How did wheat cause food inflation in Ghana – Isaac Adongo questions Dr Bawumia
Bolgatanga Central MP, Isaac Adongo has said he is not impressed with Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s speech on the state of Ghana’s economy.
According to Mr Adongo, the address was below par, failing to touch on pertinent issues resulting in Ghana’s current economic woes.
“If you listen to Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, very characteristic of him, he did not make any serious intellectual conversation… You will know for sure that this is someone struggling.”
“Bawumia did not speak about our net international reserves, which have become so depleted that investors now see the cedi as a worsening currency because there is no forex to back it,” Mr Adongo noted.
The lawmaker was also disappointed that the Vice President attributed a surge in food prices to the Russia-Ukraine war.
“This is a man who says that the main reason why food prices are up is that Ghana imports 30 per cent of its wheat requirements from Ukraine. When was the last time you ate any food prepared from wheat? Is wheat our staple food in Ghana?”
“In one breath you say your Planting for Food and Jobs is so buoyant and so successful that food is abundant, yet you claim 30 per cent wheat is enough to create food inflation in Ghana. Quite clearly, you can tell there is a problem,” he said.
Dr Bawumia delivered the address on Thursday, April 7, 2022.
Delivering his much-anticipated speech at an event jointly organized by the Danquah Institute and the NPP’s TESCON at Kasoa in the Central Region, the Vice President touched on issues bordering on Ghana’s rising debt stock, the cedi depreciation, inflation rate, and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Ghanaian economy.
He however failed to comment on the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) during his address.
The only instance the Vice President came close to mentioning the tax policy was when he was talking about taxes and levies abolished or reduced by the Akufo-Addo government within the last five years.
