Ernest Owusu-Bempah, Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has stated that the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) lacks solutions to the current economic challenges caused by external factors.
He implied that the economy was stalled during the previous John Mahama administration, despite the absence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war.
The NDC has been critical of the Akufo-Addo administration for what they see as economic mismanagement.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has repeatedly accused the government of squandering public funds. He demanded the resignation of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, claiming that the Minister had failed.
However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, September 6, Ernest Owusu-Bempah stated that “to all intents and purposes prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Akufo-Addo administration managed to move Ghana’s economic growth from a disappointing 3.4% under Mahama to around 8%.”
Even with the effects of Covid-19 and the Ukraine/Russia shockwaves, fiscal policy achievements have been made.
“Indeed, despite all of the challenges faced by the NPP government, such as rising global fuel prices and the exchange rate between the dollar and the cedi, as well as the global economic effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with its attendant effects on the country and the people, the NPP government has managed to achieve a 5% GDP.”
“While it is true that much of the current happenings in the economy naturally reflect recent global events, the extent to which our economy itself is affected is a direct result of the NDC’s misgovernance over the last eight years,” he added.
“If I were a politician, let alone one who voted for Mahama in the last election, I’d hide under a rock right now.”
The new IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, Stéphane Roudet, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Finance.
Mr Roudet is in the country following his appointment as the new IMF Mission Chief for Ghana, effective September 1, 2022. pic.twitter.com/L4CqOCwW4H
— Ministry of Finance, Ghana (@MoF_Ghana) September 6, 2022
After listening to a dozen NDC commentators on Ghana’s current economic challenges and their feeble attempt to milk the situation and paint a bleak picture, we’re reminded that the NDC appears to be living in a parallel universe where roses still grow around the porch.
It is common knowledge that a healthy democracy requires opposing viewpoints to be represented in order for policies to be proposed and debated. We in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are all for having an adult conversation about the economy, but the NDC’s “shrink-the-state” ghouls really piss us off with their deception.
The problem is that these NDC members always claim to have all the answers to our economic woes, despite the fact that under Mahama, the economy plunged into a period of stagflation and recession, dealing the country a double blow, with both consumer and retail price indexes peaking close to 17.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016.
That was the terrifying situation we were in during the Mahama administration. Nonetheless, the NDC town criers are in their element today, peddling the narrative that economic mismanagement is to blame for the current situation.
The question here is whether these NDC elements are responding to the global economic situation.
Never in our lifetime has any major political party had a worse tenure in power than the Mahama regime. Nobody comes even close. But, based on their assertion and narrative, we conclude that the NDC has its own unique underhanded methods of imposing the “will of the people” on the rest of the silent majority.
The truth is that Ghana’s economic growth is subject to significant fluctuations: In the last ten years, the figures have ranged from 3.7 (2016) to 14 per cent (2011). Ghana’s economy grew by 8.5 per cent in 2017 under President Akufo-Addo.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted 6.3 per cent growth from 2018 to 2020, but we exceeded that by more than 8%. That is referred to as prudent economic management.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Akufo-Addo administration managed to lift Ghana’s economic growth from a disappointing 3.4% under Mahama to around 8%.
Even with the effects of Covid-19 and the Ukraine/Russia shockwaves, fiscal policy achievements have been made.
Read als0: Mahama denies receiving GH¢14m ex gratia in 2013
Indeed, despite all of the challenges that the NPP government has faced, including rising global fuel prices and the exchange rate between the dollar and the cedi, as well as the global economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its attendant effects on the country and its people, the NPP government has managed to achieve a 5% GDP.
On the other hand, even though there was no Covid-19 pandemic or Russian-Ukraine war during the previous Mahama administration, the economy was run aground.
While much of what is going on in the economy is a natural reflection of recent global events, the extent to which our economy is affected is a direct result of the NDC’s mismanagement over the last eight years.
If I were a politician, let alone one who voted for Mahama in the last election, I’d want to hide under a rock right now.
What we have here, with the NDC and the rest, are frogs in a box. Which is the bizarre sight you can see with the naked eye.
The total denial of objective truth, as practised by many NDC members, serves to take the political discourse from any serious consideration. The contempt for actual reality and the need to address it becomes the topic of discussion.
Whether it’s Mahama complaining about economic mismanagement or Ato Forson claiming that the post-pandemic political-economic realities and the Ukraine/Russia war denial have nothing to do with our economic woes, a leader and his supporters show contempt for addressing the needs of the time.
We haven’t forgotten how the Mahama administration willfully misapplied a $175 million loan facility secured in 2012 to fund seven district hospitals.
We must also remember the over GH200 million SADA funds invested in trees that were burned down while guinea fowls mysteriously flew to nearby Burkina Faso.
It defies my imagination how these NDC zealots can lump Akufo-Addo and Mahama together.
We’re talking about the Akufo-Addo administration, which has wisely implemented a slew of far-reaching political reforms and policies such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One District One Factory, Free SHS, and massive infrastructure investment, among others.
Even kindergarteners can see that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) manages the economy better than the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The NDC cannot be better economic managers. Since 1992, data from the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Statistical Service, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank show that the various NPP administrations have done better in dealing with recessions and demonstrating more consistent economic performance.
The NDC, on the other hand, has always been the party that presided over a shrinking economy.
Propagandists for the NDC should hang their heads in shame. The NDC of Mahama cannot do any better. We know what Mahama is made of. We know what he did to the economy from 2012 to 2016.
Enough has been said.
Bonsu, Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah (Deputy Director of Communications, NPP)
Source: 3news
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