Former President John Dramani Mahama has attacked the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) on the poor management of the Ghanaian economy, in what he described as “total collapse of the economy”.
According to the former President, President Nana Akufo-Addo and his head of the economic management team has no credible plan to salvage Ghana out of the current economy crisis.
He has therefore asked government to “Swallow your pride; consult stakeholders to revive economy.”
The former President stressed in a Facebook post that “President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Head of the Economic Management Team, rather appallingly, remain nonchalant in the face of this serious crisis and have limited their response to the imposition of very harsh and regressive tax measures, one of which is the E-Levy, which has been roundly rejected by the people of Ghana.”
He said the government had also “resorted to unhelpful political posturing over suggestions on how to stem the downward spiral, ensure discipline, and help the economy recover.”
Mr. Mahama remarks follow report by Moody’s which downgraded Ghana’s credit rating.
Moody’s downgraded Ghana’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B3, and changed the outlook from negative to stable.
According to Moody’s, the new rating reflects the woes of Ghana in fixing its liquidity and debt challenges.
However, the government through the Ministry of Finance has rejected the Moody’s rating by describing it as confusing.
The government has declared intentions of revitalizing the economy through the introduction of the electronic transfer levy.
But Mr. Mahama thinks otherwise saying that the e-levy is not a reliable means of generating revenue.
“Like one drowning and yet clutching at a mere straw to stay afloat, this government has banked all its hopes on the E-Levy, which, given the gravity and depth of the problems that have beset our economy, is neither adequate nor viable as a sustainable response to the crisis.”
“It is painfully obvious that beyond the ill-conceived E- Levy, the Akufo-Addo administration has no viable or credible plan of action to get us out of the current economic doldrums into which they have plunged us; meanwhile, there can be collective buy-ins from the Ghanaian people, development partners and the investor community that is being ignored.”
The former president therefore called on the government to devise urgent measures to revive the economy, rather than relying on the e-levy.
“The government must swallow what is left of its pride and create a platform for urgent and constructive dialogue among stakeholders with the view to fashioning out a robust set of policy responses to the economic challenges before we get to the point of no return.”
By Vincent Kubi