Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, has lauded Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s economic prowess, saying he is “destined for greatness” but finds himself in the “wrong political camp.”
According to Cudjoe, many economic policies that crippled the nation during the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration were things the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana opposed but remained silent about, contributing to the hardship Ghanaians endured.
He specifically cited the numerous bonds undertaken by then-Finance Minister, Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, which IMANI’s president believes greatly worried many affected Ghanaians.
Franklin Cudjoe was lauding Dr Bawumia’s response to how the weaponisation of trade is affecting the African economy and the strategies being adopted to strengthen the resilience of the continent at the IDU forum in Brussels over the weekend, when he made the comments.
In a circular issued by the IMANI President following the event, he said, “”while Dr. Bawumia’s silence over some of the egregious acts of economic indisciline was in full swing by then Finance Minister and ace minder, President Nana Addo, he could be pardoned for some blatant acts for which he stood up against the mad house cabinet and one revenue impacting decision he made after my team (IMANI) presented an undercover deep dive study we conducted into the world of serious and organised crime in ports operations.””
According to Mr. Cudjoe, Dr Bawumia’s performance was a consequence of the electorate’s disapproval stemming from “the sins of his bad company”, which he has advised “to earn the trust of the Ghanaian again, this time as his own man capable of turning deserts into verdant vegetation” as the symbol of what it now takes to convince the Ghanaian.
Find below his full circular posted on his social media handles about the former Veep:
My friend, former Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu has always exuded charm with numbers, “precociosly smart and quiet scholar,” one of his undergraduate chaperones said of him to me when l met her at Buckingham University a few years ago.
Destined for greatness, but ended up with the wrong political camp- the purveyors of aimless and destructive bond supremacists who profited from our debts while the economy overcooked itself into volcanic magma out of which we all became lava, igneous rocks and literally died, before we were saved by the 2024 elections.
While Dr. Bawumia’s silence over some of the egregious acts of economic indisciline was in full swing by then finance minister and ace minder, president nana addo, he could be pardoned for some blatant acts for which he stood up against the mad house cabinet and one revenue impacting decision he made after my team ( IMANI) presented an undercover deep dive study we conducted into the world of serious and organised crime in ports operations.
Alas, the sins of his bad company set his teeth on edge and was punished accordingly in the last elections. I believe he has learned his lessons, never to be overly quiet when the house is burning, lest we are forever robbed off his intellectually imaginative and transformational mind as cleverly displayed in this video, as he dislodges the age-old dirigiste economic thinking that tariffs are a source of savings for a country. He argues pusuavely with figures that tariffs are growth shattering and underdeveloped economies are better building the macroeconomic bulwarks against which tariffs, however steep imposed by country bullies can withstand the impact- but crucially and ultimately that these economies, African economies should open up borders and trade amongst themselves.
Finally, he underscores the importance of trust in fostering peaceful exchange and diplomacy. What remains now is for my friend, Dr. Bawumia to earn the trust of the Ghanaian again, this time as his own man capable of turning deserts into verdant vegetation – the symbol of what it now takes to convince the Ghanaian
He can! May the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV today inspire my prayerful confidence. Good luck .- Franklin Cudjoe
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