The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) have stated that the supplementary budget presented by Finance Minister Seth Terpker on Monday to parliament was based on propaganda, half-truths and complete lies, which would not save the Mahama administration from losing the December general election.
According to the minority, a buoyant economy with a growth rate of 9 percent left by the previous NPP administration in 2008 has been completely destroyed by the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), with the economy now in tatters.
“There is an evidence-based failure of the Mahama administration and its failed policies which have resulted in a record high unemployment at 48 percent, sharp decline in economic growth – now at 3.6 percent – collapse of industry and agriculture, fiscal indiscipline, unprecedented corruption, massive debt accumulation, high cost of living, high electricity and water tariffs, five years of dumsor, high taxes, high interest rate, massive depreciation of the cedi, loss of business confidence, collapse of social services such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), free maternal care, school feeding and capitation grant, cancellation of teacher and nursing training allowances,” the minority spokesperson on Finance, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, who led the press conference, told journalists.
He said Ghanaians were promised ‘better Ghana’ but at the end of the day the government has delivered the worst economic performance in the history of the country in its eight-year rule.
“The size of Ghana’s economy increased from $5.1 billion to $25 billion under the NPP government – which was 500 percent increase even in the face of a serious global and economic crisis in 2007 and 2008, with oil prices hitting a record high of $147 per barrel in 2008.
“Ghana was transformed from a low HIPC economy to a lower middle income economy without oil resources under the NPP,” he said, stressing that the NDC had destroyed everything and was only able to grow the economy by just 52 percent from $28.5 billion in 2008 to $39.4 billion in 2016 – even with huge oil resources available.
Dr Akoto Osei told the media that even though the NDC government had borrowed excessively and increased the nation’s debt from GH¢9.5 billion since independence to a whopping GH¢105 billion within eight years, there is little to show for it.
He said figures given by the minister in the supplementary budget on Ghana’s debt portfolio with reference to public debt to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could not be the truth.
He noted that the much-touted massive infrastructure development by the government with increased expenditure on infrastructure is a fallacy and that in reality, the country is witnessing decline in expenditure on infrastructure.
“The numbers indicate that relative to the GDP, this government is investing half what the NPP government invested in infrastructure,” he said.
On the energy sector, the spokesperson said President Mahama had been a monumental failure.
Dr Akoto Osei noted that debt is swallowing the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), with VRA’s debt now standing at $1.5 billion, which he said, is threatening to collapse the banking sector.
“While the president is engaged in questionable power procurements, our dedicated state-owned power infrastructure from which revenue is generated by utilities is collapsing, Akosombo has constantly been over-drafted, thermal plants are frequently breaking down and all our plants operate below capacity.” he pointed out.
“President Mahama has failed to end dumsor. President Mahama cannot buy fuel for electricity generation; he cannot address the generation shortfall; he cannot address inefficiencies in electricity distribution; he cannot fix dumsor and we as Ghanaians must change course and vote him out,” the minority declared.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr