The opposition New Patriotic Party says it is baffled at claims by President John Mahama that he is laying the foundation for economic take off and high growth from commencing next year insisting that the “President is clearly being deceptive”.
In a press statement issued by its Communications Director, the NPP accused President Mahama of dabbling in propaganda with his changing lives, transforming Ghana rhetoric.
“President Mahama’s government has agreed with the IMF on a programme of labour redundancies from 2017. The message this sends to Ghanaian workers is vote for President Mahama this year and get sacked next year”, Nana Akomea said in the statement.
The condemnation by the party comes days after its parliamentary candidate for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah had charged the youth to attach all seriousness to the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections since another term under the Mahama-led administration will be unbearable for the country.
“The word unprecedented became very popular under the leadership of the late Prof Mills but you will realize that no NDC official mentions that word again. Why? It is because the Mahama administration has actually failed to sustain the little gains achieved under Prof Mills”, he told The New Crusading GUIDE.
“We are fighting for what for me is the second independence of this country. I urge all Ghanaians especially the youth, whose lives will be affected by the December election to take the polls seriously, they should give support to any polling station they can so that the NDC is voted out”.
“If President Mahama says he has created so much jobs, why is he promising to put some so called money into the pockets of the people come next year. Jobs must come with money or sit it that those working now are not being paid? he queried further.
According to the NPP, the ruling NDC inherited economic growth rate of 9.1% at the end of 2008 from the leadership of President John Agyekum Kufour with rate hitting 14.4% in 2014.
“President Mahama took over in 2012. In that year the growth rate declined to 9.3%. In 2015 the growth rate has further declined to 4%. So what level of growth is President Mahama laying the foundation for, is it to take us to the growth we had already achieved in 2008 or the growth we achieved in 2011?” queried the NPP.
Questioning the performance of the NDC government under President Mahama, the NPP said “We note that it is not only the growth of the economy that has retrogressed under President Mahama. Inflation was at single digit levels when President Mahama took over. Today it is over 16%. The cedi had depreciated 4% in 2011, and ghc1.80p bought one dollar. President Mahama’s policies saw the cedi becoming the worst depreciated currency in the world (30%) in 2014. Today Ghanaians need ghc4 to buy one dollar. The fiscal deficit was 4% of GDP at end 2011. President Mahama in his first year 2012 took the deficit to a record 12%. Today, even under IMF supervision and "policy credibility", the deficit is in excess of 7%. Today, growth rates in agriculture and lndustry are much worse than when President Mahama took over in 2012”.
Taking the President on fro his numerous promises of economic emancipation, Nana Akomea said “even on this 2017 economic take off claim, President Mahama has been making the same claim year in year out since 2012, but the economic plight of Ghanaians keep worsening. In his new year message 2013, he told Ghanaians of ‘Better times ahead’. In 2014 he told us the ‘Economy will turn around in 2014’ In 2015, he told us of ‘Better days ahead’ Now in 2016, he has told us of a ‘Stable economy’ Mid 2016, he is telling Ghanaians of a ‘Take off in 2017’”.
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