Member of Parliament for Buem Constituency in the Oti Region, Kofi Adams, recently expressed his dismay at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia-led government’s failure to take responsibility for the economic mess the country finds itself in.
“The excuses given by the government such as COVID and Russia-Ukraine war are not enough. We cannot continue to blame external factors for the economic woes we find ourselves in. It is time for the government to take responsibility for its reckless handling of the economy and work towards solving the issues”, he said, speaking on Adom TV’s morning show, Badwam, hosted by Omanhene Kwabena Asante on Monday 13th March 2023.
He urged the government and its officials to swallow their pride, stop their lies, accept that they have failed, and stop blaming external factors for their poor performance over the past five years, as other countries have been able to successfully navigate the economic challenges brought about by such economic factors.
Hon. Adam’s comments follow John Dramani Mahama’s statement regarding the deteriorating economic state of the nation due to the mismanagement of the economy by the Akufo-Addo—Bawumia-led government.
Ghana’s economy has been in a state of flux for some time now, and the country has had to resort to borrowing to fund its expenditure. The latest figures, according to the Bank of Ghana’s January 2023 economic and financial data summary, show that the country’s total public debt has reached a staggering GH₵ 575.7 billion, with the public debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio standing at 93.5 percent.
The high debt has had a detrimental impact on Ghana’s economy, with the cedi depreciating by an alarming 49.77 percent against the US dollar since the beginning of 2021, according to Professor Steve Hanke of John Hopkins University’s Applied Economics department. Furthermore, the Ghana Statistical Service has reported an inflation rate of 53.6 percent as of January 2023, making the cost of living in the country increasingly expensive.
The Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS7) conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service in 2020 reported that the poverty rate in Ghana had risen from 21.5% in 2017 to 23.4% in 2020, representing a total of 7 million people living in poverty. Furthermore, the unemployment rate increased from 4.9% to 8.2%, leaving an estimated 1.3 million people without jobs in 2023. The youth unemployment rate had the most substantial increase, from 26.9% to 39.1%, resulting in 2.3 million young people without employment in Ghana.
In light of this, Hon. Kofi Adams has called on the government to take responsibility for the current economic state of the country and to do something about it.
He said he believes that the government must take bold and decisive action including a reduction in the size of government and a fight against corruption to address the economic issues facing the country and to restore economic stability and prosperity.
He further urged the government to focus on job creation and to implement policies that will help to reduce poverty and inequality in the country.
He believes that only through responsible governance can the country move out of its current economic crisis and into a brighter future.
He urged all to speak out against the maladministration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.