The leader of Minority in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson, has described the government’s ministerial reshuffle announced in Parliament today as uninspiring.
The Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency described the reshuffling of ministerial appointees as a ‘mere remix of the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia’s failed government, adding that it is insipid.
He said the reshuffle could have been done earlier when Ghanaians were complaining about the rot of some appointees in his government. He holds the view that with barely nine (9) months for a general election to be held, the newly appointed ministers have little to no time to find appropriate solutions to the hardships and sufferings Ghanaians are faced with as a result of irresponsible governance and large-scale corruption of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.
“The tenure of his government has been characterized by excessive borrowing, unsustainable debt, an economic crisis, high appetite for taxes, poor governance, reckless and wasteful expenditures, siphoning of state resources into private pockets of government appointees, as well as state capture by family and friends of the President and his Vice.”
Cassiel Ato Forson
He added that he is deeply astonished by the sudden decision of the President to reshuffle his ministers and questioned what has changed. For him, the President has been adamant about the numerous calls by tax-paying Ghanaians to reshuffle his ministers and reduce the size of his government even in the face of economic hardships. The Minority Leader added that the president ‘rebuffed nearly 100 NPP Members of Parliament who demanded the immediate resignation of outgoing Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’.
Mr. Cassiel Atto Forson emphasized that the most appropriate way to end the current plights of Ghanaians is for President Nana Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia to resign from their respective offices.
Challenges Confronting The New Finance Minister
Dr. Amin Adams, the newly appointed Finance Minister, has been tipped by Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante, a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, as one of the newly appointed ministers with an arduous duty.
He holds the view that the first challenge the new Finance Minister has to deal with is the poor performance of the cedi against major trading currencies, particularly the dollar. He added that the government has performed poorly in its fiscal policy, and Dr. Amin Adams is expected to deal with it.
“Let us take fiscal discipline, you will realize that this has been the bane of this country. Governments, particularly, this government have failed miserably, and this is one of the reasons that has pushed us to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic bailout.”
Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante
He is confident that having been Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Dr. Mohammed Amin is well aware of the harm fiscal indiscipline has caused the country and will now have the duty to resolve it.
Analysts have also projected that Dr. Adams as Finance Minister will have to deal with the country’s debt situation. Presently, Ghana’s public debt exceeds ‘100 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with debt servicing accounting for more than half of total government revenues and almost 70% of tax revenues.
The fourth challenge for Dr. Adams as Finance Minister is the high inflation rate. According to Professor Peter Quartey of the Institute for Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of at the University of Ghana, even though the inflation rate is declining, ‘it is still high’.
Dr. Amin Adams is also expected to ensure a smooth completion of the country’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) started under Ken Ofori Atta where Ghana is expected to receive some $3 billion in tranches. While two tranches of $600 million each have been received by the government, analysts hope that Dr. Adams Amin ensure a successful completion of the loan agreement.
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