Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo has hit hard at the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) over what he says is the government’s no show in revamping the country’s receding economy since assuming office in 2017.
For him, the plights of entrepreneurs coupled with the chronic unemployment in the country are a result of the deliberate efforts by the government to create a hostile business environment, especially for the private sector.
In a response to a question posed to him on the Point of View on Citi TV on what the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by its flagbearer, John Mahama intends to do differently to revive the ailing economy should they come back to power, Mr. Adongo who is also a member of the Finance Committee in Parliament intimated that the party intends to return to the ‘basics’ and introduce ‘common sense’ in managing the economy because the NPP has failed Ghanaians.
“We will go back to the basics. The basics are to deepen the financial sector to make more credits availble to the business community. That will begin to create more jobs because this syndrome of unemployment we see is because, for three solid years, SMEs have not received any funding. The private sector has been starved of funding and they are unable to produce. Secondly, We will introduce basic common sense. This common sense is to ensure that, we improve our fiscal management by generating more revenue and not what they [NPP] are doing today. All the time, it’s the same value they measure which doesn’t achieve anything.”
Although political opponents have accused the government of poor economic management leading to economic hardship, the NPP administration continues to claim that it has managed the economy better in the last three years than its predecessor.
President Nana Akufo-Addo has said the drop in inflation, predictions by the World Bank and the IMF that Ghana’s economy will be one of the fastest to grow in Africa next year indicates that government is on the right track.
He says that the achievement of his administration is unprecedented but admits that a lot more needs to be done.
Mahama mocks Nana Addo over ‘Ghanaians sitting on money yet hungry’ comment
Former President, John Dramani Mahama had said the economic hardship in Ghana has become unbearable although President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had prior to the 2016 general elections told Ghanaians that there was enough money in the country to improve the economy.
Mr. Mahama argued that President Nana Akufo-Addo is yet to fulfil his promise of making life better for Ghanaians adding that life has become unbearable for the ordinary citizen.
“You are selling oysters, shrimps and so many other things. Nobody needs to come and tell you that the economy is not doing well. Everybody selling something today can see that they making less sales than they used to do in the past and that is because times are hard. People came and told us that the money is there, that we were sitting on money but yet hungry. Today the Finance Minister tells us that everyone knows that Ghana is broke. The NPP president in 2016 told us we are sitting on money but still hungry, so why is the Finance Minister saying Ghana is broke?”
‘Ghanaians conscious of steady progress under NPP’ – Nana Addo
However, President Nana Akufo-Addo is optimistic Ghanaians have noticed what he calls the “steady progress” under the current government.
“I am aware that the naysayers are trumpeting, in as loud voices as they can muster, their denial of what is happening in front of their very eyes, but I know the Ghanaian people, in their majority, are conscious of the steady progress that is being made despite the difficult circumstances which attended our assumption of office, and, next year, they will have the opportunity so to pronounce.”
