Former Ambassador to India, Sam Pee Yalley, has criticised Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, asserting that he has not lived up to the expectations of being the economist Ghanaians thought he was.

According to Ambassador Yalley, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) claim of “we have the men” has proven to be false.

Speaking on the Class Morning Show on Class91.3FM on Thursday, 27 June 2024, Ambassador Yalley questioned the competence of the NPP’s economic management team, noting that members are distancing themselves from it. He remarked, “NPP used to pride themselves with ‘we have the men’ but history has proven that concept is not true.”

Ambassador Yalley criticised Dr. Bawumia for not addressing his past statements on the economy. He explained that economics has various branches, such as development, agricultural, micro, and fiscal economics.

He argued that Dr. Bawumia, introduced as an economic expert by President Akufo-Addo, has not studied fiscal and monetary economics in depth, stating, “Bawumia has never sat in any classroom reading fiscal and monetary economics.”

He further noted that Dr. Bawumia's background is in development economics, which misled Ghanaians into believing he was a fiscal and monetary economist.

Ambassador Yalley suggested that had Dr. Bawumia been transparent about his expertise from the beginning, the public’s expectations might have been different.

Ambassador Yalley also criticised President Akufo-Addo for bypassing traditional NPP principles to make Dr. Bawumia his running mate, highlighting that Dr Bawumia’s team’s role in the cedi redenomination under President Kufuor was a key factor in his acceptance despite not being a long-time NPP member.

Referring to Dr. Bawumia’s doctoral thesis on Ghana’s structural adjustment policy, Ambassador Yalley stressed that it focused on the impact of economic policy rather than fiscal and monetary policy, further proving that he is not the economist needed to solve the country’s economic challenges.

Ambassador Yalley urged Ghanaians to reconsider whether Dr. Bawumia was indeed the right person for the job.