Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s strategy to address the high cost of living has been backed by Works and Housing Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who claims that the Vice President has defined his intentions in detail in his manifesto, targeting the major sectors that contribute to the problem.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah emphasized that Dr. Bawumia’s strategy goes beyond rhetoric in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday. The strategy focuses on four crucial areas: energy, rent, transportation, and food. He maintained that the Vice President’s recommendations are both concrete and doable.
“Dr Bawumia made it clear in his manifesto how he intends to reduce the cost of living across the board,” Oppong Nkrumah said, and added, “He detailed his plans for each of the key areas that impact living cost in Ghana.”
Regarding energy, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah emphasized that Dr. Bawumia’s proposal to install 2,000 megawatts of solar power would be a big step toward bringing down energy costs. He said, “This is not just a promise; it’s a practical step towards lessening Ghanaians’ burden of energy expenses.”
The minister brought up Dr. Bawumia’s suggestion to switch to high-capacity electric vehicles in order to reduce transportation costs. “He has discussed switching to electric cars in an effort to reduce the costs associated with using public transportation, including fuel and replacement parts. The strategy is comprehensive since it eliminates fuel costs and uses flat-rate import duties to limit the price of spare components, he said.
According to Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, Dr. Bawumia made it plain that he would need to add roughly 2000 megawatts of dedicated solar power to reduce the present cost of energy.
Speaking briefly about food inflation, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah pointed out that Dr. Bawumia has taken a comprehensive strategy to keeping food costs under control. Regarding rent, he brought up Dr. Bawumia’s dedication to expanding housing availability, which should eventually result in lower rental prices.
“I heard Franklin talk about social housing, and Dr. Bawumia has indeed addressed this by outlining a program to boost access to housing, aiming to reduce overall rent costs,” he said.
The minister also touched on the subject of currency stability, which is a major worry for a lot of people in Ghana. He detailed the ways in which Dr. Bawumia intends to extend the gold purchase program, which presently backs the gold-for-oil initiative, in order to meet other needs for foreign cash.
“You have multinationals in this company that are sometimes looking for 100,000,200 million, to evacuate out of a country. And now, as he explained, the move is to now get them to give us the cedi so that we can go through the gold purchase program to ensure that they get dollars on the other side without putting pressure on the limited Forex on the market, and that’s a big, bold move to curb the demand for Forex on the Ghanaian market. So I think he’s been specific.” he said
Responding to concerns expressed by Imani Africa’s founding president, Franklin Cudjoe, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah admitted that some of these concepts had been proposed previously but stressed that the execution now makes a difference. When Dr. Bawumia discusses a “Buy Ghana First” program, for example, he is not merely restating a well-worn notion. This time, there will be legal support for it. It differs from previous ideas in that it is committed to enforcing the policy through the legal system, he claimed.
In order to guarantee that Ghanaian goods are given preference in public procurement, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah also discussed Dr. Bawumia’s intentions to alter the Public Procurement Act and the Local Content Bill. “This is about building a sustainable framework that supports local businesses and strengthens the economy; it’s about more than just cutting costs,” he stated.