Nana Akomea, Vice Chairman of the ‘Bawumia 2024 Campaign Team,’ has expressed scepticism regarding the feasibility of the 24-hour economy proposal by the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama.
In an interview on Face to Face on Citi TV with Umaru Sanda Amadu, the former Okaikwei South MP said the former President’s proposal lacked clarity and questioned the practicality of legislating market conditions.
“What will emerge in the campaign is Mahama says 24-hour economy. Me, I don’t understand it. When you ask them, they say it means people selling ‘waakye’ can do so throughout the night. When you ask another, they say farmers can farm throughout the night.
“They say they will put street lights there, give free electricity and all of that. Depending on who you speak to, they give you all kinds of explanations. Oye Bampoe Addo said this week that farmers can farm throughout the day. So it’s not very clear. You can’t legislate market conditions, you can’t pass a law and say Citi FM and all radio stations should run 24 hours.”
In evaluating the visions of the two main flagbearers, Nana Akomea emphasized that the focus should be on what they bring to the table and their offer propositions.
He added that the hullabaloo on Bawumia being part of the current economic mess will soon die off.
“What are the two gentlemen bringing to the table, what are their visions? What are the offer prepositions? This business that oh Bawumia is part of Akufo-Addo, he’s part of the difficulty. If you listen to the NDC, Bawumia is responsible for the difficulty. All of that will die down,” he said.
Akomea underscored the significance of Bawumia’s proposal to stabilize the economy using gold. He explained Bawumia’s intention to establish a gold purchase programme by the Bank of Ghana, emphasizing the revolutionary nature of the idea.
“Bawumia’s message is that I’m going to put this country on the gold standard. One of the biggest things we have in this country that affects the cost of living is the instability of the cedi. Because we are an import-dependent economy. We import so much, so there’s a demand for dollars and makes the cedi weak.
“One way of holding your currency is by pitching it on gold. We produce the best gold in the world. We have 8 tons. The whole concept of using gold as a stabilising force for the currency has not occurred to us since Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s time.
“Bawumia says I’m going to have a gold purchase programme by the Bank of Ghana (BoG). He’s going to tap into the gold, he’s not going to encourage foreigners. He’s going to have foreigners come into the country with their expertise and capital.
“The ownership will be Ghanians. We will mine the gold for our reserves, and fix the cedi. These ideas are revolutionary,” the former MP Okaikwei South said.