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The Flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, has said Ghana’s economy under President John Dramani Mahama has worsened to the point that Cote D’Ivoire, which only recently came out of a civil war, is now doing much better with cocoa and a few other resources.

According to Nana Addo, the country under President Mahama has been so badly managed that in-spite of all the oil revenue his government has received, Ghanaians are poorer than ever before.

Speaking at the inauguration of the South African branch of the NPP, Nana Addo said Ghanaians are now experiencing a self-imposed load shedding programme as a result of the unbearable utility tariffs imposed on them by the Mahama government. 

“Can you believe that today in Ghana, for the ordinary Ghanaian, the cost of electricity is more than the cost of their rent? So forget even ‘dumsor’, it is now ‘yɛnsor’, because you can’t afford to pay. That is where we are,” he lamented.

He further stated that Ghana’s economic challenges have intensified ever since the NPP administration under President Kufuor left office in 2009.

“Businesses are collapsing, unemployment is at the highest ever in our history, the NHIS has collapsed, and the educational sector is having great difficulties. Especially for those of us in political office or any prominent office, you have to run away from your house. The number of people who come to your house asking for school fees is mind-boggling, because it is no longer possible for ordinary people to bear the educational costs of their children. You just feel like crying that our country has gotten to this situation. That is how bad things have become.”

Comparing Ghana’s current situation to that of Cote D’lvoire, Nana Addo said although Cote d’Ivoire in 2010 experienced civil war as a result of a disputed election, which led to the death of 3,000 people and displaced over 100,000 citizens, most of whom came to Ghana, “President Ouattara’s leadership has been such that Cote d’Ivoire has been growing at 8% to 9% over the last five years. Whilst we have been going like this (declining), they are going like that (experiencing a boom).”

He therefore called on Ghanaians to vote out President Mahama in the November polls saying “we cannot continue like this because we have both the human resource and the material resources to do so much better for our country than what is going on now.”

Cote D’Ivoire has recently been mentioned as one of the most viable investment destinations in the sub-region.