By Celestine Avi & Ivan Amponsah
It is possible for Ghana to achieve what the advanced countries have achieved, It is possible to achieve Prosperity no matter the obstacle that confronts the country. This is the message Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is appealing to the delegates of the NPP as they head to the polls to elect him as the Presidential Candidate to lead the party into the 2024 general election.
Background:
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia was born on 7 October 1963 in Tamale, to Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia and Hajia Mariama Bawumia. Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia was a teacher, lawyer and politician, a Mamprugu Royal and Chief of the Kpariga Traditional Area at the time of his death in September, 2002. He was a founding member of the Northern Peoples’ Party alongside Chief S. D. Dombo, Chief Abeifa Karbo, Yakubu Tali, the Tolon Naa, and J. A. Braimah, Kabachewura.
The Northern Peoples Party, together with the National Liberation Movement and other opposition political parties, later merged into the United Party, the forebear of the current New Patriotic Party. Born into a large family, Mahamudu Bawumia is the twelfth of his father’s 18 children and the second of his mother’s five.
Education:
Mahamudu Bawumia attended the Sakasaka Primary school in Tamale and gained admission to Tamale Secondary School in 1975. After graduating from Tamale Secondary School, he went to the United Kingdom where he studied banking and obtained the Chartered Institute of Bankers Diploma (ACIB). He was President of the Ghana United Nations Students’ Association (GUNSA) in 1981.
He took a First Class Honours Degree in Economics at Buckingham University, UK in 1987. He holds Master’s Degree in Economics at Oxford University (UK) in 1988 and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1995 at the Simon Fraser University in Canada. His areas of specialization include Macroeconomics, International Economics, Development Economics and Monetary Policy. From 1988 to 1990, Dr. Bawumia worked as a lecturer in Monetary Economics, and International Finance at the Emile Woolf College of Accountancy in London, England. He also served as an intern at the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, USA. Between 1996 and 2000, Dr. Bawumia served as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Texas, USA, where he also received the Young Researcher Award in 1998.
As a result of Dr. Bawumia’s commitment to excellence in teaching, he made the list of “Who is Who Among America’s Teachers” in 1999. He returned to Ghana in 2000 to work as an economist at the Bank of Ghana. He rose through the ranks from Senior Economist to Head of Department, and subsequently as Special Assistant to the Governor of the Bank Dr. Paul Acquah. President J.A. Kufuor appointed him as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana in June 2006.
Political Career:
In 2008, the name Bawumia surfaced on the political scene again, this time not Mumuni Bawumia, but Mahmudu Bawumia, when he was picked by the Presidential Candidate of the NPP Nana Akufo-Addo to partner him in the 2008 General Elections. After the 2008 Elections, which the NPP and its Presidential ticket lost by the narrowest of margins, Dr. Bawumia was engaged on several assignments internationally. He served as a Consultant to the UN Economic Commission of Africa between February and March 2009 during which he prepared a Paper on Africa’s position for the G20 London Summit. From April to October 2009, Dr. Bawumia served as a Visiting Scholar at the University of British Columbia Liu Centre for Global Studies and Fisheries Centre. In October 2009, he was appointed as a Fellow of the International Growth Centre (IGC), a research institute based jointly at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Oxford University that provides advice on economic growth to governments of developing countries, specifically serving as an IGC Team Member for Sierra Leone.
He also served as an Advisor to the Central Bank of Sierra Leone on the redesigning of the organizational structure of the Bank and its monetary policy framework. Between October 2009 and October 2010, he also served as a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. In January 2011, Dr. Bawumia was tapped by the African Development Bank and appointed to the position of Resident Representative of the African Development Bank for Zimbabwe. Dr. Bawumia was selected to partner Nana Akufo-Addo again for the 2012 General Elections. After the Electoral Commission declared President John Mahama the winner of the elections, the NPP went to the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the elections. Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia was the star witness for the petitioners, who were the Presidential Candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, party chairman Jake Obetsebi Lamprey and the running Mate Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia. Though the petitioners lost the petition, Dr. Mahmudu Bawumia, made a lasting impression on Ghanaians with quotes such as “You and I were not There” and “On the face of the Pink Sheet”.
Political watchers are of the view that the petition and the performance of the star witness shaped Ghana’s electoral process. NPP Flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo again tapped the economist and banker as his running mate for the 2016 elections. And this time round the pair won the elections. Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, became Vice President in 2017 after the NPP recorded a resounding victory in the 2027 General Elections. A position many political analysts believe Dr Bawumia has redefined its role and function. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, in his nearly 7-years as Vice President, has redefined the role of Vice President of Ghana, through his impactful leadership.
One widely known role assigned Dr. Bawumia, is the Economic Management Team, which he was asked to chair. However, the EMT, on its own, has no authority to take decisions without recourse to Cabinet. At best the EMT can only make recommendations to cabinet, and whether the recommendations are accepted or not, it is the end of work by the EMT, and this has the potential of rendering the head of the EMT, and the EMT itself, completely ineffective. Notwithstanding these limitations, Dr. Bawumia, has had an outstanding impact through the transformational policies he has championed as Vice President, by going beyond the limited EMT role. When mention is made of Dr. Bawumia’s remarkable impact as Vice President, what easily comes to mind is his excellent job with the country’s digital transformation. But beyond this, are other transformational policies in healthcare, education and infrastructure projects, he has championed.
Some of the transformational policies, services and projects Dr. Bawumia has championed includes, Zipline Drones for delivery of medical supplies. The sites are Omenako, Mpanya, Vobsi, Sefwi Wiawso, Anum, and Kete Krachi. This has made Ghana the country with the largest medical drone delivery service in the world. Mobile Money Interoperability between bank accounts and mobile wallets – first in Africa. This has made Ghana rank first in Africa in terms of access to financial inclusion. Zongo Development Fund – a development vehicle for inclusive Zongo development. Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) – a stop-gap measure to respond to increasing graduate unemployment, and also to offer young graduates work experience.
One Constituency One Ambulance, the policy which provided all 275 constituencies with brand new ambulances. Digitization of the National Identity Card (Ghanacard), which is building a strong national identity system. Universal QR Code payment system- Ghana is the first and only country in Africa to implement this. GhanaPay mobile wallet by banks- Ghana is the first country in the world to implement this. National Digital Property – Addressing System -First in Africa. Paperless Ports, which has increased efficiency and revenue mobilisation.
The Ghanacard as a travel document to travel to Ghana. No Guarantor student loans. Online Passport Application. National E-Pharmacy Platform. Ghana is the first country in Africa to implement a national scale digital e-pharmacy platform. E-Ticketing at Football Stadia. Ghana.Gov Platform for the delivery of Government services. Bank of Ghana Gold Purchase Program exchange of Gold for oil imports program – a transformational policy which will impact on prices of oil products, foreign exchange reserves and the depreciation of the exchange rate. Dr. Bawumia, says with a possible mindset, the NPP can break the third term in the government.
Dr. Bawumia, says his vision for Ghana is ”a country that is prosperous, dignified and safe”.
He is of the view that ”Ghana can become a leader in digital innovation and achieve the economic growth and development that the country deserves”.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is appealing to the delegates of NPP to give him the mandate to lead the party into victory in the 2024 general election.