The Member of Parliament for Wassa East, Isaac Mensah, has intimated that President Akufo-Addo did not deliver in his response regarding the state of Ghana’s economy on the international front.
Reacting to the President’s response that the Ghanaian economy is not in a bad state and the taxation through the E-levy is necessary in a foreign interview, the Wassa East MP asserted that the President was “detached” from the actual realities in the country hence his response. He indicated that the President’s performance during the interview cannot be blamed on the journalist.
“I was disappointed because the President didn’t deliver and I expect that there is a way of redeeming ourselves. Maybe his communicators will have to find a way of coming back to us to tell us something. I think the President goofed big time.”
Isaac Mensah
The Wassa East MP was of the view that the President has positioned himself in the world order, that is the challenges the world is facing due to the Russia-Ukraine war and doesn’t seem to appreciate and portray to the world that Ghana is really in a challenging situation. “Because our cedi is bad and has depreciated since January to date, about 20 percent with the oil prices going up and down. These are the realities.”
Response on economy, misplaced
Isaac Mensah described the President’s response about the Ghanaian economy as misplaced and averred that the demeanor of the President indicated that he wasn’t adequately prepared for the interview. He posited that the response of the President doesn’t put the nation in a good position on the international front. He added that the President wasn’t right comparing Ghana’s economy to that of the UK.
“I wouldn’t expect that he compares Ghana’s [economy] with the UK economy because UK is a big country and Ghana is a developing economy. We can be comparing ourselves to the likes of Ivory Coast and the sub Saharan countries.”
Isaac Mensah
The Wassa East MP expressed that the President should have rather used the platform as an opportunity to woo investors to the country especially in the tourism sector since it was also a topic of discussion.
“You are in UK to go and get people to come and invest in your country. So, you need to get that sugarcoated stuff to them that, in spite of all the challenges, Ghana is a good destination for investments and so on. If you want to think and create the impression that the economy isn’t good in the UK so come to Ghana, that’s the worst comparison that you could make.”
Isaac Mensah
We just manage hypocrisy
Speaking on why the Ghanaian economy is in such a bad state but leaders are of different opinion, Isaac Mensah averred that it’s because “we just manage hypocrisy.” He acknowledged that the economy is in difficulty and must be addressed as such.
“The reality is that we are in bad times and the economy is in shambles. We are in crisis to the extent that passing the E-levy will assure government that it is going to be well with us when experts know that it is going to be difficult.”
Isaac Mensah
The Wassa East MP urged the media in Ghana to work for such platforms to meet the President and question him on happenings in the country despite the resistance they might face. He asserted that if there is no effort to explain the current state of the economy to the people, then it means that there is justification the economy is not in a good state.
“You do so through the Information Minister but there has to be an occasion where it will be the President with the media. So we would want that to be done.”
Isaac Mensah
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in an interview with BBC journalist, Peter Okochwe, stated that Ghana’s economy went into a dive as all other economies in the world and is recovering but not in a bad shape. Justifying the passage of the E-Levy, President Akufo-Addo said there is the need to tax the industry, that is, the digital economy that deals with transactions where a lot of value is being created. According to the President, the industry he is talking about is not “impoverished.”
The President further described as provocative, the question asked about the nation’s economy and the description of the citizens being taxed as impoverished. This, has however, not gone down well with some few persons in the country.
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