Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, running mate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), is predicting a massive retrenchment that will sweep through the country come 2017 after Government surreptitiously baits Ghanaians to get their mandate in 2016.

He said the government is indirectly telling Ghanaians to "vote for me before I fire you."

The policy, Dr Bawumia stated is one of the many grim conditionalities imposed by the Fund as a result of Ghana's decision to opt for a bailout.

"My understanding is that government wants the IMF agreement to delay the worker layoffs until after the 2016 election. I wonder why? I suppose the message is “vote for me before I fire you”.

He was delivering the 4^th Distinguished Speaker Series by the Central University College under the theme “The IMF Bailout: Will the Anchor Hold?"

Dr. Bawumia admonished Ghanaians to prepare themselves for the “painful adjustment” that will come with the IMF bailout. Regrettably, he asserted that most Ghanaians have no idea how difficult the adjustment to the bailout will be because “government continuous to paint a rosy picture”.

Already, Ghanaians under the current government, he said, are being “squeezed” by increases in petroleum products, utility prices and layoffs due to the power crisis, and wondered “how much more austerity can workers take?”

He stated that the three-year IMF bailout will result in minimum increase in wage as opposed to the envisaged increase in utility bills, which he predicts will be significant, pondering further “how understanding labour would be as the austerity measures bite”.

President John Mahama recently stated strongly that he has developed the “dead goat syndrome” and would therefore not kowtow to pressures from labour, going into the 2016 elections. This, according to Dr. Bawumia, is a clear sign that demand for high wages by workers would not be met if Government wants to consolidate its fiscal target.