The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is demanding further and better particulars from the Catholic Bishops Conference for criticising the government’s management of the public purse.
Yaw Buaben Asamoa said the comments of the Conference lack clarity.
In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, he said the Conference’s observations would have been considered, but they lack focus.
“Where are the specifics on that? Some level of clarity at that level is important. It is not about enabling the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to come in and spout,” he said.
The Catholic Bishops Conference, at a plenary assembly of the Association in Wa on Monday, alleged that the government had lost touch with Ghanaians and had defaulted on its promise of protecting the public purse.
The clerics also questioned what it described as a lack of empathy from government towards Ghanaians.
But in a rebuttal, Mr Asamoa felt it was unfair to link economic difficulties with the protection of the public purse.
In his view, the Akufo-Addo administration is “widening the social net, and we believe we are sending the economy in the right direction.”
He also attributed the recent struggles to the Covid-19 outbreak.
“The impact of Covid-19 that we are still riding has affected cost of living and prices, and many people worldwide have lost their jobs,” he added.
But amidst these, Mr Asamoa stressed that government has shown “compassion at its highest” with its social interventions to cushion Ghanaians.
On his part, the opposition NDC’s Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, said the criticism from the Catholic Bishops Conference was further evidence of President Akufo-Addo’s failings.
“For us in the NDC, this corroborates what we have been saying all along,” Mr Gyamfi said.
“We are happy that neutral respected voices like the Catholic Bishops Conference are now coming out to speak up about some of these issues,” he added.