I would resign if I was you – How Akufo-Addo taunted Mills-Mahama over cedi depreciation

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his opposition days was a real thorn in the flesh of the government of the day.

He knew not only how to hit the government of the day where it hurts, but also came across as man with principles and conviction wielding an alternate working plan for the nation’s development.

Some of the critical issues he spoke about in his opposition days was the performance of the cedi against major trading currencies specifically the dollar.

At a campaign rally as captured in a video, then candidate Nana Addo was in his elements, bashing the then Mills-Mahama government of the National Democratic Congress.

While accusing the administration of failing in the management of the forex rate, Nana Addo suggested that he would have resigned on principle if he was the president considering the performance of the cedi against the dollar.

He suggested that such an action had rather become hard for the administration leaders owing to their focus on enjoying the benefits of being in office.

“In the time of Kufour [it was] one dollar-one cedi. In the time of Mills and Mahama two cedis-one dollar. If I was them, I would say to the people of Ghana that I am sorry, we are sorry for the poor work we have done. We are going to go and think about ourselves.

“But that is not the people we are dealing with, the fruits of office; the money, the money under the table has become sweet for them. So they are determined to stay. Are we going to allow that to happen? Are we going to allow that to happen?” the then opposition candidate flanked by his beautiful wife told a rally of New Patriotic Party supporters.

Drawing a parallel between the New Patriotic Party administration of President Kufour and the succeeding Mills-Mahama government, Nana Addo who was campaigning for votes ahead of a presidential election, touted the history of the NPP in the management of the Ghanaian economy including the exchange rate.

He referenced the competence of his then-running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana as critical to improving the Ghanaian economy should they be given the opportunity to lead the country.

‘’In Kufuor’s time, one of the people who advised and helped him to develop a strong cedi was my running mate, Mahamudu Bawumia. Then he was the deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana. It is one of the reasons I have brought him to come and join me, that we will work on the cedi and create again a strong cedi that will be able to allow us develop our economy……..

“We have told the world that under our leadership we are going to turn our backs on the old economy, the raw material exporting economy and build a new industrial value-adding economy in our country that will bring jobs for our people and especially for the young people of our country. That is the goal of the new NPP government, the administration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo,’’ he roared to the teeming shouts of supporters whose faith was pricked by his orator.

Currently, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is the President of the Republic of Ghana having won a first term in 2017 and a second in 2020 with Dr Bawumia as his Vice.

Their government over the last five years in office on various occasions have touted several achievements in the management of the Ghanaian economy and the development of the country.

The government of President Akufo-Addo however has been under intense criticism over the past few months over issues regarding the economy and the cedi depreciation.

As of January 2017, when he was elected into office, the cedi was trading against the United States dollar at about US$1 =GH ¢ 4.25.

Five years into his administration, the local currency is trading at almost GHC10 for a dollar.

The government on its part has blamed the situation on what it says are external factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.