Information Minister hints – Gov’t to organize ‘counter Bawumia’ lecture

• Posted on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Government has hinted of plans to hold a public lecture soon, to challenge 2012 Vice presidential candidate for the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s claim regarding the state of the economy.

Information and Media Relations Minister, Mahama Ayariga disclosed that Economic Advisor to the president, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson will lead the ‘Counter-Bawumia’ lecture.

Mr. Ayariga was speaking Saturday on news analysis programme, Newsfile, on the Joy News channel on Multi TV which was also broadcast live on Joy FM.

Last Tuesday, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia delivered a lecture on the value of the national currency against major global currencies organised by the Central University College, Miotso, Accra.

Addressing participants at the Public Lecture dubbed; “Restoring the Value of the Cedi”, Dr. Bawumia said government is largely responsible for the current economic “crisis”, which has arisen from its huge spending outside its budget.

He indicated: “This situation with regard to Ghana’s  public finances has arisen because of a major increase in government expenditures relative to revenues in the 2012 and 2013”.

Dr. Bawumia’s lecture was widely covered by the media, including Joy FM.

But the Information Minister said he was surprised by the media blitz given to Dr. Bawumia, who was recently apointed by the university as a visiting professor of Economics.

“I was very surprised by what the media did. They forced all of us, they moved all of us to Central University [College]…Nobody gave us an option to listen to other alternative issues,” Mr. Ayariga noted.

He said he found the issues raised by Dr. Bawumia  as “not critical” because important personalities including President John Mahama and the Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper have said the same things already.

Mr. Ayariga therefore wants the same media attention devoted to Dr.Bawumia to be given to the President’s Economic  Advisor, Dr. Nii Moi Thompson at the lecture to counter the issues raised by the former deputy Governeor of the Bank of Ghana.

“I will organise a similar lecture at the same time for Dr. Nii Moi Thompson and I expect all of you ,Joy FM and Adom Fm to follow him at that same prime time,” he demanded.

He was however short on details of when the counter-lecture will be held.

Edwin Appiah