensions in this economic hub could disrupt business operations." 

Commenting on the EIU survey, Dr. Omane Boamah on Okay Fm’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show said the latter part of the report shows that President Mahama has prepared the grounds to boost the economy in 2017.

He explained that the report was not definite that Nana Akufo-Addo will be the eventual winner of the 2016 elections; stating that the report puts the NPP campaign strategist in difficult position to convince Ghanaians to vote for a candidate who is definitely going for one term due to age factor.

He insisted President Mahama has done well with the loans he has gone for to develop the country and to pay off some debts; adding that establishment of some economic facilities in the country by the President shows “we are fixing the economic challenges and next year will be better grounds to change things around as indicated in the report of EIU”.

“. . the difference between the NDC and the NPP is that we solve problems while the NPP complains about the problems. We promised to fix dumsor and the president has delivered on that promised; Kotokuraba market project, Komenda sugar factory and many other projects by President Mahama is an indication that NDC is fixing the economy to be better next year as captured in the EIU report that ‘whichever party wins in 2016 is expected to preside over an improving economic situation and this will bolster their support in 2020, making re-election the most likely outcome,” Dr. Boamah argued.