Government has welcomed last week’s report of the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) which predicted victory for President Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2020 election.
It has, therefore, indicated that it will guard against the risks highlighted in the report in order not to compromise on Ghana’s collective progress.
Government reacting to the report yesterday, through the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, observed that “the Akufo-Addo administration reiterates its commitment to executing the change agenda, which, as assessed by some external organisations, including the Economic Intelligence Unit, would lead to a re-election of the administration in Election 2020”.
The Minister indicated that government would use the report to evaluate its policies and programmes to further improve upon the living standards of Ghanaians.
It would be recalled that EIU, in its latest report on Ghana, predicted that former President John Mahama is not a credible candidate as far as management of the Ghanaian economy is concerned.
The 25-page report adds that “Nana Akufo-Addo, the president, and his NPP will see the economic situation generally improve during the remainder of their terms of office”.
According to the report, “In the presidential election, Mr. Akufo-Addo will face a challenge from John Mahama, Ghana’s president from 2012 to early 2017, who was elected leader of the opposition NDC in February 2019.”
It stated that “the 2016, election was won by the NPP; the campaign was dominated by the faltering economy, which many Ghanaians still associate with Mr Mahama”.
It explained that, “Accordingly, the Economist Intelligence Unit believes that it will be difficult for the NDC under Mr. Mahama to portray itself as the better custodian of Ghana’s economy, especially as the country’s growth outlook is fairly strong.”
The report noted that if, however, the NDC can present a coherent opposition and hold the NPP to account on unfulfilled campaign promises, particularly on job creation and industrialisation, where progress has been generally slow and success patchy, the election could be closely contested.
According to the Economic Intelligence Unit’s report, with the positive outlook for the Ghanaian economy, incumbent Akufo-Addo would retain the presidency.
The report indicated that Mr. Mahama, who is leading the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) into the 2020 presidential election, would lose to President Akufo-Addo once again.
Commenting on the EIU report and that of the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, which also predicted victory for Nana Akufo-Addo, the Minister said “the Akufo-Addo administration views these report first as feedback, “which enables us to evaluate our progress of work in creating prosperity and equal opportunity for all as stated in our 2016 manifesto”.
He noted that government assures the good people of this country that it remains committed to fulfilling its campaign promises, notably rebuilding a strong economy, developing and executing strong flagship programs, transforming various aspects of national life.
Specifically, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah indicated that “government intends to maintain a strong economic foundation and outlook, ensure political stability and security is not compromised in the short term and in the run-up to 2020 elections.
Adding that government will ensure that more Ghanaians benefit increasingly from the national cake.
According to him, the report is a reflection of the situation on the ground and confirms what a good number of Ghanaians already see and feel.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah further stated that government will continue to study these and other reports with a view to continuing the good work and review policies where necessary.
