![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/audio-be-cedi-lante-and-arrest-cedi-kwakye-ofosu-tells-bawumia-696x464.jpg\" "\\"Kwakye")
Former Deputy Information Minister, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, says the Akufo-Addo government must stop living a lavish life the country cannot fund.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Joy News\u2019\u00a0AM Show<\/strong>\u00a0on Tuesday, he said, \u201cyou can\u2019t live a champagne life on an \u2018akpeteshie\u2019 (local gin) budget.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s essentially what the problem is. Every basic economic student knows that in times like this, what you go for are cuts in your expenditure.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut this government has loaded the budget with non-essential spending and is, therefore, unable to meet the most important expenditure while sacrificing the important ones.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ghana\u2019s economic downturn has become topical for a while after Moody\u2019s downgraded the country\u2019s financial ratings.<\/p>\n Moody\u2019s Investors Service (Moody\u2019s)\u00a0moved Ghana\u2019s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B3 and changed the outlook to stable from negative.<\/p>\n Moody said that weak revenue generation constrains government\u2019s budget flexibility, and tight funding conditions on international markets have forced it to rely on costly debt with shorter maturity.<\/p>\n The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has latched on this, explaining why it is the better option.<\/p>\n The aspiring MP for Abura Asebu Kwamankese said, \u201cin 2016, there were elections. We could also have decided to spend beyond our means to win the election, but we didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the sign that we are a responsible party and that the leaders of the economy were responsive to the needs of the people and didn\u2019t do what was unnecessary to win the elections. But this government chose to do what was completely unnecessary to win the elections, and today we are here.\u201d<\/p>\n When the host, Benjamin Akakpo, asked the former Deputy Minister, what NDC will do differently, he said, \u201cfirst of all, the extravagance will go. Auditor-General has shown that some \u00a212 billion has been lost to irregularities. When we were in power, it was \u00a2780 million, and even that is unacceptable.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we would work to reduce that. But we cannot have \u00a212 billion going down the drain annually, and you want to tax people. We\u2019d also ensure the corruption that we\u2019re witnessing is abated.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd our policy prioritisation will focus on what matters to the people. In education,\u00a0health etc., that is absolutely necessary. So we\u2019d not engage in fanciful politicking laced on propaganda sloganeering.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n