Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah a former government spokesperson has stated that former vice president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was a key architect in Akufo-Addo government failure.
The NPP man noted that Bawumia was not a bystander but a key architect of the government’s economic policies, yet now portrays himself as a mere “driver’s mate” to evade responsibility.
He asserted that Dr Bawumia’s accusations of “arrogance of power” within the former NPP government are implicitly targeted at former President Akufo-Addo.
According to Dr Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, Dr Bawumia’s justification tour” / thank you tour is a calculated attempt to rewrite his legacy by scapegoating President Akufo-Addo and the NPP for failures he actively contributed to.
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah in a statement wrote, “Bawumia’s claim that he opposed the E-levy, a highly controversial tax policy, is inconsistent with his silence during its introduction and passage, despite public outcry and its significant impact on Ghanaians.
As Vice President, he had a platform to voice dissent or influence policy but chose not to, only to later claim opposition when it suited his political ambitions.
This selective distancing extends to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), which caused widespread financial distress, including protests by pensioners.
Bawumia’s failure to publicly address or mitigate the DDEP’s impact, while now implying he was not fully responsible, reeks of opportunism and undermines the administration’s collective accountability.
His attempt to shift blame for economic hardships, such as the crippling cost-of-living crisis and soaring petrol prices—reportedly increased just three days before the 2024 elections—onto Akufo-Addo’s leadership is particularly disloyal.
Bawumia was not a bystander but a key architect of the government’s economic policies, yet he now portrays himself as a mere “driver’s mate” to evade responsibility. This narrative contradicts his earlier boasts of the NPP’s achievements, such as the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), which he championed but later collapsed due to non-payment of stipends, leaving thousands of youth stranded. Similarly, his silence on the non-payment of caterers under the School Feeding Programme and workers in the afforestation program further exposes his inconsistency in addressing government failures he was complicit in”.
His comments come on the back of Dr Bawumia confessing that hardship in the country, arrogance displayed by the government, e-levy, the debt restructuring program and the lack of reshuffling of ministerial portfolios caused the NPP’s defeat.
Speaking to members of the party in Takoradi on April 26, as part of the NPP’s Thank You tour in the Western Region, Dr Bawumia stated, “The studies we have done so far, the big issues that people complained about were; the cost of living, there was hardship, arrogance of power and the debt restructuring program. The party suggested we reshuffle our ministerial portfolios.
For eight years we never listened. The party advised against the implementation of the e-levy, and the debt restructuring program. And yet we never listened,” Dr Bawumia lamented.
Dr Bawumia added, “The president announced there would be no haircut, all Ghanaians were happy, but when it came we gave haircuts. When you look the government was not paying NABCO anymore, where not paying afforestation, and the caterers were also not being paid.
He also asserted that the spending $58 million in public funds on the National Cathedral also contributed to the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
