President Akufo-Addo has disclosed that flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, has no lessons to offer him in the management of the economy.
According to the President, the period in office of Mr Mahama was an unmitigated disaster, following his request for an economic forum.
He further explained that the economic track record whilst in office between 2013 to 2016 was abysmal.
President Akufo-Addo stated that “if the economic forum is going to be a repetition of the so-called Senchi Consensus, then I think I have to spare the people of Ghana this sort of development”.
“The Senchi Consensus was an unmitigated disaster; out of it we went into the embrace of the IMF with all the difficulties that came from there and the disarray it pointed to in the economy of our country”.
President Akufo-Addo
With this, President Akufo-Addo urged former President Mahama to be wary of commenting on matters to do with economic management.
“He is not on strong ground when he is talking about the economy. His track record, I am reluctant to use these strong words, but in normal parlance, I would say it’s abysmal and, therefore, he has no lessons to give me at all in the management of the economy”.
President Akufo-Addo
Economic management of the country
Reacting to former President John Mahama’s accusations of the current government’s economic mismanagement, President Akufo-Addo noted that by comparison, his government has performed better.
“I wonder whether this statement was made tongue in cheek by the former President. When you look at the record that this political leader, who can accuse my government of mismanagement, there are a few facts that when you put on the table to compare his performance and mine, it would tell you if what I am offering people is economic mismanagement.
“I wonder what words should we describe his (Mahama) stewardship of Ghana. It is an unmitigated disaster, that’s what I would call him”.
President Akufo-Addo
Inflation rate incurred by previous government
President Akufo-Addo expressed that under the tenure of office of John Mahama, economic growth rate in 2016 stood at 3.4%. This, he explained, was the lowest in two decades, with all other macroeconomic indicators pointing in the wrong direction.
“Inflation, when he left office, was 15.4%; today, at the end of July, which are the last hard facts from the Statistical Service, it’s 9%. Interest rates are always a good determinant of how the economy is operating. 32% in December 2016, today, it is 20.6%. We are talking about treasury bill decline in interest rate, we are talking about the trade deficit that was $1.8 billion in 2016, to a trade surplus of $2.6 billion at the end of 2019”.
President Akufo-Addo
Furthermore, President Akufo-Addo wondered why these statistics, which led to Ghana being one of the fastest growing economies in the world with a GDP of 7%, “can be considered economic mismanagement”.
Also, the President questioned how the economy managed by John Mahama, which took Ghana to the IMF would have been described, considering the former President insistence the economy is being mismanaged.
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