Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama says Ghana’s economy is where it is today due to the intransigence of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
He says Ken Ofori-Atta has become impervious to sound advice from technocrats and professionals and has packed the Ministry of Finance with cronies from Data Bank, a owned by him.
“To be clear, we are in this mess because an untouchable Finance Minister relying on his Data Bank workers and neglecting the advice of seasoned professionals at the Finance Ministry has been left to run this economy into the ground”, he said.
The Former President made this remark while addressing Ghanaians on the challenges in the economy at an event dubbed “Building the Ghana we want” held at the University for Professional Studies-Accra, (UPSA) on Thursday, October 27, 2022.
The former President also used the occasion to proffer some solutions which he believes will help stem the tide on Ghana’s crumbling economy and restore it to the path of growth.
Mr Mahama proposed that the Government should, as a matter of urgency, reduce public debts, debt service obligations in order to create a fiscal space.
Public debts, he says, are the biggest problem of the country’s economy today.
“The biggest problem with our economy today is the huge size of our public debts, estimated to be around GH552 billion by the close of this year. This must immediately be tackled and stopped from growing further”, he stated.
The former President has also suggested that the government reduce Ghana’s import bill, stabilize the currency, create more jobs for the teeming unemployed youth, cut down on cost and spending wisely to reduce wastage in the system.
“One other major problem that has brought us to this point is the reckless and frivolous spending of our scarce national resources. A fundamental principle in economic management is fiscal discipline even in times of crisis.
“It’s simply not possible to live beyond our means and avoid the kind of economic turmoil we are in today”, he said.
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