Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minority Leader has stated that it is exceedingly improbable that Ghana’s economic problems can be resolved before the 2024 elections, given the direction the Akufo-Addo administration is on.
He claimed to not believe Ghana would have an economic miracle in the year and a few months, prior to the upcoming general election.
The Minority leader moreover, spoke about his frustration about his encounter with the ruling party in Assin North. He claimed that the constituency’s dissatisfaction with the current situation was so evident that he was confident of winning even before election day.
“I knew there was no way NPP was going to win. I was on the ground from day one and I spent almost two weeks or three weeks in the constituency, and their views are not different from the views on the streets of Accra.
“The mess that we’re seeing in this administration in terms of poor governance, in terms of mismanagement of Ghanaian economy, increasing corruption and many more, are the very sentiments that you can find in those villages and in the farms.”
Ato Forson
Ato Forson averred that even though Ghana is enrolled in an IMF program, the administration of Akufo-Addo would continue to practice poor management.
He is therefore confident that the same dissatisfaction that led Assin North voters to reject the NPP candidate, will force the ruling party from power in the upcoming Presidential elections.
“Let me take you through the major issues; is corruption going to go away? This is not a government that is taking steps to deal with corruption. It’s getting worse by the day so it’s not going to go away, and I do not see that. Item two; poor governance, is it going to go away? In fact, it’s getting poorer by the day so it’s not going to go away.
“Number three, the economic mismanagement; it is not going to go away. They’re still mismanaging the economy even under an IMF programme because the numbers I’ve seen so far, I’m not enthused. Government expenditure is still high up there. The interest rates that went down as a result of the debt restructuring has started going up again.”
Ato Forson
He declared that there is no hope in the current administration because he does not believe the ruling government is putting measures in place to address the problems the nation is experiencing.
More Room For Expenditure Cuts
As stated by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the minority caucus will obstruct any attempts by the government to raise taxes, during the mid-year budget review.
He stated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs will make sure that the government cuts its spending, rather than further impoverishing Ghanaians who are already struggling. He further argued that there is a ton of room to slash spending.
“I won’t be surprised if the government introduces new measures because if you read the MEFP, the IMF is asking for additional measures of about 1% of GDP and I don’t know where that is going to come from. If I look carefully, there is a massive room for expenditure cuts, but the government obviously is indiscipline, and they don’t seem to care.
“They want to live large on the back of the people of Ghana. So, they need to cut that kind of expenditure and if I am the one in charge or responsible, I would rather go for a cut in expenditure as against a tax measure or an increase in taxation.”
Ato Forson
On July 25, the 2023 mid-year budget review will be delivered to Parliament by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. However, industry participants have already urged the government to take advantage of the chance of the IMF deal to abolish some tax breaks such as the tax on sanitary pads.
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