Akufo-Addo, Bawumia must apologize to Ghanaians for current economic crisis – Awingobit

Executive Secretary of Ghana Importers and Exporters Association, Sampson Asaki Awingobit, has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to render an unqualified apology to Ghanaians for plunging the country into an economic mess.

According to him, government’s Economic Management Team have lost touch with reality as Ghanaians are suffering due to high inflation, increase in goods and services, fuel price hikes and increase in transport fares.

Speaking on Citi TV’s Big Issue and monitored by GhanaWeb on August 20, 2022, Mr Awingobit said, “Government and its so-called economic management committee have lost touch with the people. They have no knowledge, I do not know where they got their PhDs from…This government has failed us woefully, and it is high time the President [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] and his vice [Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia] accept and apologise to Ghanaians. They have performed abysmally. They cannot promise us flamboyant things and fail and go on with their lives as though nothing has happened.”

“These are the same people who criticised the former President [John Mahama] throughout his tenure, going about, promising us heaven on earth all to get into power. I want the President of the Republic of Ghana and his vice to apologise to Ghanaians. They have said so much and delivered little,” he stated.

His comment comes on the back of the high inflation rate and the frequent depreciation of the local currency.

The Bank of Ghana on Wednesday, August 17 increased the monetary policy rate by 300 basis points to hit 22% from an earlier 19% rate.

This was after an emergency meeting was held to address the hike in inflation rates which currently stands at 31.7%.

Food inflation rose to 32.3 percent in July 2022 from 30.7 percent in June 2022. Similarly, non-food inflation increased to 31.3 percent from 29.1 percent in June 2022, contributing 55 percent to the rise in headline inflation in July 2022.”

According to the central bank, these happenings including the weakening of the Ghana cedi have pushed the economy into heightening uncertainties leading to the increase in the policy rate.

Source: Ghanaweb