I Didn’t Run From the Economy – Bawumia Explains Why He Talks About Digital Economy

Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, has responded to critics who say he is avoiding the economy. His answer is simple: he is not running away from the economy, he is practising the digital economy. In plain terms, he is saying that the modern economy is increasingly run through digital tools, and that is where he has focused his attention. He argued that people who accuse him miss the point that today’s economy is more and more driven by digitalisation.

The Vice President also weighed in on the GoldBod gold reserves programme. According to him, GoldBod has recorded losses amounting to $1.7 billion because it did not follow the approach he proposed, particularly on how gold should be accumulated. He explained that if his proposed approach had been followed, those losses would not have happened. He added, however, that once a decision is made to buy gold, losses can be incurred — a comment that suggests he accepts some risk comes with the programme.

He gave examples to back his digital economy argument. He cited the Ghana Card, saying it has helped the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) generate significant revenue. He also pointed to mobile money interoperability, noting that annual MoMo transactions were GHS 76 billion when it was introduced, but reached GHS 4.5 trillion last year. To the ordinary person, his message is that digital systems are not a side issue — they are now a big part of how money moves and how the country earns.

Dr Bawumia further claimed that he digitalised the operations of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). According to him, ECG was collecting about GHS 450 million a month before the digitalisation, but today it collects about GHS 2 billion monthly. He presented these figures as proof that digitalisation has a real impact on the economy and on public institutions, not just on paper.

For the ordinary reader, the message from Dr Bawumia is that his economic record should be judged by digital projects such as the Ghana Card, mobile money and ECG collections, and that he believes the gold reserves programme went wrong because his advice was not followed. Critics will still want to know how these claims square with the wider cost of living and the state of the economy.

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