Senior Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Kofi Bentil, declares that if Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is elected to lead the Akufo-Addo-led government, he will be the first to criticize the vice president.
He claims that the current administration, including the appointees of the government, is the biggest burden facing the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2024.
The outspoken attorney stated on JoyNews’ Newsfile that the Vice President will need to establish a new government that is wholly separate from the existing one.
“This government is incredibly corrupt. This government has been more corrupt than Mahama’s, according to the Corruption Perception Index, which has been disappointing and awful, but that is the reason this government is leaving office.”
“I would have voted them out if it had been a vote for their second term, but according to our constitution, this government and all of its members are going to dissolve, and Vice President Bawumia’s biggest burden is this government.” He is a part of this government and must pay for its transgressions.”
Nevertheless, this is not President Akufo-Addo’s government, and one of my wishes—which I have managed to convey to Vice President Bawumia—is that he not include important members of this government on his team. “I’ll chastise him if he does that,” he declared.
This comes after Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the NPP’s vice president and 2024 flagbearer, declared that he would rule as his “own man” if given the chance to do so in the general elections of 2024.
In the event that he is elected, Dr. Bawumia has already declared his intention to eliminate the E-levy, emissions tax, electricity VAT, betting tax, and to cut the number of ministers to fifty.
A portion of the public has criticized the plan, mainly the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the majority of social media users have expressed skepticism.
Speaking briefly about this, Mr. Bentil maintains that there have been multiple occasions in which the Vice President has voiced opposition to certain government policies being carried out.
“I believe you can understand exactly where this person is heading if you look at his previous words as well as his actions and subsequent utterances. Let me use e-levy as an example. It is evident that he was opposed to it based on his prior statements and the decision made by his boss to “go this way.”
“The Finance Minister received instructions, and when people question why he chose not to step down, remember that you have no authority to announce your resignation when someone else has the authority to make the decision and you do not. You completed your task. However, he persisted in advocating for the GH₵100 exemption. That’s the driver-mate thing, which seems to be lost on people.
The final decision is that we will implement an e-levy, which goes against his express objections. However, he then says, “Okay, you’re going to implement it; can you exempt GH₵100? He battles for it and succeeds. That’s what being a mate gets you, and that’s what he meant when he said that.
“You have an impact on the decision, but you don’t make it. Even though they had the option to reject it, he at least received it. You cannot be held responsible for advice or ideas you offer that are ignored. The person in charge needs to take responsibility for it.
