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THE TRUE BLACK STARS
STORY: ONLY COMPETENCE DELIVERS RESULTS –
BAWUMIA
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice Presidential
candidate to Nana Akufo-Addo has said that
the most important factor that determines
the performance of any team is competence
and not hope using the Black Stars and other
football teams to illustrate his point.
Speaking to students of the Wa Campus of the
University of Development Studies on
Saturday, Dr. Bawumia noted that only
competent players can deliver results for a
team and that a mediocre team will
inevitably produce mediocre results.
“Our Black Stars can be used as a benchmark
for us to look up to because we have a Black
Stars team made up of competent players in
their own right. Competent players deliver
results. A mediocre team will give you only
mediocre results no matter the hope you have
in them.
“Teams don’t win just on the basis of hope.
If a team has a coach who is not good and
players who are not good, disciplined and
committed, then of course everyone would be
justified to be cynical about the chances of
that team,” he said.
Continuing, Dr. Bawumia explained that it is
for this reason why there are constant
changes in the Black Stars and all over the
footballing world at the playing and
technical levels.
“Teams win because they work at it. A team
performs when it has a competent coach or
management whose tactics work and good,
disciplined and committed players. Players
who are not doing well are dropped for
better players who fit the needed
requirements. New coaches are appointed to
replace coaches who are not getting results.
These are the critical factors to ensuring
performance for any team including the Black
Stars,” he noted.
Posing a series of questions to the
audience, who answered loudly in the
negative, Dr. Bawumia explained that same
way players and coaches are dropped,
governments which miss golden opportunities
to transform their economies and improve on
the living conditions of the people, should
be shown the exit to pave way for a
competent administration to deliver the
needed results.
“If you choose a player who cannot perform,
will you select them again?
“If you give a player the chance to take a
penalty and they turn to kick the ball in
the opposite direction (and turn around to
tell you it is a smart penalty kick), will
you field them again?
“If you catch your goalkeeper or captain
taking bribes to sell a match, will you
field that goalkeeper or player?
“So same way players and coaches are dropped
when they fail to perform, as a government
when you waste a golden opportunity you
should be shown the door. Three years after
Ghana started exporting oil, we have arrived
cup in hand at the door step of the IMF
begging for a bailout! This is
unforgivable!” he added.
Dr. Bawumia who focused on the current
troubled state of the Ghanaian economy
pointed out that despite the fact that the
current government had accrued much more
resources than any government in our
history, the economy was now virtually broke
because of mismanagement and the
unprecedented corruption.
Touching on the unprecedented borrowing
witnessed under this government, Dr. Bawumia
noted that as a result of the frightening
accumulation of debt under the NDC, the huge
interest payments Ghana now has to cough up,
has meant that government now has very
little to spend on the critical sectors of
the economy.
“The interest payments on this debt in 2014
alone is four times Ghana’s oil revenue in
2014! In 2015, Interest payments alone on
the debt would amount to GHC9.5 billion
(compared to a total debt stock of
GHC9.5billion in 2008). How can this be
described as smart borrowing?
“The increase in interest payments by 4.3%
of GDP between 2008 and 2015 (i.e. from 2.8%
in 2008 to 7.1% in 2015) has left the
government with very little money to spend
on other critical areas,” he said.
The well attended event was held under the
auspices of the Economics Students
Association of the University of Development
Studies.
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