The Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, Isaac Adongo, has criticised the ruling New Patriotic Party for subjecting Ghanaians to a wave of economic hardship coupled with false hopes and promises to turn the country’s fortune around.
According to Adongo, the current economic crisis has exposed the incompetence of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who was hailed as an economic ‘whizkid’ by members of the NPP.
In a write-up authored by the Bolgatanga Central lawmaker, Adongo lambasted the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration for failing to deliver on its promises to the Ghanaian people since it assumed office.
He described their tenure as disastrous and blamed the current government for plunging the entire country into an economic mess through bad policies and actions.
“The annoying thing about all of this is that the NPP government ignored sound advice that could have saved everyone this mess by putting partisanship before prudence in the so-called financial sector clean-up exercise. They used the Bank of Ghana and Ernest Addison to collapse people’s businesses, illegally print money, and devalue the Cedi.
“They promised to reduce taxes but have imposed the most draconian. They trampled on truth and transparency requirements and prioritized corrupt and nepotistic procurement and contracting. They promised a Messi in a Ronaldo, called a Chef Failatu, but delivered a ‘Chef Smith’ in a Bawumia, to whom the word economics is now taboo.
“To think that in all of this, NPP government functionaries would show up and nonchalantly ask to be forgiven because of votes in the election season is even very distasteful, to say the least. People with a reputation for integrity would have stepped away and asked for a clean start. But no, these are a group of people who are out for their interest, not the interest of the average Ghanaian.
“The families of Akufo-Addo and Bawumia, together with their associates and influential members of the NPP party, have maintained a considerable degree of insulation from the prevailing challenges in our nation for a duration exceeding five years,” portions of his write-up indicated.
Adongo further expressed disappointment that NPP government officials were asking for forgiveness due to votes in the election season, rather than taking responsibility for their actions and accused them of prioritizing their own interests over those of the average Ghanaian.
Meanwhile, the ruling NPP has blamed external factors such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war for the current economic crisis.
During a recent townhall meeting in Accra, Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin apologized to Ghanaians for the hardships they were facing.
He mentioned that the government had implemented the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) as a necessary step to restructure the country’s debt and secure an IMF loan facility to address the economic crisis.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
