Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi West Constituency, Kwaku Agyemang Kwarteng has urged the government to desist from unnecessary spending of the country’s wealth.
According to him, Ghana’s economy is on the verge of collapse and that the country needs more than a debt treatment to restore the economy back to life.
Commenting on the Domestic Debt Programme in parliament following a briefing by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Mr Kwarteng said government must stop spending money on things that will not help revive the economy.
“Mr Speaker, in conclusion on the debt, we must simply stop distributing wealth we have not created, we must stop spending money that we do not have”, he said.
Contributing to discussions in Parliament on Thursday, the Obuasi West MP asserted that the debt treatment and the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) deployed by government are good but not enough.
He explained that the economic crisis the country is facing does not need just a debt treatment. He believes the government must tackle the root cause of the country’s economic woes.
“The problem we have on our hands today is not just a debt treatment matter, there is a need to deal with the fundamental weakness that has characterised the management of the economy for decades.”
The Obuasi MP said the economic crisis the country is facing is fuelled by the mess created by government officials and leaders.
“We are reaping what we have sowed, as leaders, as government and as a people.”
He, however, said that government will not be able to resolve the economic crisis when political leaders blame each other for the mess.
“We are never going to address the problem on our hands by pointing political fingers at our opponents and hoping that when we come to power, we will do any better if the fundamental weaknesses continue to exist”, he said.
Suggesting solutions to revive the economy, Mr Kwarteng said it is “our collective interest to come together as a people and find the kind of solution that will make our economy better going forward”.
He said that mobilising more revenues and cutting down expenditures will help restore the economy. Mr Kwarteng said in cutting down expenditure, they must take it upon themselves as leaders to lead by example.
“We should not only support government to cut interest commitment that has burdened the economy but pursue an aggressive programme to rein in expenditure”.
Reacting to this on Ahotor Fm’s morning show, Vice President of the Christian Service University Dr. Stephen Banahene warned that if the don’t desist from unnecessary spending of the country’s wealth, even the 3 Billion Dollars loan seeking from the IMF can’t even solve the economic mess.
Listen to Dr. Stephen Banahene below:
