Ralph Poku-Adusei
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bekwai, Ralph Poku-Adusei, has described President John Mahama as being out of touch with the economic hardships facing Ghanaians despite the government’s positive macroeconomic claims.
Speaking in reaction to the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered last Friday in Parliament, the MP questioned both the length and substance of the address, arguing that it amounted more to a public lecture than an honest account of performance.
He said, “The government has been in office for just one year, and it has taken two and a half hours to deliver a State of the Nation Address. What does that tell you? It tells me that you are giving a public lecture because there is virtually nothing concrete that you have done.”
The MP indicated that government’s emphasis on fiscal discipline and improving macroeconomic indicators, including declining inflation and relative currency stability, may appear positive on paper but may not translate directly into tangible relief for struggling citizens.
“You talk about fiscal discipline. You talk about inflation coming down. You talk about the cedi appreciating against the dollar. But these are theories,” he stated. “Does that put food on the table of cocoa farmers who have not been paid? Does it put a roof over the head of the common Ghanaian?” he asked rhetorically.
According to him, the “true state of the nation” is one marked by widespread hardship and economic stagnation, which he attributed to government’s reluctance to spend.
Mr. Poku-Adusei further criticised the administration over alleged delays in payments to cocoa farmers and what he described as unjustified job losses among the youth, noting that fiscal discipline should not come at the expense of livelihoods.
While conceding that the government has outlined several policy intentions and manifesto promises, the Bekwai MP maintained that there is little evidence so far to point at their successful implementation.
“You cannot score marks for fiscal discipline when ordinary Ghanaians are suffering. When cocoa farmers are not being paid, when young people are being laid off, and when many families do not have money to buy food.
“What we heard was largely a repetition of manifesto promises, we will pray for the government to succeed, but as it stands now, the true state of the nation is that the government has not been able to execute any of its major policy promises successfully,” he observed.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah