The Member of Parliament for Builsa North Constituency, Hon. James Agalga, has challenged claims that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) failed to resolve the power crisis popularly known as “dumsor” during its tenure.
He also criticized the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for poor economic management, describing their performance as “woeful” and riddled with excuses.
Speaking during a recent interview, the NDC legislator firmly rebutted suggestions that the NDC government, under former President John Dramani Mahama, left the electricity crisis unresolved.
According to Hon. Agalga, the persistent power outages that plagued Ghana in the past were resolved before the NDC exited office in January 2017.
“Secondly, successive governments failed to invest in the power sector. It was an accumulative effect that hit the John Mahama administration. But by the end of his tenure, we had fixed”.
Hon. James Agalga, Builsa North Constituency
Questioning COVID-19 as a Justification for Economic Woes
Shifting his focus to the country’s current economic challenges, Hon. Agalga rejected the notion that the COVID-19 pandemic is solely to blame for Ghana’s economic downturn.
He questioned why neighbouring countries like Côte d’Ivoire, which were also affected by the pandemic, have managed to perform better economically.
“Ghana was not the only country hit by COVID-19. Our next-door neighbour was equally hit. The lockdown in Ghana was not protracted; it lasted for only two weeks. So it is not entirely true that COVID-19 is responsible for Ghana’s economic turmoil”.
Hon. James Agalga, Builsa North Constituency
He pointed out that Côte d’Ivoire’s economy has shown resilience despite facing similar external shocks. “How come the Ivorian economy is doing far, far better than ours? Why? They had better shocks than us,” he questioned, suggesting that Ghana’s current economic crisis is more about mismanagement than external factors.
When asked about the potential impact of government freebies during the pandemic on the nation’s finances, Hon. James Agalga dismissed the argument, suggesting that the government has consistently sought excuses to mask its economic failures.
“This government tried to seek refuge under COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. I’m surprised my brother didn’t talk about the Ukraine-Russia war as one of the reasons why there is an economic meltdown in our country”.
Hon. James Agalga, Builsa North Constituency
Hon Agalga accused the NPP administration of failing to live up to its campaign promises, particularly its pledge to transition the economy from a taxation model to one driven by production.
“They said they were going to take us from taxation to production. What happened? Let’s just accept the fact that they mismanaged our economy, and Ghanaians punished them for the mismanagement and incompetence they exhibited whilst in office,” he stated.
Hon, James Agalga’s comments underscore the growing criticisms facing the NPP government as Ghana grapples with economic challenges, including inflation, debt accumulation, and a struggling currency.
In an earlier critique, the Alliance for Footsoldiers Advocacy (AFFA), a group affiliated to the ruling party blamed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s leadership for the party’s abysmal performance in the just-ended election.
The group expressed its disappointment and outrage over the NPP’s historic electoral loss. The party garnered just 41% of the presidential vote and was reduced to less than 100 parliamentary seats, marking its weakest showing in decades.
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