President John Mahama has dared the vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to come clear on the cost of the redenomination exercise undertaken by the Kufuor administration before tagging him as incompetent. 

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been critical of the Mahama-led regime criticising his government of mismanaging the economy.

President Mahama who has been touring the Greater Accra Region on his campaign tour of the Ablekuma North constituency in Accra has responded to his opponents in the NPP.

He said the 19 percent deficit the Kufour administration left behind was the highest in the history of the world, but thanks to his the deficit has come down to 5.3 percent.  

The president questioned the cost of the cedi redenomination undertaken by President Kufuor in 2007, with Dr Bawumia then as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

“Up till today, no Ghanaian knows the cost of the redenomination exercise and the same people come and say someone is incompetent...When you redenominated the cedi how much did it cost us? Simple things like these you cannot tell us and you have the nerve to come and talk about corruption. Look in the mirror and look at yourselves.

“Take the log out of your eye before you point at the mote in somebody’s eye," the President jabbed. 

However, the November 7, 2007 edition of the Daily Graphic reported the then Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Paul Acquah as saying that the total cost of the redomination was $66.2 million or GH¢62.188 million at the time.

He said the figure represented a saving of $28 million if compared with the $94.8 million spent in 2003 and 2006 to replace worn-out notes and coins and top up the existing currency in circulation.

But the president does not appear to be aware of the amount involved in the redenomination. During his campaign, he stressed that human as he is, he has his faults and that only God doesn’t make mistakes while emphasising that he is not able to do everything but what is humanly possible to do in his capacity he has done it.  

At old Fadama, the President touted his achievements saying he is disappointed that the opposition party that claims to have astute economists is struggling to appreciate the government's investments in social and infrastructure development. 

President Mahama recounted the unfulfilled promise of job creation by the NPP during Kufuor's era which got many lining up to write their needs but was never given any jobs which leave him wondering how the party would create the jobs it is promising now.