Former President John Dramani Mahama fears Ghana could slip back into the list of Highly Indebted Poor Countries, HIPC, as he says the country is on the verge of bankruptcy due to mismanagement by the NPP administration.
The former President said although the NPP had so much resources at its disposal, it has still failed to move the country to a better place.
“At the last reckoning, over GH¢ 500 billion had been available to them through taxes, grants, borrowing, and other sources of revenue. No government in our recent history has been that fortunate.”
“Despite this fortune, today, the Ghanaian economy ranks among the worst managed in the world. It is characterized by unsustainable public debt due to an unprecedented fiscal deficit, comparatively high and still rising inflation, a rapidly depreciating currency, spiraling cost of doing business, the ever-rising cost of living, high levels of corruption, abuse of civil and human liberties, and a general loss of investor confidence. Simply put, our country is on the verge of bankruptcy, he added”
He further blamed the government for the current economic situation, saying they have failed on their promise to reduce borrowing and make use of domestic resources.
“We have money yet, we are hungry” (Y3 te sika so, nso 3kom di y3n” the former President rehashed the words of President Akufo-Addo, then opposition candidate.
“In spite of the firm promise to reduce borrowing, this government has increased our public debt to almost GH¢ 380 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2022. This is more than three times the debt of all governments since the days of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah up to January 2017.”
“A direct consequence of this astronomical borrowing is that our debt service obligation per annum has increased by 500% from GH¢10 billion in 2016 to about GH¢50 billion now. We are at great risk of defaulting on our debt repayments unless something drastic is done.”
He said citizens are living in difficult times contrary to the promises President Akufo-Addo made when he wanted power.
Speaking at the Kempinski Hotel on Monday, May 2, 2022, on the theme, ‘Ghana At A Crossroads’, he stated that the President promised to turn Ghana around within his first year and a half, which gave the citizens hope since they wanted better socio-economic conditions.
“The NPP government came into office in January 2017 on the back of mouthwatering promises of an almost instant transformation of our country amid countless slogans. President Akufo-Addo did promise to change Ghana in eighteen (18) months if voted for. Yes, he promised to turnaround the fortunes of Ghana and create opportunities for all, and take care of everyone in 18 months.”
“An assessment of our current conditions shows that what is happening now bears very little or no
resemblance to what was promised. There is a sharp disparity between promise and practice.
Today, most Ghanaians feel they were hoodwinked, and this is manifesting in their personal livelihood and their daily struggles.”
