The Head of the Legal Affairs of the NDC Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tameklo has said that the role of Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is not akin to that of a driver’s mate.
According to him, the position of the Vice President is rather comparable to a co-driver or spare driver.
“He is not a drivers’ mate; he is like what we call a co-driver or a spare driver. STC where Nana Akomea is the Managing Director, when going on a long journey have 2 drivers. One takes it for about 6 hours, the other driver will take over. That driver is not the driver’s mate. He is a co-driver.
And the record will show in Ghana that when Akufo Addo traveled after the Ayawaso case, thus the shooting incident, it was Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia acting as the President, who set up the Emile Short Commission. Mates don’t do that; it is the spare driver or a co-driver that will do that” he said in an interview on The Big Issue segment on TV3 NewDay with Roland as the host on February 12.
Mr Tameklo pointed out that the framers of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution envisioned the Vice President as someone who would assume presidential duties when necessary. He noted that this interpretation aligns with the concept of a unified ticket in elections, where the President and Vice President are elected as a single entity.
“You also noticed that as far as the 1992 Constitution is concerned, it has never been in the contemplation of the makers of the Constitution that our Vice President should be a mate. They had always seen the Vice President as somebody who will act in the absence of the President. Very important. And that is why the ticket is always one,” he stated.
He cited Senior Minister, Yaw Sarfo Marfo’s remarks on Dr. Bawumia’s prominence within the cabinet and argued that Dr. Bawumia cannot evade responsibility for the economic challenges Ghana faces currently.
“All because the economy that was given to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to manage, he has destroyed it. There is no economy today. This country is bankrupt. The budget, the economy is that of the President and his vice. And in the specific case of Dr. Bawumia, according to Nana Yaw Sarfo Marfo, he says at cabinet he’s the star boy in economic management conversation. So, it is too late in the day for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to run away from the mess that he has created in the economy” he stressed.
It would be recalled that while outdooring his vision as the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party on February 7, Dr Bawumia stated that as Vice President, he was like a driver’s mate. He further stated that the Economic Management Team which he chairs lacks decision making powers, as their role is merely advisory.
By Joselyn Kafui Nyadzi
