NDC left behind a robust economy with very strong buffers–Minority responds to Ofori-Atta
The Minority caucus in Parliament says the National Democratic Congress(NDC) administration left behind a robust economy with very strong buffers which has been wrecked by the incumbent NPP government.
The minority’s response follows the comment by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in his article titled “Standing Strong With The Bank Of Ghana” accusing the opposition NDC administration of leaving behind a “derailed International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme”.
The Finance Minister added that the NPP government in 2017 inherited a highly impaired and ethically strained financial industry from their predecessors.
His article follows a series of calls by the Minority for the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for allegedly mismanaging the Central Bank.
Furthermore, the Finance Minister in his article called for support for the construction of a befitting new office for BoG.
Responding to Ofori-Atta, Minority Leader Ato Forson argued that the Mahama administration left behind a robust economy with very strong buffers.
“The NDC left behind a robust economy with very strong buffers. The Mahama government created the Sinking Fund, Stabilisation Fund, Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), and Ghana EXIM Bank as well as robust tax and oil revenue systems from three oil fields which the NPP used to kickstart their administration. Yet they have very little to show and have collapsed the economy on their watch”.
“The NDC put in place a strong tax policy and a prudent and controlled expenditure regime, including the Government Integrated Financial Management Systems (GIFMIS). Yet the NPP came in and processed expenditure outside the GIFMIS architecture”.
“The Minister of Finance should not say anywhere again that the NDC administration left behind a derailed IMF programme. Clearly, at the time we were leaving office, there was no monetary finance. For the first time in the history of Ghana, the government did not take money from the central bank even though the law allowed the then administration to take 5% of the previous year’s revenue from the central bank”.
“The people of Ghana would recall that because the Mahama administration left behind a robust economy, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government within the first three months of its assumption of office was able to borrow US$2.25 billion from Franklin Templeton”.
Ato Forson emphasized that the NDC government performed incredibly well compared to what Ghanaians are now witnessing under the Akufo-Addo government.
“We did better than they are doing and the NDC will always do better when the good people of Ghana give John Mahama and our party the opportunity to govern from January 2025. Finally, the Minority in Parliament wishes to remind Governor Addison and Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta that the day of reckoning is very near and they will be held accountable for their collective mess,” excerpts of the statement highlighted.
He added that history will remember Ofori-Atta for taking Ghana to the IMF in an ambulance, insisting that the BoG Governor resign.
“History will remember this Minister of Finance and the government’s Economic Mismanagement Team headed by Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia for taking Ghana to the IMF in an ambulance” he added.
The Minority has set October 3, 2023, as the date for the protest demanding the resignation of the Governor and his deputies over mismanagement at the central bank.
Find the full statement from the minority below