NPP Ridicules Government �Downgrades Its 2013 �Achievements�

The opposition New Patriotic Party, (NPP) has downgraded the 2013 performance of the Mahama government and describing it as unprecedentedly poor. At a news conference yesterday in Accra, Member of Parliament for Old Tafo/Pankrono, Dr. Anthony Osei Akoto indicated that the National Democratic Congress, (NDC) led by President Mahama drove the country economically into a ditch. According to him, the bad �governance� by the NDC government resulted in economic hardship to the average Ghanaian. �It made people struggle to pay School fees and levies since they were increased by over 200 percent, severe energy crises set in yet service providers had the guts to increase tariffs sand all the President could do was just offer a little deduction and later did their bid by increasing it again by 9 percent just last week�, he added. He noted that even though the year saw an increase in taxes and Value Added Taxes, the economy in 2012 ended with one of the highest twin deficits on record of about 12% of GDP on the fiscal and current accounts deficits a record over-expenditure of over GH�8 billion cedis. Dr. Akoto enumerated that the government internally borrowed GH�1.2 billion making it $23 billion by the end of 2013 adding that inflation rose to a double figure in March. He even went ahead to point out some increments which are bound to occur in petroleum and utility prices. �The year also saw a depreciation of the cedi by 24 percent; businesses struggled with the energy crises, little or no payment of contractors, a halt of teacher trainee allowances, Challenges with National Health Insurance, Stalling of developmental projects in District and Municipal Assemblies because of delay of statutory funds and so on�, He recalled. Providing solutions to the nation�s, the MP for Old Tafo called on government to intervene in the 1 percent commitment fees of the 3 billion Chinese loan, the conditions of service and the disbursement, since 75 percent of Government�s capital investment programme would be funded by foreign sources. He painted a gloomy situation for the country in 2014 for all Ghanaians should the government fail to adhere to his advice. A former MP for Okaikoi South, Nana Akomea could not understand why the Majority in Parliament would abort discussions on the sale of Merchant Bank on the floor of parliament on the basis that the case was in court but after exiting the chambers some few minutes afterwards to address the media. He said everyone else in the country is speaking against the Merchant Bank deal but the members of the NDC. �They are the only people who are happy about the deal�. Noting that it was during the tenure of this present government that the Supreme Court described corruption occurring in Ghana as create, loot and share, Nana Akomea added corruption breeds too much in the NDC government. �The solutions are stirring at us in our face but the government of today has refused to see them�. Nana Akomea underscored. The former MP for Asokwa, Maxwell Kofi Juma said all the actions by President John Mahama undermine the institutions and the constitution of Ghana.