Mr John Mahama, as president of Ghana, ruined the economy to the extent that his government could not even buy chalk for basic schools, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has said.

Speaking to Nimdee FM in Sunyani on Thursday, 24 September 2020, as part of his tour of the Bono Region, Dr Bawumia said in contrast to the Mahama administration which was replete with economic hardships, the Akufo-Addo government has been able to change things for the better and still doing more.

Dr Bawumia said: “Mr Mahama gave Ghana five years of dumsor.

“He messed up Ghana’s economy badly.

“His government couldn’t pay for a lot of things”, Dr Bawumia said.

In his view, “Dumsor was brought about as a result of the mismanagement of the economy by Mr Mahama”.

“While in opposition, we said that dumsor was a financial problem rather than a technical one”, the Vice President recalled.

Again, he noted that the Mahama government “couldn’t pay just GHS70 million as allowance for teacher trainees and, so, had to cancel it”.

“They also cancelled nurse trainee allowance because they couldn’t pay”, he added.

Further, Dr Bawumia said: “Every year, there was an average 45 per cent increase in electricity tariffs under the Mahama administration”.

Taxes, the Vice President note, also kept rising.

Additionally, he recalled that teachers who had worked for three or four years were paid just three months of their arrears.

Dr Bawumia said the situation was so bad to the extent that even the provision of chalk for basic schools was a problem for the Mahama government.

In the financial sector, Dr Bawumia said 82 microfinance companies, including DKM, went bust under the Mahama government because they could not pay depositors.

“While in opposition, I warned that there was a looming banking crisis”, the Vice President said.

“Now, since 2017, we have changed things for the better”, he said.

“I’m not saying we have achieved 100 per cent, but, at least, a lot of things have changed”, the Vice President asserted.

“Dumsor is no more. Teacher and nurse trainee allowances are being paid.

“Arabic teachers’ allowance is being paid.

“Debts owed the National Health Insurance Scheme have been cleared.

“Electricity tariffs have been reduced.

“We are spending GHS2.2 billion every year on free senior high school education which has enabled 1.2 million students to gain access to second-cycle education even though Mr Mahama said if he had GHS2.2 billion he will never spend it on free SHS”, Dr Bawumia said.