“I Didn’t Blame Bawumia for Economic Woes…But Disagree With Form of Apology”—-Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum Clarifies

Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the former Minister for Education and Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe, has expressed his disagreement with the “wholesale apology” being offered by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 presidential candidate.

In an interview with this reporter on Tuesday, Dr. Adutwum suggested that instead of a blanket apology that implies the NPP performed poorly in government, Dr. Bawumia should have apologized for specific areas where the party fell short.

He argued that a general apology gives the “erroneous impression” that the NPP’s entire tenure was a failure, when in fact, the government achieved significant successes.

“In terms of education, including infrastructural development, policy initiatives, and investments, the NPP is second to none,” he stated.

“When Dr. Bawumia says we apologise for performing badly, he is conveying an erroneous impression.”, Dr Adutwum posited.

Setting the Record Straight:
Dr. Adutwum also took the opportunity to address a viral news card that falsely claimed he had accused Dr. Bawumia of mismanaging the Ghanaian economy between 2020 and 2024.

He clarified that he never made such a statement during his previous radio interview.

He pointed out that before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in late 2019 and early 2020, Ghana was performing well across most economic sectors.

He noted that the Nana Akufo-Addo government, from 2017, had worked hard to lower interest rates, stabilize the local currency, and reduce inflation.

According to him, these achievements prove that the government’s performance was far from “abysmal.”

Dr. Adutwum stressed that while Ghana, like other nations, suffered economically during the pandemic, the government’s primary focus was to protect lives.

He believes the government cannot be accused of a poor performance for prioritizing this goal.

Calling Out the Opposition:
The Bosomtwe MP also turned his attention to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), criticizing them for what he views as a failure to deliver on their campaign promises.

He highlighted that the NDC had promised to abolish the double-track senior high school system but was yet to do so.

He added that the NDC also pledged to cancel STEM education and abolish the Buffer Stock system within their first 120 days in office.

“If anyone should be apologizing, it should be the NDC, who criticized the Free SHS, STEM Education, and school feeding grant system introduced by the NPP government,” Dr. Adutwum stated.

“They promised to abolish these policies but have so far failed to do so, which indicates that the policies I initiated were forward-looking and visionary”, the Bosomtwe MP intimated.