Patrick Boamah, the vice chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament has chastised former President, John Mahama for speaking ill of the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
According to Boamah, the former president mismanaged the Ghanaian economy during his tenure and has no moral obligation to speak against the current state of the economy.
“President Mahama took us to the IMF because of mismanagement of the economy. But for COVID-19 which occurred in 2020 as he is alluding to, the economy of Ghana was growing at a rate of over 6%. COVID-19 distorted the government’s plan and programme to the extent that the government had to suspend the fiscal stabilisation act,” he stated.
We’re not in normal times
Boamah, however, stated that the government had to suspend the fiscal stabilisation act because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If we were in normal times, the government wouldn’t have brought that legislation to Parliament and also, the government wouldn’t have brought it back for a suspension of that legislation.
“…So, right from the outset, it tells you that a government that inherited a budget deficit in 2017 of more than 10 or 11% haven’t been able to do so well, was able to bring legislation to put a cap on deficit levels,” he stated.
IMF is not an option
Speaking to Asaase News, Boamah said returning to the IMF for a bailout is not an option for the government.
“I don’t think the government must consider that [going to IMF] because you saw the conditions that the IMF imposed on the government under president Mahama which led to the formation of the unemployed graduate association in this country.”
Crisis-ridden Ghanaian economy
Mahama in a write-up this week chastised the Akufo-Addo-led administration for what he describes as “plunging the Ghanaian economy into doldrums.”
Mahama maintains that the government’s proposed E-Levy is not a viable option to deal with the “economic crisis” the country finds itself in.
In a Facebook post on Monday (7 February), the former president called on the government to convey a national forum on the state of the economy and the way forward.
Nicholas Brown
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