The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has criticized President Akufo-Addo’s administration and accused it of supervising poor economic policies and performance over the past seven years, which has impoverished Ghanaians.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, while delivering his statement on the debate of President Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address, began by emphasizing the significance of the State of the Nation address, describing it as a constitutional obligation for the President to provide a transparent account of his administration’s achievements and challenges.
He strongly asserted that President Akufo-Addo’s message during the State of the Nation Address fell short of the expected standards, accusing the leader of using the platform to kickstart the campaign for the Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia.
“President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia pretend not to see the mess that they have created. They still live in a bubble of denial over the true state of Ghana today. Rt. Hon. Speaker, Parliament remains a House of record, and the record must reflect nothing but the true state of our nation. Our reality today stands in sharp contrast with the glossy picture the President depicted to the people of Ghana”.
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson
Dr. Forson, while providing a comprehensive analysis of what he described as the failures of the New Patriotic Party administration under President Akufo-Addo and Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, highlighted the economy, unemployment, corruption, galamsey, poor governance, insecurity, food insecurity, and the Akosombo Dam spillage as the key areas the current administration has failed to make any positive gains and address.
The Minority Leader, further accused President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party administration of demonstrating a lack of transparency in addressing the above issues during the state of the National Address.
Accusations Of Mismanagement
Furthermore, the Minority Leader while describing the New Patriotic Party administration as the “worst performing” administration in Ghana’s history, accused President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of being responsible for such economic “unmitigated disaster’.
He further chastised President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahmaudu Bawumia for slacking in fulfilling its 2016 manifesto promise of transforming Ghana’s economy within 18 months when elected into power, stressing that the government had delivered on none of its pledges.
Highlighting some key economic indicators to buttress his argument, Dr. Ato Forson strongly stated that the current indicators are the worst as compared to the 2016 figures, which the New Patriotic Party administration inherited from the National Democratic Congress administration under former President John Dramani Mahama.
“To say this government’s record has been poor and abysmal is a gross understatement. May I, with your kind permission, Mr Speaker, walk this House through the indicators of what the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government inherited from the Mahama NDC administration and where we are today?
“INDICATORS: 2016 and 2023, Public debt % of GDP was 55.6% while now the figure is Over 100% Exchange GHS/US$ 3.8:11.88 (currently over 13), Inflation; 15.40%: Over 40% (2023 average), Unemployment; 8.40%:14.70%, Youth Unemployment; 21.20%: 32.80%, Lending rate: 28.10%: 33.75% (40% on average), T-bill rate (364-day); 22.1:33% (Dec 2023 average)”.
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson
The National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Ajuamako Enyan Essiam Constituency further posited that the above figures show a significant decline in economic performance by the New Patriotic Party administration.
Moreover, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson attributed the gloomy state of the business environment in the country to the poor economic policies of the ruling government and alleged that the high interest rates especially had led to the closure of numerous businesses in the country.
He cited examples of prominent companies, such as BIC and Unilever, which according to him have all relocated their operations to neighboring countries, contributing to rising unemployment in the country.
Dr Ato Forson while describing the unemployment situation in the country as at a crisis point, further pointed out that only 11.3 million out of the country’s total population of 33 million are in some form of employment, which translates to two out of every three Ghanaians being jobless.
Ghana’s Deteriorating Living Conditions
In addition, the Minority Leader expressed deep concern over the deteriorating living conditions of Ghanaians and cited a recent World Bank report on Food Security released on 13th November 2023, which put Ghana among the top 5 countries with the highest food inflation in the world.
Dr Ato Forson also cited another report on food insecurity published by the Ghana Statistical Service last week which according to him revealed that over 8.4 million Ghanaians went a day without food, representing about 25% of the Ghanaian population.
According to Dr. Forson, the cost of living in the country had become a nightmare for many citizens, emphasizing the negative impact of the depreciating Cedi and inflation on everyday goods.
“Mr Speaker, times are hard! In fact, very hard. The price of Kenkey has not just gone up but also the size has reduced, a typical example of inflation and shrinkflation. Now, kenkey sellers have threatened to sell their pepper and shito separately from the kenkey.
“This will be the first time in the history of our nation that kenkey vendors will be selling kenkey and pepper at separate prices. This, Mr Speaker, is the true state of our nation! How are members of this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government able to look Ghanaians in the face and claim a superior record of economic management when the indicators, the facts, and the reality prove otherwise?”
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson
Dr. Ato Forson further questioned the New Patriotic Party administration’s utilization of substantial financial resources, stating that the current administration has received over GHS925 billion in seven years since it assumed power in 2017, but yet does not have anything substantial to show for it.
He specifically accused the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of failing to discharge his mandate as the head of the government’s Economic Management Team, leading to the poor state of the country’s economy.
The Ajumako Enyan Essiam lawmaker also posited that the reality of Ghanaians under the New Patriotic Party administration led by President Akufo-Addo proves that former President John Dramani Mahama was a visionary leader and a nation-builder.
Call For Taxes Repeal
The Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson concluded his statement by disclosing the intention of the National Democratic Congress Minority Caucus to table a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament to abolish several taxes imposed by the government, including the controversial e-levy, emission tax, and betting tax.
He noted that the government itself had finally acknowledged the burden such taxes have imposed on Ghanaians, vindicating the National Democratic Congress’s earlier opposition, hence the need for such Acts to be repealed.
He urged the government to address the critical issues raised and asserted that the Minority Caucus in Parliament is committed to ensuring the well-being of the Ghanaian people.
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