John Kumah is a deputy finance minister
• A deputy Finance Minister has refuted assertions that the country’s economy is out of control
•The Minority in Parliament at a policy dialogue accused the Akufo-Addo government of mismanaging the economy and saddling it with debt
•John Kumah however believes the claims are false and misguided
A deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, has taken a swipe at the erstwhile John Mahama administration for its mismanagement of the economy.
This comes after the Minority in Parliament at a policy dialogue held on Monday, July 26, accused the Akufo-Addo government of mismanaging the economy, hence, it needed to seek immediate relief from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson who is a Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament during a presentation accused government of borrowing excessively and being responsible for 60 percent of the country’s debt stock.
“Out of Ghana’s Public debt of GH¢291 billion as of December 2020, President Akufo-Addo’s government accounts for GH¢171.22 billion representing 60 percent,” Ato Forson said.
“The main causes of the current hardships are the twin problems of the largest budget deficit (15.2%) in recent history, and a choking debt overhang that threatens the stability of the Ghanaian economy,” he added.
He continued, “the hardships arising out of the deficit and debt situation is the direct result of mismanagement of the economy and misplaced populism by this government.”
But the deputy Finance Minister in a response described the assertions as false and misguided.
“I think this exaggerated looming picture of Ghana’s economy is out of place. I think the NDC is just in a hurry to create a picture as if the economy is out of control, I mean it is far from that,” he stated.
“If you check the reality of what happened under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s tenure, I am sure if it had happened under former President John Mahama, we would have jumped to US$100 billion. There was no COVID-19 to warrant a lockdown for extra expenditures of the government,” John Kumah pointed.
“So, these are very difficult times that President Akufo-Addo has been in, but he has managed it so well that he has won the world commendation,” he indicated.