–to sign bilateral cooperation agreement with local stakeholders, engage in high-level discussions
OVER the next three days, an 18-member delegation from the Republic of Ghana, led by that nation’s Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, will engage high-level Guyanese stakeholders, sign a framework bilateral cooperation agreement and further advance discussions on several areas of mutual interest, all part of efforts to enhance the relationship between the two nations.

The Vice-President was greeted by Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and other high-level Guyanese officials upon his arrival at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), on Saturday afternoon.

After stepping out of an American Airlines aircraft, Dr Bawumia made his way to a podium where he stood in the company of Prime Minister Phillips and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, to receive a 21-gun salute from officers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

His visit to Guyana follows a trip by Vice-President of Guyana Dr Bharrat Jagdeo to Ghana, for discussions on topics of mutual concern.

According to a press statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Bawumia and the 18-member delegation, which includes private sector representatives, will be in Guyana from December 4 to 7 to further intensify Guyana-Ghana bilateral relations.

More specifically, the entire delegation from Ghana will engage in high-level bilateral discussions at both governmental and private sector levels, including engagements with President Dr Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Phillips and Vice-President Jagdeo.

Vice-President Bawumia will also meet with members of the Ghanaian diaspora and pay a visit to the University of Guyana. Prior to departing Guyana, Dr. Bawumia is expected to co-host a press conference with Jagdeo.

Dr Bawumia was born on October 7, 1963, in Tamale to the late Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, former Chairman of the Council of State (1992-2000) and Hajia Mariama Bawumia.

He attended the Sakasaka Primary school in Tamale, and gained admission to Tamale Secondary School in 1975.

After graduating from Tamale Secondary School, Dr Bawumia proceeded to the United Kingdom where he obtained the Chartered Institute of Bankers Diploma (ACIB).

He then undertook undergraduate studies at Buckingham University (UK), obtaining a Degree (First-Class Honours) in Economics in 1987. He later obtained a Master’s Degree in Economics at Oxford University (UK) in 1988 and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1995 at the Simon Fraser University in Canada.

His areas of specialisation include Macroeconomics, International Economics, Development Economics and Monetary Policy.

From 1988 to 1990, Dr Bawumia worked as a lecturer in Monetary Economics, and International Finance at the Emile Woolf College of Accountancy in London, England. He also served as an intern at the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, USA.

Between 1996 and 2000, Dr Bawumia served as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University, Texas, USA, where he also received the Young Researcher Award in 1998.
As a result of Dr. Bawumia’s commitment to excellence in teaching, he made the list of “Who is Who Among America’s Teachers” in 1999. Dr. Bawumia returned to Ghana in 2000 to work as an economist at the Bank of Ghana.

He rose through the ranks from Senior Economist to Head of Department, and subsequently as Special Assistant to the Governor of the Bank. Former President of Ghana, J.A. Kufuor, who was still in office at the time, appointed Dr. Bawumia Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana in June 2006.

SKILLED POLICY-MAKER
At the Bank of Ghana, Dr Bawumia established himself as a skilled policy-maker with a reputation for being a doer, a hands-on technocrat, and a professional with a remarkable ability to successfully handle complex issues.
Dr Bawumia was named running mate to the New Patriotic Party flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the 2008 elections, when he was barely 45.

After the 2008 elections, which the NPP and its presidential ticket lost by the narrowest of margins, Dr Bawumia was engaged in several international assignments.

He served as a consultant to the UN Economic Commission of Africa between February and March 2009, during which period he prepared a paper on Africa’s position for the G20 London Summit.
Between April and October 2009, Dr Bawumia served as a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia Liu Centre for Global Studies and Fisheries Centre.

In October 2009, he was appointed a Fellow of the International Growth Centre (IGC), a research institute based jointly at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Oxford University that provides advice on economic growth to governments of developing countries, specifically serving as an IGC team member for Sierra Leone.

He also served as adviser to the Central Bank of Sierra Leone on the redesigning of the organisational structure of the bank and its monetary policy framework.

Between October 2009 and October 2010, he served as a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.

In January 2011, Dr Bawumia was tapped by the African Development Bank and appointed to the challenging position of Resident Representative of the African Development Bank for Zimbabwe, where he served with distinction.

Until recently, he served as a visiting professor of Economic Governance at the Central University in Ghana.

NPP Flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, again tapped the economist and banker as his running mate for the 2016 elections, having also chosen him for the 2012 elections, and the two worked together with the party to record the unprecedented feat of defeating an incumbent who had served just one term as President.

On January 7, 2017, Dr Bawumia was sworn in as Ghana’s seventh Vice-President under the fourth republic.

Dr Bawumia has gained significant public acclaim for his economic lectures and publications which have constantly revealed the true state of Ghana’s economy and foretold the likely consequences for the economy, most of which came to pass.

He has numerous publications to his credit, including “Monetary Policy and Financial Sector Reform in Africa, Ghana’s Experience,” which has been described as one of the most comprehensive and scholarly works ever done on the country’s monetary policy and economy generally.

He is married to Her Excellency, Hajia Samira Ramadan Bawumia, and they have four children. Vice-President Bawumia loves football, being an ardent supporter of Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premiership and RTU in Ghana, and is a keen sports enthusiast who follows a variety of sports passionately, including tennis and athletics.