The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has deflated what it described as a deliberate misinformation to the public on the state of the nation, by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the NPP, the NDC, under the guise of presenting the true state of the nation address rather spewed untruth, copiously to incite the public against the government.
NPP said it is “concerned about this deliberate misinformation campaign by the NDC to deny the impact of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War on Ghana’s economy.
“This is because, over time, by hearing this lie repeatedly, it begins to resemble the truth for the consumption or acceptance of the general public.”
The ruling party met journalists in Accra yesterday, largely to expose the deceptions contained in the NDC’s true state of the nation address, delivered by its national chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah.
The NDC had said that the economy is in tatters, blaming it on the Akufo-Addo led administration and the excuse of COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war, would not convince them.
Yesterday, the national chairman of the NPP, Stephen Ayensu Ntim, used the opportunity of his maiden press conference since assuming office to outline why the party believed their opponents misled the general public.
He said “The statement read by the NDC Chairman, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, was far from a document seeking to discuss the state of our country. There was no serious analysis of the economy, no assessment of sectoral developments, and no attempt to propose solutions to the current economic challenges.”
ECONOMY
From the economy, to education and the ongoing debate on the size of government, Mr. Ntim, maintained that the NPP have performed creditably.
The NPP chairman remarked that Ghana’s economy was the toast of the world until Covid-19, and later the Russia-Ukraine War.
He explained that as a result of these factors, the economy started to decelerate in 2020 and government has committed everything in its toolkit to regenerate it.
Acknowledging that the ravaging impact of Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War on the global economy are visible all around, he claimed that the NDC somehow has refused to admit same.
DEBT
The NPP said the claim of the NDC that this government has over-borrowed is a figment of their imagination. The national chairman said the NDC misinformed the public by computing debt stock using nominal figures because it hides their rate of debt accumulation.
He stated that the best way to compute the debt to see which government has borrowed more, is by using the rate accumulation.
The NDC, he noted, inherited a debt stock of GH 9.7 billion in 2009; by 2016 they increased it to GH 122 billion, representing 819 percent growth in the debt stock.
The NPP government, on the other hand, has added 304 percent to the debt stock, including the cost of the banking sector clean-up, energy sector debt payment and Covid-19 debt.
He admitted that Ghana has a debt challenge, but it is inaccurate for the NDC to suggest that this government has over-borrowed.
The national chairman of the NPP ended his address by calling on the rank and file of the NPP to arise and mobilise behind the government to defeat the onslaught of the NDC propaganda.
