The Minority in Parliament has scornfully criticised the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, saying that he has deepened the economic woes of the nation.
According to the minority, the facts and numbers speak from an opposing point of view, to that of the minister on the realities of the economy, which they claim is comatose.
The Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, launched a scathing criticism of the government’s performance on the economy, concluding that no positive outcome had been achieved.
His stern criticism was a reaction to the presentation of the review of the 2023 budget that took place on Monday, July 31, 2023 on the floor of the House by the Finance Minister.
In his presentation, the Minister of Finance expressed optimism about Ghana’s economic recovery.
Ken Ofori-Atta highlighted the progress made in the economy since seeking the $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support the government’s Post-Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG).
Referring to the progress chalked in the implementation of the PC-PEG, the Minister for Finance asserted that Ghana had “turned the corner” and was committed to continuing on that path, but the minority disagreed with that stance.
In a sharp rebuttal, Dr. Ato Forson criticised the Minister’s claims, classifying them as not being supported by facts and numbers.
He pointed out a number of reasons to refute the assertion by Ken Ofori-Addo, including the depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi, which he said was due to the government’s default in paying external interest and principal.
The Minority Leader said that: “I say this because he has said to us today that he’s revising economic growth from 2.8% of GDP to 1.5% of GDP. Again, he said to us here and now that he has borrowed 5.5 billion Ghana cedis from January to June from the T-Bill market.
“Mr. Speaker, not long ago, this same Minister informed us that he will not borrow at all in the year 2023. And that going into the remaining parts of the year, he is going to borrow another 41 billion Ghana cedis.
“Aside from that, the Cedi depreciation we are seeing so far is largely because we have defaulted in the payment of external interest and principal. That is why the cedi has depreciated.”
The Minority Leader also said that despite promising not to borrow, the government had borrowed 5.5 billion Ghana cedis from the T-Bill market in the first half of the year, with plans to borrow an additional 41 billion cedis later next year.
“He (Ofori-Atta) said that the performance so far shows that we have turned the corner. Unfortunately, the evidence and the numbers before us show us that he has rather deepened our woes,” the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Legislator said.
The Majority Leader, who was present, did not counter the argument of his colleague on the other side.
However, the actual debate of the statement is scheduled to take place today and tomorrow, as the House prepares to adjourn sine die on Thursday.
