The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Stephen Ayesu Ntim, has commended the management of the economy under the Akufo-Addo-led government.
According to him, the current predicament of the country cannot wholly be attributed to decisions taken by government. He indicated that the country’s crisis is in no way connected to government’s incompetence but rather, external factors.
“The plain truth is that this government has managed the economy diligently and well. The hardships we are experiencing in Ghana are being experienced everywhere because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War. Workers in some of the world’s biggest economies are demanding salary increases due to historic global inflation.”
Stephen Ayesu Ntim
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in response to the ‘True State Of The Nation Address’ by the National Chair of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who accused the NPP government of economic failure, Mr Ntim highlighted that the struggle with the economy is happening in the United Kingdom, France and Germany. He explained that in the United Kingdom, he was told a couple of weeks ago that they had to ration vegetables and cooking oil.
“Can you imagine rationing pepper in Ghana? The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, confirmed the impact of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War on the United States economy and how difficult the effort to rebuild has been.”
Stephen Ayesu Ntim
NPP national Chairman lauds government
Buttressing his point of Ghana not being the only country battling with economic crisis, Mr Ntim emphasized that Kenya, one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa, has recently run out of U.S. dollars and that most of the fuel and oil importers claim they cannot import the product because they do not have foreign currency.
“This has led to widespread fuel shortages in major towns and cities, especially in Nairobi.”
Stephen Ayesu Ntim
Highlighting the achievements of the government, Mr Ntim stated that the Akufo-Addo administration has managed the local currency, the Cedi, well in spite of the onset of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. He however stated that after inheriting a booming economy, former President Mahama and NDC left their successor, President Akufo-Addo a collapsed economy in 2016.
“The NPP managed the Cedi with an average depreciation of 6.8 percent from 2017 to 2021 compared to the NDC’s record of 18 percent average depreciation from 2013 to 2016.”
Stephen Ayesu Ntim
It will be recalled that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday, March 20, 2023, delivered what it christened as the “True State of the Nation Address” delivered by its National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia. The party used the opportunity to take a dig at the governing New Patriotic Party which it claimed had mismanaged the economy, encouraged corruption and incompetence.
Among other things, Asiedu Nketia, the NDC national Chairman, stated that the President’s SONA only served to deepen the anxiety, hopelessness and uncertainty about the future of the country. He revealed that it was all too clear that the government is grappling with the extent of the crisis it has created.
Mr Asiedu stated that President Akufo-Addo failed to convince the Ghanaian people that there is any end in sight to the suffering and pain that his government’s “reckless and misguided policies” has brought on Ghanaians.
The only viable alternative to the “bungling” government, Mr Nketia noted, is to straighten the records and expose the untruths presented to the nation through parliament by President Akufo-Addo and highlight that the dire state is self-inflicted and deliberately so by the government.
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