Bawumia’s analysis just ‘pedestrian propaganda’ – Ofosu Kwakye

The Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye has described  Dr Mahamadu Bawumia’s analysis on government’s 2016 budget statement, as “hackneyed and pedestrian propaganda.”

Addressing journalists at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) headquarters in Accra from a statement titled “The NPP’s response to the 2016 budget statement, the seven-year record of the NDC and the alternative vision under an NPP government,” Dr Bawumia criticised government’s general performance while placing emphasis on expenditure, interest rates, power crisis among others.On expenditure, Bawumia said the “evidence shows that notwithstanding the massive increase in the debt stock, capital expenditure as a percentage (%) of GDP has actually been on the decline from 9.1% of GDP in 2008 to 4.1% by 2015. Capital expenditure as a percentage of GDP averaged 11% for 2001-2008 (without oil) while that for 2009-2015 has averaged 5.7% (with oil). This means that contrary to all the government claims of an increase in infrastructure expenditure on projects all over the country, the reality is that 50 Ghana’s expenditure on infrastructure relative to GDP is declining.”

“The numbers indicate that relative to GDP, this government is investing about half what the previous government invested in infrastructure. It is in fact a travesty that Ghana before the discovery of oil was spending a higher proportion of its income on infrastructure investment than after the discovery of oil and the massive increase in the debt stock. This decline in investment in infrastructure runs counter to what one would have expected. “

But the Minister in a sharp rebuttal said:  “owing to the NPP ‘s appalling record in many sectors, Bawumia seeks solace in a dubious analysis of capital expenditure as a ratio of GDP.”

“It is simple mathematics really…A capital expenditure to GDP ratio of 6% would suggest that the government spent more on capital projects than another whose capex to GDP ratio is say 4%.To the more enlightened they will look at both the quantum of capex and GDP.If your GDP is around GHc 30 billion as it was in 2008 and you spent 1.8 billion on capex you get 6%.Today our GDP is GHc 130 billion and 4% of that is GHc 5.2 billion. Surely Ghc 5.2 billion cannot be smaller than GHc 1.8 billion or?,” he added.

According to him, the highest growth recorded in the history of Ghana has been under the governing NDC government, despite Bawumia’s attempts to tout the economic achievements of the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

“Despite Bawumia’s bluster, the highest ever growth rate recorded in Ghana’s history of 14.4% was recorded under an NDC government. Their highest ever growth rate of 8.4% is still lower that the NDC’s second highest of 8.8%.

“The fact also remains that the longest ever period of sustained single digit inflation of 33 months was recorded under the NDC. Guess what Bawumia and the NPP’s record is; one month of single digit inflation,” Kwakye Ofosu wrote on his Facebook wall.