He stated that Dr Bawumia had never blamed President Nana Akufo-Addo for the economic situation and “has never taken himself out of the government”.

“In fact, what he has done is to actually tout the achievements of the government. He has said that there are some of the things I would do differently.

“That does not mean that the government has failed or he disagrees.

Obviously, he would do things differently. Not having the same point of view with you does not mean you are wrong, it’s just that I am thinking differently,” Nana Akomea, who is the Managing Director of STC, told the Daily Graphic last Friday.

Nana Akomea was responding to critics of Dr Bawumia’s policies and programmes outlined last Wednesday in Accra.

Critics

Many critics disagreed with the views of the Vice-President which were in variance with the position of the government he currently serves in.

But responding, Mr Akomea said obviously a new person coming into office would have different policies, and questioned why that should be an issue.

For instance, he said the emphasis on President Akufo-Addo’s policies in the second term was different from that of the first term.

“People are expressing disagreement because Dr Bawumia has proposed policies that are not the same as some of the current policies of the government, why should that be an issue?

 He is a new person, he has his own vision, he has his own ideas.

“He said it is the same philosophy but different paths.

And if you are a new person coming into a position, you are going to come with your own slants of the issues,” he said.

Mr Akomea, therefore, said there should not be any problem with Dr Bawumia espousing policies that seemed to be different from the current policies being pursued by the government.

He cited President John Mahama who came out with new policies and programmes when he had six months to finish the term of the late President, John Atta Mills.

He said when he had four months to complete the term, President Mahama held a press conference, espousing what he was going to do for the four months.

“He said a lot of new things and he gave a lot of directives even when he had four months to complete the term,” he recalled.

Mr Akomea said coming out with his policies did not mean Dr Bawumia had betrayed President Akufo-Addo.

“Somebody says because Bawumia has come up with new policies it means he has betrayed Akufo-Addo.

I don’t understand it, unless the person has a prejudiced mind,” he said.

Mr Akomea wondered what new things Dr Bawumia would be bringing on board if he was to continue with the same old policies and Ghanaians were looking for new ways of dealing with the issues that the country had.

“If he was going to follow the same policies then what new thing is he bringing?” Mr Akomea asked.

Nana Akomea (right), Managing Director of the State Transport Corporation, in an interview with Emmanuel Bonney (middle) and Kester Aburam Korankye  Picture: CALEB VANDERPUYE

 

Different things

He stressed that former President Mahama, who was president for four-and-a-half years, also said different things from when he was president.

He said Mr Mahama said new things because the times were different.

Mr Akomea said the Minority Leader’s comment that Dr Bawumia, as the Chairman of the Economic Management Team (EMT) and leader of the NPP, had whatever it took to bring a bill to Parliament to change things was shocking.

“How can a Minority Leader talk like this?

If you are the leader of NPP, are you the leader of government?

 It is shocking that a whole Minority Leader does not know the difference between the leader of a party and the leader of government,” he said.

The constitution of Ghana, he said, vested executive authority in the President, not the leader of a political party.

He therefore wanted to know on what authority Dr Bawumia could take a bill to Parliament.

Authority

Moreover, Mr Akomea said when the President travelled it did not mean that the Vice-President had executive authority.

“The executive authority is still the President.

He has sworn the presidential oath”.

“Since 1992, when we started this democracy, when have you heard that a bill has gone to Parliament under the signature of the EMT?” he asked.

He said it was absurd for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its collaborators to say that Dr Bawumia was the one responsible for the country’s economic difficulties.

He said between 2017 and 2019, economic parameters were good until 2020 when COVID-19 plunged the country into difficulties.

“When John Mahama went to Harvard, you saw what he said about the way COVID had impacted on African economies.

But when he comes to Ghana he and his people are saying it’s Bawumia,” he noted.

Different policies

He said by coming out with different policies, Dr Bawumia was not trying to create the impression that he was not part of the people who created the problem of the economy as stated by a Professor of Finance and Dean of the University of Cape Coast Business School, Prof. John Gatsi.

“He announced different policies, how does that create an impression he’s not part of it?” he asked.

On the issue of national service, Mr Akomea said Dr Bawumia did not say it would be scrapped but that he would make it voluntary.

He said Dr Bawumia must be taken seriously for the bold policies he had come out with and that he meant real business and was also consistent.

“Didn’t he talk about he not being in favour of imposing tax on digital transaction?

 So if the government went to impose tax on digital transfer, it means that the government did not follow his advice.

“But as a member of government he takes collective responsibility,” he said.