According to him, under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo, the cedi has shown resilience, despite facing global economic challenges.

In an interview with AfricaWatch, Dr Bawumia said the currency’s depreciation has been sustainable, contrasting it with the NDC administration’s performance in this regard.

“Why not? We use averages to measure progress in statistics and economics all the time. It is a valid comparison of the management of the exchange rate under our government versus under the NDC government. The point is that, notwithstanding the major global and domestic challenges we have been through, it is remarkable that whereas the exchange-rate depreciation between 2009-2016 averaged 13.9%, between 2017-2023 it averaged 13.1%. That is a fact,” Dr Bawumia stated.

“The data shows that from 2009-2016, the cedi depreciated cumulatively by 71.1%, and between 2017 and 2023, the cumulative depreciation was 64.6%. So, whether you look at the average or the cumulative, the depreciation of the cedi has been lower under our government, notwithstanding the severe global shocks we have endured. That is the basic truth.”

Dr. Bawumia also defended his famous quote he made in 2016: ‘If the fundamentals are weak, exchange rate will expose you’.

“Absolutely! It is still true, and I will continue to stand by that statement. We saw that between 2017 and 2021 when the fundamentals in terms of the fiscal deficit, inflation, GDP growth, external balances, and international reserves were fairly strong, the exchange rate was relatively stable” he said.

The Vice President attributed the current exchange rate of the country to global crises of the Russia-Ukraine war and the 2019 COVID pandemic, among others.

“Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the banking-sector crisis, the excess-capacity energy payments, and the lack of access to international capital markets, the fundamentals of the economy were weakened, and the fiscal deficit and debt levels increased.

Inflation reached some 53% at the end of 2022 and you saw the exchange rate depreciate by some 30% in 2022. The fundamentals have strengthened recently, with the declining fiscal deficit, declining inflation, improved external reserves, and so on, and this has resulted in relative stability of the exchange rate. So, my statement still holds true” Dr. Bawumia added.

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Over 200,000 delegates from across the country are expected to participate in the elections scheduled for Saturday, November 4, 2023.

The exercise, which will elect a flagbearer to represent the party in the 2024 general elections, will take place in every constituency across all 16 regions of the country.

While expressing optimism about the victory of Dr. Bawumia as the flagbearer of the NPP in an interview, the legislator said: “We know it is a foregone decision, Dr Bawumia is going to win hands down. It used to be around 80 percent. Now it’s moved higher. We are now doing like 95 percent of MPs who clearly believe that we should rally behind the Vice President. We are now hovering around 95 percent. It will even get better on the D-Day, and I think it’s looking extremely good. Our focus now is to ensure that after Saturday, we progress into a united front,” the Nsawam Adoagyiri MP said.

The NPP is gearing up for its presidential primaries on Saturday, November 4.

The four aspirants contesting the flagbearer position have signed an undertaking not to resign from the party if any of them loses the primary on Saturday.

The decision was reached at a meeting between the National Council of Elders and the aspirants.

Dr. Bawumia is the frontrunner in the race, but he faces stiff competition from Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong.

A recent poll by the Institute of Research, Innovation & Development at Kumasi Technical University found that Bawumia stands a greater chance of winning the upcoming NPP flagbearer race, as he will most likely secure an overwhelming victory in eight regions.

The poll found that 71.1% of NPP delegates believe Bawumia has a higher chance of breaking the eight-year cycle, while 26.8% of them stated that Kennedy Agyapong stands a better chance.

The other two contestants include the former Agriculture Minister, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh.

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