National Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, has fought off claims he owns a mansion at AirportHills.
He says he’s not the owner of any mansion as being purported on social media.
Speaking in an interview with Onua FM’s Captain Smart, he described such claims as a prophetic declaration which he welcomes unreservedly.
“I am not the owner of any of the mansions displayed on Social media. It’s a prophesy and I receive it. It is my prayer that I can own such a mansion and in fact the house I intend to construct which is currently underway will be five times bigger that what is being displayed,” he said.
He also dismissed reports that he owns six Land Cruisers.
“There are reports that I have six Land Cruisers. That’s also false. I only have one land cruiser and that’s even I gift I received due to my affiliation with John Dramani Mahama,”
Mr Sammy Gyamfi and a mansion believed to be situated at Airport Hills have been trending on social media, following the first phase of the NDC National Delegates Conference which was held in Cape Coast. According to reports this building belongs to the NDC Communications Director, Sammy Gyamfi. This claims has been alleged by many including the re-elected NDC National Youth Organiser, George Opare Addo.
Mr Opare Addo challenged Sammy Gyamfi to come out and explain how he financed those projects.
However, Mr Gyamfi has challenged such reports insisting they are false.
NDC Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, has rebutted claims that he owns a mansion at AirportHills.
Speaking in an interview with Captain Smart on Onua FM, he described such reports as palpable falsehood, fabricated to tarnish his reputation.
He was emphatic that he owns no such mansion, however, he intends to construct a bigger one.
“This issue of Sammy Gyamfi owing a mansion at Airport Hills, is a prophesy and I receive it. There are reports that I have six land cruisers. That’s also false. I only have one land cruiser and that’s even a gift I received due to my affiliation with John Dramani Mahama.”
Mr Sammy Gyamfi and a mansion believed to be situated at Airport Hills have been trending on social media, following the first phase of the NDC National Delegates Conference which was held in Cape Coast. According to reports this building belongs to the NDC Communications Director, Sammy Gyamfi. This claims has been alleged by many including the re-elected NDC National Youth Organiser, George Opare Addo.
Mr Opare Addo challenged Sammy Gyamfi to come out and explain how he financed those projects.
However, Mr Gyamfi has challenged such reports insisting they are false.
“I am not the owner of any of the mansions displayed on Social media. It is my prayer that I can own such a mansion and in fact the house I intend to construct which is currently underway will be five times bigger that what is being displayed,” he said.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has once again denied his preference and endorsement for candidates in the ongoing NDC national executive elections.
“Of paramount interest to President Mahama is Victory for the NDC in 2024 to work with expectant and suffering Ghanaians to “Build the Ghana We Want. He, like other supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), will work with whoever the delegates choose and elect,” a statement by Mr Mahama said.
This comes on the back of attempts by some candidates to push a narrative, despite his previous cautions, that he supports their candidature.
The former leader thus condemned a publication in a tabloid newspaper that he and his family are in support of one of the aspirants for National Chairman of the NDC.
“The said claim and the publication are false, and the rank and file of the party are encouraged to disregard them,” the statement issued by the 2020 Flagbearer of the NDC concluded.
Over the years, there have been requests for the corporation to be sold to a strategic partner in order to improve its financial and operational condition.
However, according to John Mahama’s most recent idea, privatizing the electricity distribution firm will actually increase efficiency and strengthen its attempts to raise money.
“It is something that we need to look at again because ECG as state-owned enterprise is not able to collect its money efficiently, it needs some private sector injections,” John Mahama said.
“One of the things we need to do is to roll out prepaid meter as quickly as possible, because if you have a prepaid meter, nobody will come and read your meter and bring a bill and you won’t pay and all that…”
He continued, “…And so I do believe we must still seek the privatisation of the Electricity Company of Ghana, so that we can inject more investment into it, because some of that money was going to provide more money for prepaid meters and also improve efficiency of collection of bills.”
He believes the revenue performance of the power distribution company can be doubled as he is intent on buying the ECG to make it more profitable.
Speaking in an earlier interview on Pan African TV, Hassan Ayariga said he wants to purchase ECG in other to provide better services for all Ghanaians.
“They [Government] should sell ECG to me; I am ready to purchase the company. Even if they [Government] do not intend to sell the ECG, they should tell me how much revenue they intend to achieve every month.”
“…Government should sit with me on live television so we can bargain the cost of the ECG, how much they make and seek to achieve in revenue every month. I will give them two times the revenue amount and manage the ECG,” he earlier said.
He added that whatever revenue the government intends to rake in from the ECG, he [Hassan Ayariga] is willing to double the amount, should he be given the opportunity to purchase the company.
“If they want US$500 million a month, I will give them US$1 billion a month,” he added.
Whenever the subject of the economy came up, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is theoretically in charge of the EMT, promptly enlisted Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the member of parliament for Suame stated it was curious.
He cited how, despite economic challenges under the John Atta-Mills administration, then-Vice President John Dramani Mahama was not ‘attacked’ as head of EMT in order to make the argument that the president bears primary responsibility for the economy.
“When the Minority Group discusses the current economic challenges, they chuck along the Vice President as chair on Economic Management Team of cabinet. President Mills after 2011 had GDP growth rate drop from 14.4% in 2010 to 9.5% in 2011. Into 2012, GDP swung down again, the Vice President (then John Mahama) was chair of EMT but nobody roped him in.
“The reason is that the Finance Minister manages the economy for and on behalf of the president not the Vice President. In the cabinet set up, in the committee system, the Vice President is not the chairman of the Economic Committee. Vice Presidents have never been.
The MP who also doubles as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs made the submissions on Tuesday, December 6, 2022 during his final submissions on the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government debate in Parliament.
Ghana is currently facing economic headwinds with a domestic debt programme facing opposition from stakeholders – largely from institutional bondholders.
Government is hoping to close a deal on debt restructuring at home in order to be able to access an International Monetary Fund (IMF) facility to support the failing economy.
Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta on December 6 announced that government was restructuring bonds held by institutional investors, putting them into four groups stretching 15 years. With interest also spread in four tranches in four years.
The Domestic Debt Exchange programme as it is called has faced some stiff opposition from major professional groups and workers union in the country.
Former President John Dramani Mahamahas explained circumstances that led him to refer himself as a dead goat.
According to him, he used the idiomatic expression due to the frustration associated with the deregulation of petroleum prices.
This, he stated, is because he knew that if the fuel prices went up, the leadership of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and other unions will not leave him in peace.
Mr. Mahama said he could not bear the mass labour unrest that was prevailing at the time.
“I am the only government in the Fourth Republic where all organised labour came together and went on strike and shut down the country.
“I was one of the most harassed Presidents by Organised Labour. That is what led to the dead goat syndrome… because when you kill a goat, you cannot frighten it with the knife again, really!… I don’t know why I said that, but of course our opponents took it out of context. They said I have said that I won’t listen to anybody,” he explained during a lecture at Academic City University College on Friday.
It would be recalled that the ex-president in 2015 said he had become impervious to threats of strikes and demonstrations in Ghana and will not yield to any of such threats in the then upcoming election year.
Adopting what he calls a “dead-goat syndrome”, the President said he would not be hoodwinked by such strategies by workers.
“I have seen more demonstrations and strikes in my first two years. I don’t think it can get worse. It is said that when you kill a goat and you frighten it with a knife, it doesn’t fear the knife because it is dead already.
“I have a dead goat syndrome,” he told a Ghanaian population in Botswana where he was on a three-day official state visit.
The country, during Mr. Mahama’s tenure, experienced a number of strikes and demonstrations from workers, most of whom protested against poor conditions of service.
The Trades Union Congress was one of the many workers’ unions that were on the streets to protest the worsening economic crisis.
The President said such demonstrations are part of strategies by workers’ groups to tie the hands of government, especially in election years.
He noted that when governments yield to such threats, the economy and budget are thrown out of gear.
On Friday, December 2, 2012, all 16 regions of the nation participated in this year’s National Farmers Day celebrations, which also took place in Koforidua, the capital of the Eastern Regional Region.
Farmers were recognised at the ceremonies with awards for their steadfast efforts over the years to advance agriculture in the nation.
The former President urged President Akufo-Addo to prioritise agriculture in his message of praise for the farmers.
“I celebrate all farmers on this auspicious occasion for their priceless efforts that feed us and keep our industries running.
“With Ghana’s economy at the brink of collapse, as proven by Rating Agencies through their unending downgrades, and the hardship it has brought to many homes, this is the time for government to begin to take farmers and farming related businesses serious,” Mr. Mahama stated in a Facebook post on December 2, 2022.
According to him “this is the surest way we can reduce imports, strengthen the struggling cedi and save Ghana’s economy.
“I urge the government to prioritise agribusiness and support with favourable financing for farmers and all actors in the agricultural value chain.”
Meanwhile, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has said there is food security in the country due to the policy interventions by the Akufo-Addo-led government.
He also commended the efforts of farmers to consolidate the country’s food security situation.
Addressing farmers in the Eastern region, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto assured of the Akufo-Addo administration’s support for the agriculture sector.
“From my field visits so far my assessment is that the ongoing harvest will be good this year and our food security situation as a nation remains strong. Farmers and fishers whom we celebrate today have built this security by responding very favourably provided by the government under the flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme.”
He added: “In the past five years – 2017 to 2021, the government of Nana Akufo-Addo has provided nearly GHC2.5 billion in subsidies on improved seeds and fertilizers alone.”
Abronye, who identified Mr. Mahama as a friend, wrote a mocking message on his Facebook page in which he expressed his desire for the former president to be unsuccessful in achieving his goal of winning reelection.
“Have a happy birthday, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, my dear buddy.
After 2024, I wish you the best of luck as you continue to represent Ghana’s longest-running opposition.
Raila Odinga of Ghana,
again, happy birthday.
Thank you,” he wrote.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama, lost a second presidential term bid in 2016 and failed another attempt at capturing power on the ticket on the National Democratic Congress in 2020.
Ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, former President Mahama is tipped as the likely candidate to lead the NDC.
Meanwhile, the governing New Patriotic Party is hoping to maintain power beyond 2023.
On the occasion of John Dramani Mahama’s 64th birthday, his beloved wife, Lordina Mahama, went all out to make the day special with freshly cut roses.
According to Ghana’s former president, Lordinagave him flowers, a total of 64 red roses.
Mr Mahama, in his appreciation post on Facebook, posed with his huge box of roses with a message that read: “64 roses from Lordina.”
The former First Lady added a special message on a card that came along with her gift.
On November 29, Lordina took to Facebook to once again confess her love to her husband of 30 years.
She wrote: “On your 64th birthday, all I ask for is God’s continuous blessings upon your life, John Dramani Mahama. You have been a dependable husband and inspiring father. Our Good Lord has blessed you with robust health, a great sense of judgment and a pure heart. There is nothing more I could have asked for in a life partner. I love you now, more than ever before. Happy Birthday, John. Forever and a day, Lordina. #JohnMahama #mahamaat64 #JDMis64.”
Thus, the former president has urged all concerned parties to work together to help the government find a solution to the situation.
He is confident that Ghana wouldn’t be in its current economic predicament if the president had access to the kind of sound advice that he used to receive.
At a discussion with some clergy at his Cantonments office, Mahama declared that there was no use in taking political advantage of the difficulties the administration was experiencing.
“All the political parties are in competition for leadership and so you cannot be happy that one party’s administration is going through economic difficulty and you stand and gloat over it.
The economy is facing major headwinds that have been characterized by galloping inflation, consistent depreciation of the cedi and general high cost of living and of doing business.
The government is hoping to reach a deal with the International Monetary Fund, IMF, for an economic support programme aimed at shoring up the economy and easing the burden on ordinary Ghanaians.
President Akufo-Addo and his government have come under heavy scrutiny for failing to address the current economic challenges in the country.
The prices of goods and services have been continuously rising all year round, with inflation currently at over 40 per cent.
The Ghana cedi has been ranked the worst currency in the world among 148 currencies tracked by Bloomberg, overtaking Sri Lanka’s rupee, having depreciated by nearly 50 per cent so far in 2022.
“Again, under the Mills-NDC administration, and I was the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, unemployment was controlled by efficient real sector measures.
After reaching 10.4% in 2000, the overall unemployment rate saw a downward trend, falling to 5.3% by the end of 2010 and then to 2.2% by the end of 2013.
But following 2013, there was a substantial uptick in the overall unemployment rate, which rose to 6.8% by the end of 2015.
“It is therefore clear that the stellar performance of real GDP growth in 2009–2012 was a significant factor that led to a lower unemployment level and which further led to job creation during the 2009–2012 period,” he said.
Read the full story originally published on November 29, 2021 by GhanaWeb
Ghana’s current high rate of unemployment started rising after the Mills’ administration, and during the reign of his predecessor, John Dramani Mahama, a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, has stated.
According to him, while the John Evans Atta Mills administration was able to significantly reduce the rate of unemployment in the country between 2009 and 2012, his predecessor’s reign contributed to worse figures for employment, reports 3news.com.
“Again, through effective real sector policies, unemployment was tamed under the Mills NDC Administration and I was the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. The total unemployment rate which stood at 10.4% in the year 2000 witnessed a declining trend to 5.3% by the end of 2010 and further declined to 2.2% by the end of 2013. However, after 2013, total unemployment rate saw another upward swing, increasing sharply to 6.8% by the end of 2015.
“It is therefore clear that the stellar performance of real GDP growth in 2009–2012 was a significant factor that led to lower unemployment level and which further led to job creation during 2009–2012 period,” he said.
He also spoke about the high rates of inflation in the country.
“High and rising inflation increases the cost of living at a fast pace, thereby eroding people’s real incomes and savings. By fueling wage pressures and raising the cost of other production inputs, it also increases the cost of doing business. Furthermore, rising inflation forces up interest and lending rates, since savers—whose surplus funds are lent to borrowers—naturally demand a higher reward for deferring consumption to the future. Higher lending rates then lead to the cancellation of otherwise viable investments, with negative effects on economic growth and employment generation.
“Historically, Ghana has experienced these effects of inflation in their most destructive forms, as the country’s post-independence economic history is marked by many episodes of runaway inflation, including prolonged periods of hyperinflation in the 1970s and 80s.
“Because Ghana relies heavily on imports to meet its consumption needs, a rapidly depreciating exchange rate is a major source of inflation. In addition, given the country’s rapid build-up of foreign debt, which accounts for about half of total public debt, a sharply weakening exchange rate significantly increases the size of the foreign debt and the cost of servicing it in domestic currency terms. In fact, research conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that exchange rate depreciation is a significant driver of Ghana’s public debt dynamics, as it accounted for almost 30% of the growth of public debt between 2006 and 2019,” he added.
He made these known in a public lecture in Accra on Monday, November 29, 2021.
He claimed that doing this was the only way to prevent the economy of the nation’s from collapsing as it was about to.
If the economy collapses while you are in opposition and you are satisfied with the current situation, there will be no country for you to inherit even if you win the election in 2024, he said. “Let us all hold hands together as Ghanaians beyond political and family considerations to make sure that we recover this economy,” he said.
The Former President made the observation at Wa on Sunday during the final Islamic funeral rites (Adua) of the late Alhaji Mumuni Mankaama, a former regional executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party who died and was buried on November 7.
The late Alhaji Mankaama who left behind five wives and fifteen children was a former youth organizer and later, a regional executive and contributed to the gains of the party in the region.
Former President Mahama claimed that even though the hardship and economic setback the country was experiencing were as a result of mismanagement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government, as patriotic citizens, Ghanaians must do the little they could to help restore the fortunes of the state.
The former President described the deceased as a “kind and God fearing man” of integrity, who rendered his sincere services to humanity and the nation without a shred of malice.
“The late Alhaji Mumuni Mankaama was a great listener, adviser, a teacher and apolitician who cared so much about his subjects, I pray he fine peace with his marker “, he said.
He extended a word of advise to the mourners to learn from the exemplary life of the deceased particularly, candidates who failed to acquire the nod to continue in the next administration as party executives in the just ended regional elections of the party.
“Those who have lost, I wish to tell you that is not the end of your life, I have lost some battles and I am still here so don’t give up, join hands with those who won and let’s work together for the NDC to win the elections”, he charged.
Mansura Mumuni Mankaama, daughter of the deceased in a tribute, described her father as a strict disciplinarian who played the role of a father and a companion, saying he exhibited the qualities every child would want in a father and pushed for unity amongst the siblings.
Hundreds of people across the region and beyond attended the Adua of the late Alhaji Mankaama at the forecourt of Dondoli park to mourn with the bereaved family.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has said that Ghanaians made a mistake by voting out his government in the 2016 presidential elections.
According to him, in spite of the achievements of his government, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was able to convince Ghanaians that he was incompetent, which led to his being booted out of office.
Mahama, who made these remarks while addressing constituency and regional executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Upper West Region, added that Ghanaians are now suffering the consequences of the wrong choice they made in 2016.
“Whatever happens in this country affects everybody. When we make a wrong choice, it affects us not today, but tomorrow and tomorrow next, and next year and the year after.
“We made that wrong choice in 2016. Despite everything we did, the people of Ghana were convinced that we were incompetent, and so they voted against us. And the effects of that decision in 2016 are continuing to follow us every day till now,” he said.
Mahama also said that Ghanaians should not accept the excuses of the government that the Russia-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic are what caused the hardship in the country.
He implied that the government’s poor management is causing unprecedented hardships for Ghanaians.
The former president, therefore, urged the executives of the party, from the polling stations to the national level, to work hard to rescue Ghanaians from the current NPP government.
He said that Ghana’s spiraling debt levels were due to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori.
“This finance minister is just interested in borrowing money on the bond market since it benefits him indirectly, you know what they are interested in.
In terms of borrowing all these Eurobonds, his company is at the bottom.
He has borrowed $9 billion from the market over the course of four years, and Data Bank profits from each bond he issues through sales of real estate and other assets, according to Mahama.
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NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has taken a swipe once again at the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta over what he describes as unnecessary borrowing.
The Finance Minister, he said, is only interested in borrowing money from the bond market because he benefits from it indirectly. He asserted that Ken Ofori-Atta’s Data Bank has been used as the special purpose vehicle for any governmental contract.
Mahama said Ken Ofori-Atta has borrowed an amount of $9 billion in 4 years.
In an interview with veteran journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr in Tamale Saturday, the NDC flagbearer said “This finance minister, you know what they are interested in, all he’s interested in is going on the bond market and borrowing because he benefits from it indirectly. His company is at the bottom of borrowing all these Eurobonds. He’s borrowed 9 billion dollars from the market in 4 years and for every bond he floats, Data Bank makes money out of it through properties and other things.”
Comparing events as they happened under his tenure to current trends under the Akufo-Addo government, Mahama claimed the NDC did not borrow a penny to finance the 2016 budget.
“By the time we left office in 2016, we financed the budget from our own revenues. We didn’t borrow GHC1 from the Central Bank. The first time in Ghana’s history. Everything! we financed the budget within 2016, we did zero central bank financing,” he said.
Former president of Ghana John Dramani Mahama believes that the current Black Stars team has demonstrated that they are a fiercely competitive group that merits the full support of the Ghanaian people.
He admits that the nation did not receive the outcomes that were anticipated, but he is certain that things will turn around in upcoming games.
The former president pointed out that the youthful Ghanaian team will succeed with the right assistance.
Read His Post Below
“That was not the result we were expecting from the game against Portugal. But we’ve confirmed that we are a very determined side for this World Cup.
“Let’s continue to pray and support the team as they prepare for their second and the final group matches.
“This team, is a young team! A work in progress. We should be proud of them.”
The projected Ghana Gold Company, as opposed to the Agyapa one, was supposed to be held entirely by the Ghanaian government and its citizens.
According to the Agyapa agreement, Ghana owns only 51%, with the remaining 49% being held by unidentified outside parties, according to John Mahama.
The presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has indicated he will audit any person or firm that made financial gains from the Agyapa Gold Royalty transaction.
“The difference is that the proposed Ghana Gold Company was going to be 100 percent owned by the government and the people of Ghana and not the Agyapa one. With the Agyapa deal, Ghana owns only 51 percent and 49 percent held by other people we don’t know,” John Mahama said.
He continued, “Ghana Gold Company was being registered here in Ghana but Agyapa was registered in an offshore tax haven so that the identities of the shareholders will be hidden. Civil society organizations and right-thinking Ghanaians have all expressed misgivings with this Agyapa deal. And I have said and my advice to president Akufo-Addo is that they should desist immediately from signing that deal because as we have said clearly, we are going to oppose it, and we will do everything legitimate to frustrate that agreement in the interest of Ghanaians.”
“If I become president and by the will of God, I will become president, I will not respect that agreement. They should bring that agreement back and hold a meeting with Civil Society Organizations, the chiefs, and all the stakeholders to whom that gold royalties belong and let us achieve consensus on how we want to monetize our gold royalties and every penny that has gone underhand will be retrieved. I assure you. So, they (government officials) should return those monies,” he cautioned.
The former president said this while addressing a gathering of chiefs and people on a tour of the Mampong constituency in the Ashanti Region on Saturday, November 21, 2020.
Prior to approving the Agyapa Royalties transaction, Parliament in 2018 passed the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act 2018 which establishes the Fund to manage the equity interests of Ghana in mining companies and receive royalties on behalf of the government.
The sole purpose of the fund is to manage and invest these royalties and revenue from equities for higher returns for the benefit of the country and government through the MIIF.
In exchange for that, the Agyapa Royalties Limited aims to raise between US$500 million and US$750 million for the Government on the Ghana and London Stock exchange’s intended for developmental projects.
“We have issues with the wage bill, which has moved up to the second-largest expense category.
In reality, under this government interest payment, it has lost its top spot and has moved up to the top spot.
And currently, we are using 103% of our tax revenue to cover interest payments alone.
That simply implies that once you pay your interest expense, no matter how hard the people of Ghana work to provide you money, it still won’t be enough, therefore you’ll need to borrow, he said.
Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central and the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo is worried that interest payments are now the most significant item on the country’s wage bill.
He diagnoses the situation as part of the broader economic mismanagement by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government
According to him, interest payments leapfrogged wage bill expenditure because of the lack of fiscal and financial space as contained in the 2022 budget statement presented by Ken Ofori-Atta on November 17.
“We have problems with the wage bill, which has now become the number two most significant item of expenditure. In fact, it has lost its place as the number one, under this government interest payment has become the number one.
“And now we are spending 103% of our tax revenue just to pay for interest service. What that simply means is that once you pay for your interest cost, no matter how the people of Ghana break their backs to give you money, it just isn’t enough, you must go to borrow.
“You notice that we run a primary balance deficit of about 8.3 billion Ghana cedis. It means that we still have to borrow for part of the interest cost. So that means that you don’t have fiscal space in the budget,” he submitted on Citi TV’s Point Blank show that aired on Monday, November 22, 2021.
“So when disaster struck, you economy is already gone and in that case, you cannot accommodate any additional expenditures and you can’t accommodate additional pressures,” he added.
He added that the key to better managing the economy was to create fiscal buffers to deal with headwinds. In his view, when COVID came, the government ended up squandering all fiscal buffers.
He noted further that the situation is no different in the area of financial buffers because the government has blown over a billion dollars in monies handed over to them by the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration.
The last budget, the Finance Minister under the heading: “Resource Allocation for 2022” stated thus:
Mr. Speaker, Total Expenditure (including clearance of Arrears) is projected at GH¢137,529 million (27.4% of GDP). The estimate for 2022 represents a growth of 23.2 percent above the projected outturn of GH¢111,645 million (25.3% of GDP) for 2021. The key drivers of expenditure growth include Capital Expenditure, funding of key Government flagship programmes including the GhanaCares “Obaatanpa” Programme, wage bill, and interest payment.
“Mr. Speaker, Compensation of Employees is projected at GH¢35,841 million (7.1% of GDP) and constitute 26.1 percent of the Total Expenditure (including Arrears clearance).
“Mr. Speaker, Use of Goods and Services is also projected at GH¢9,149 million (1.8% of GDP). This represents 6.7 percent of the projected Total Expenditure (including Arrears clearance).
“Mr. Speaker, Interest Payment are projected at GH¢37,447 million (7.5% of GDP). Of this amount, Domestic Interest due will constitute about 77.3 percent and amount to GH¢28,943 million. To reduce the cost of borrowing, Government will continue to explore options of reprofiling domestic debt in 2022.”
Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawa Mogtari has underscored that the judiciary works effectively when there is no attempt to influence judges.
According to her, the certainty of justice delivery is assured when a judge equally refuses to be manipulated.
“Thank you, Sir! The Hon Toffee was duly elected by the good people of Jomoro and same has been affirmed by the Court! The judicial system certainly works where a Judge, lady or gentleman refuses to be manipulated and remains blind to influence, justice will certainly be done!” she wrote in a Twitter comment responding to a reaction by NPP member, Gabby Asare Octhere-Darko to an earlier post she made.
Joyce Bawa Mogtari earlier made a post celebrating a High Court decision dismissing a suit challenging the election of the Member of Parliament for Jomoro.
In response to the post by the former president’s aide, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko described the ruling as refreshing in its implication that the justice system remains fair.
“Congrats! It is refreshing to be amply reminded that the legal system works! That, Lady Justice remains blind,” Mr Otchere-Darko wrote.
The opposition National Democratic Congress has been accusing the bench of being bias against the party.
Some NDC members have cited the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the party’s petition against the 2020 presidential election result to back their claim.
However, the Sekondi High Court on Monday, November 21, 2022, dismissed a petition against the NDC Member of Parliament for Jomoro.
The case which had been ongoing for close to two years was decided when the court, presided over by Justice Dr. Richmond Osei Hwere dismissed the case on grounds that the MP was eligible to contest.
The court held that she lost her Ivorian citizenship at the very time she acquired her Ghanaian citizenship, thus, there was no merit in the petition seeking to annul her election on the basis of her having dual citizenship.
The petition was filed by one Joshua Emuah Kofie, who was challenging the eligibility of the MP to contest as a representative of the people in the constituency on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He submitted that she had multiple nationalities, including American and Ivorian citizenships, which is against the 1992 Constitution.
While the court determined that she did not have Ivorian citizenship at the time of filing and contesting in 2020, the MP denied having American citizenship.
The current political climate in the NDC after the just-ended regional elections nationwide paints a picture of a silent revolution slowly unraveling in the party of Rawlings.
As far as I can tell, there’s a growing realization by Mahama’s heaps of rabid followers that they might have been completely and utterly duped by the bubble they’ve been living in.
Oh yeah, until today, everyone thought Mahama had the NDC flagbearership slot in the bag – but now, that’s not the case. The pendulum swung too far in the other direction in the regional executive elections – The stunning wins by relatively unpopular candidates in regions like Greater Accra, Central, Western and Volta make the case that, the NDC is ready to move on without Mahama.
In the Ashanti Region, where the NDC status quo and the Mahamacult waged a campaign of vilification against the incumbent chairman, Augustus Andrews Nana Kwasi still weathered the storm and came out victorious against all the odds. The same scenario played out in the Western and Northern Regions.
On the whole, the so-called anti-Mahama candidates fared slightly better than those who had the covert backing of the former President.
Of course, given the fall of most of the preferred candidates of Mahama, and the drubbings suffered by them in the regional elections, coupled with the fact that the trend looks likely to continue in the forthcoming national executive elections, it is clear the center of gravity of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the party crown may pass on from old king to a new one ahead of election 2024.
Crucially, what this loud and clear repudiation of Mahama allies really tells us is that the NDC rank and file are beginning to get it. Some have already seen the light, others now think there is a bit of a chance they could weather a tricky change in the main aim of politics: away from cult following and towards working really hard for a viable alternative to Mahama.
In other words, the Mahama elephant in the room needs to be hauled from the shadows and painted in bright colors so we can all as activists finally talk about the damage he has wrecked in the cold light of reality – The NDC keeps losing and losing and losing under his leadership – Essentially, the NDC can’t win with him in the helm of affairs.
This is why the party needs to move on and get behind a leader that can close the deal in 2024. It’s time for major electoral changes – we need someone who can score over 50% in the next elections. A winnable candidate, not just a flagbearer – A leader that will make the NDCelectable once again.
He may still be popular in the National Democratic Congress(NDC), but then, a move away from Mahama’s leadership appears to be gathering momentum.
He claims that the crisis has had a substantial effect on Christians’ ability to give tithes and offerings to God.
John Dramani Mahama stated during his sermon at the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s 175th anniversary ceremony in Ho that the current trying times require Christians to exhibit compassion and generosity to one another.
“And so, whatever little you have to share, you should share with your neighbour. I mean we could tell the hardship in the system from the appeal for funds,” the former president said.
“When it was GH¢2000, madam chair and a few people came and donated, then it came down to GH¢1000, then to GH¢500, then to GH¢200 and GH¢100. And when it got to the silver collection, GH¢1, GH¢2, the place was full, it shows that the pocket was not too good”, he stated.
The former president also called Christians in Ghana to remember him and the National Democratic Congress in prayers.
An aide to former President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogatri, has described moves by the Agric Minister to sell foodstuff at its premises to control prices as a disaster.
According to her, it is unbelievable, the “incompetent Minister for Agriculture actually went ahead to sell plantains in the ministry” while quizzing if plantain is the only food item Ghanaians eat.
In a Facebook post, she said should this be a standard of measuring the performance of the Agric Minister, then all farmers will qualify to be Agric Ministers.
“Who would have thought that six years down the line, a debate about food prices will ensue and government will pour plantain at the centre of Ghana’s ministerial enclave to sell at controlled prices? I simply can’t believe the obviously failed and incompetent Minister for Agriculture actually went ahead to sell plantains in the ministry. Is plantain the only food item Ghanaians eat and which is expensive to buy today? How can the sale of plantains at controlled prices ensure food security for our entire population? And should all Ghanaians move to the ministry in Accra to buy the plantain at the controlled prices?”
“What a disaster! If this is the measure of a Minister’s performance then all our farmers would be excellent Agriculture Ministers,” she shared.
As part of the efforts to control prices of foodstuff, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture began selling foodstuff within its premises to serve people in Accra.
The product is brought from the farms to the ministry and sold to consumers at a cheaper price.
However, when the project commenced, plantain was the only item at the venue.
But the Ministry announced that some other foodstuffs will be added as time goes on.
It is based on this Joyce Bawa has raised concerns about the project describing it as a disaster.
According to Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, the member of parliament for Tamale Central, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has lost his credibility and is no longer taken seriously by Ghanaians.
Prior to the budget announcement for 2022, he made the remarks.
“Well, I don’t think many Ghanaians take my elder brother, Dr. Bawumia anymore,” he continued, “so whatever he says, I don’t think people take him seriously. The dollar is now a fugitive, and the cedi has lost great value, and we’ve never experienced this.”
• The Tamale Central MP wants government to show more action rather than words
• Murtala Mohammed bemoans the increasing cost of living
• He believes Ghanaians do not take the Vice President seriously
Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed has taken a swipe at Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over his credibility.
According to the lawmaker, the Ghanaian populace does not pay credence to the Vice President as he is all about just using big jargon with little to nothing to show for it.
In an interaction with GhanaWeb ahead of the 2022 budget statement, the Tamale Central MP said, “Nothing positive will come out of the budget, this country is on its knees and this country is heading for disaster which is very clear. The finance minister will come and tell us economic jargon but what is important to the ordinary is a direct reflection of those long speeches. The conditions of life, petrol prices have increase umpteenth times and we’ve never experienced this and now the cedi is now a fugitive to the dollar.”
He further made reference to Dr. Bawumia’s past comments on the rate of borrowing, the cedi’s performance under the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration.
“Well, I do not think many Ghanaians take my senior brother, Dr. Bawumia seriously anymore and so whatever he says I do not think people take him seriously, the dollar is now a fugitive and cedi has lost its value tremendously and we’ve never experienced this”
He further lamented the increasing price for a bag of maize on the market which he says is currently selling at astronomical prices in his constituency.
Meanwhile, the sector Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta is however expected to deliver the 2022 budget statement before Parliament on Wednesday November 17, 2021.
Ahead of the presentation, the Minority caucus of the House are demanding that government provides a detailed outline of its spending contained in the 2021 budget else they will teem efforts to disapprove the 2022 budget.
The presentation of the budget is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
He explained that although he attempted to stamp his authority on absenteeism he could not succeed in that action.
“I admit that I was not successful in dealing with absenteeism within the lawmakers during my tenure as Speaker of Parliament even though I attempted to stamp my authority on the menace,” Prof. Oquaye bemoaned.
He indicated that regarding the issues involving Sarah Adwoa Safo, the MP for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Henry Quartey, MP for Ayawaso Central Constituency, both in the Greater Accra Region and Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central Constituency in the Central Region, who absented themselves from Parliament for more than 15 days, confessed that he did not really succeed in absenteeism.
“I must confess that one area which I did not really succeed in is absenteeism in the House, I did not succeed in tackling it and I did not succeed in tackling punctuality but I did it a while and stopped which was unfortunate and also I did not succeed in ensuring that there was even a record of how lawmakers voted,” he said.
“Members must vote in a certain direction, we had two former Members of Parliament contesting for president, who were John Dramani Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo unlike United States when Barack Obama’s record was brought out as a Senator but we do not have that in the country.”
“It is also important to have these issues because you want to know for instance, if you want to be president, what is your record on women and your record on oil,” Prof. Oquaye pointed out.
He hinted there would be an era where the two sides would have no option but to rely solely on consensus building to get proceedings in Parliament regarding disagreements in the House so as to develop because there would be no alternative to consensus building in relation to the move by the Minority to vote out Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance.
Former President John Dramani Mahama stated that the reason Ghana was facing economic challenges was because of the government’s reckless spending during the 2020 elections.
“It is quite clear, in our case, that it was the desire to win elections at all costs that got the government to engage in unbudgeted consumption expenditure to create an artificial feel-good factor before the election 2020. It is this overspending that led to the very large deficit that has undermined the economy,” he said.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has opined that the government’s poor and reckless management of the economy is due to overspending on the 2020 elections and not the effects of the pandemic.
The former leader says the current administration is only blaming their poor management of the economy for the economic effects of the Covid -19 pandemic.
Addressing the nation at the Kempinski hotel to end his tour of the 16 regions, Mr. Mahama said: “The government has attempted to conceal its appalling incompetence and recklessness in the management of the economy with the Covid-19 pandemic while the pandemic pose a global challenge to the global economy including ours.
“It is quite clear, in our case, that it was the desire to win elections at all cost that got the government to engage in unbudgeted consumption expenditure to create an artificial feel-good factor before election 2020. It is this overspending that led to the very large deficit that has undermined the economy.”
He further stated that all African countries were hit by the outbreak, but they managed their economy effectively.
“Data from our neighbours and other comparative countries in sub-Saharan Africa who were also ravaged by the Covid -19 clearly shows that almost all of them kept their economies within manageable limits and have not been through the economic crisis that Ghana finds itself in today.
“Covid-19 did not affect us any more extraordinarily than it did to Cote D’ Ivoire, yet their budget deficit for 2020 was 5.9 per cent, and their debt to GDP ratio stands at 49 percent. Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Niger and others have deficits below 7 percent while their debt to GDP is nowhere near the 80 percent that Ghana has recorded,” he said.
He added: “The undeniable effects of Covid-19 notwithstanding, it is evident from the above that the government placed its inordinate desire to win elections above prudent economic management, and that is why Ghanaians are going through much suffering now.
“Long before Covid-19 struck, red flags had emerged, signalling mismanagement of the economy, we drew attention to this, but no corrective action was taken.”
Joyce Bawah Mogtari, a private legal practitioner and spokesperson of former President John Dramani Mahama, has reacted to the Ghana School of Law’s request for school media handles of its students.
The school mandated to train legal practitioners on Wednesday, November 9, 2020, directed students to submit their social media handles for monitoring to ensure that they maintain a character befitting the legal profession.
Yaw Oppong, Director of the School, speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the School of Law Students’ Representative Council (SRC) executives explained that the request for social media handles will help many students willing to be called to the bar to maintain a good character.
“Everybody will have to provide their social media handles. We are going to look at it and you will be monitored in terms of conduct. We are required by law to make recommendations. We don’t want to stampede you.
“You are going to reapply beyond the pass and submit yourselves for all legitimate checks,” he said.
But Madam Bawah Mogtari believes the Ghana School of Law must come again on their latest request from students.
She wrote on her Facebook timeline, “as lawyers, we are enjoined to protect the ideals of the Constitution and demonstrably so. Instructively, the first action before the Supreme Court for the enforcement of the 1992 constitution was initiated by lawyers (Kuenyehia & Others v. Archer & Others [1992-1993] 2 GLR 525).
“It is therefore surprising that today, and in this age and time, the institution responsible for training lawyers in our beloved country is setting out to invade the privacy of its students by interfering with a right so sacrosanct under the Constitution.”
Bawah Mogtari continued: “I do hope that the Ghana School of Law will reconsider this decision that so egregiously violates rights protected in our Constitution.
“The Ghana Bar Association must as a matter of urgency stand up against this. Their silence many hours after the news broke in itself is problematic. The Association cannot continue to fail in its mandate to members of the Association and the public in general.
“What we need is the reformation of legal education in Ghana to be equitable and accord all those willing and qualified to read law the opportunity to do so.
“We certainly do not need a backward, draconian and repressive Ghana School of Law.”
Meanwhile, the Ghana School of Law is set to call over 700 students to join the Ghana Bar Association on Friday, November 11, 2022, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
As part of the criteria, prospective students who wish to join the Ghana Bar Association, GBA, are to lead an exemplary life by maintaining a good character.
Mr Mahama revealed that the budget for the Presidency has dramatically increased from GH¢700 million to GH¢3.1bn in the past six years.
Taken aback by the budget, the former president questioned the rationale behind the astronomical increase.
Mr John Mahama in a tweet on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, noted that the Akufo-Addo government must cut down on its expenditure to ameliorate the hardships posed by the economic crisis.
He said, “for expenditure rationalisation to be successful, it must first start in the President’s office.”
The country, he says, can recoup about GH¢1bn should the Office of the President decide to slash its budget.
Ghana has been plunged into a series of economic challenges after it recorded its first two cases of COVID-19 in March 2020.
Prices of fuel, food, and transport fares have rapidly soared in the last few years, exacerbating the plight of citizens in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The country has also been downgraded by some international rating agencies.
As a result of the country’s inability to fix its liquidity and debt challenges, Fitch Ratings downgraded Ghana’s Long-Term Local- and Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to ‘CC’, from ‘CCC’.
Ghana has now appealed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)for a $3 billion bailout due to its restricted access to international financial markets and difficulties in mobilising domestic revenue to remedy the situation.
President Akufo-Addo, on October 30, 2022 also highlighted key measures to address some specific challenges that he believes are the causes of the country’s economic crisis.
He mentioned that the government will improve the revenue collection effort from the current tax-revenue to GDP ratio of 13% to between 18-20%.
He also indicated that the government will reduce Ghana’s total public debt-to-GDP ratio to about 55% in present value terms by 2028.
The President added that his administration will, among other things, review the reforms in the energy sector, cap statutory funds, implement the Tax Exemption Act, implement a new property rate regime, make a 30% cut in the salaries of political office holders, and encourage the habit of eating what you grow.
Meanwhile, some citizens dissatisfied with the government’s economic management approach have called for the resignation of the President and his Veep, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, as well as Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen.
DKB’s video captured Sarkodie’s lyrics, “If today I am sleeping with lights in my house and my children can go to school for free, forgive me, but Nana, continue (Toaso).”
The aforementioned lines formed part of Sarkodie’s lyrics for the ‘Happy Day’ song which featured Kuami Eugene. The song was described by some persons as an endorsement of Nana Akufo-Addobecause of the ‘Nana Toaso’ phrase which the ruling party and Nana Addo used for their campaign.
According to DKB, after composing this song, Sarkodie has been mute over Akufo-Addo’s poor governance. The comedian mentioned that the rapper would have composed over 200 songs for the former President, John Dramani Mahama he were still president of the country.
“If this be John Mahama time like he drops 200singles, 4 mixtapes, 7 EPs, 10 LPs and 56 remixes on the economic mess we Dey face. Na joke ooo,” he mocked.
During John Mahama’s time as president, Sarkodie released ‘Inflation’, ‘Masses’ and ‘Dumsor’ which touched on the economic situation and energy crisis. The musician is yet to release a song addressing same although the economic crisis continue to worsen.
In some social media reactions, netizens have indicated that DKB was being honest in his statement while noting that Sarkodie was a hypocrite.
“True talk Yaaro. Every passing day, I get convinced he probably was paid to be churning out those songs. He’s probably been paid to shush now; who knows?” a user said.
Another added, “He’s the greatest hypocrite of this generation” while a third said, “You are right.”
Meanwhile, calls for Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to be sacked or resign following the economic crisis continue unabated. Some have also suggested that President Akufo-Addo should resign for failing to deliver.
Fuel prices continue to increase astronomically. A litre which sold at GH¢6 in January now sells at GH¢17.99 while the cedi has returned to its depreciation trajectory. It now sells at GH¢14.20 instead of GH¢6 early this year.
Results of the Global InfoAnalytics have shown that as much as 54% of Ghanaian respondents to a poll want President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to resign.
According to a report by citinewsroom.com, the respondents to the poll indicated their support for the call for the president to step aside, with 40 percent of respondents disagreeing that he should step down.
The poll also asked respondents whether they want the Economic Management Team (EMT), led by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to be replaced due to the current economic downturns in the country.
The report indicated that as much as 78% of the 1407 respondents supported that call, with 18% being against it.
The Global InfoAnalytics poll also found out from respondents who they believed would be a better manager of the current economic crisis in the country between John Dramani Mahama, Alan Kyerematen, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Kennedy Agyapong, and Kwabena Agyapong.
The respondents voted as such: 43%, 17%, 14%, 8%, and 1%, respectively.
The news report indicated that there, however, 19% of the respondents said they preferred someone else to manage the economy.
Respondents for the poll were selected randomly from across all 16 regions of the country.
All the interviews for the poll were conducted in the space of two days: October 31 and November 1, 2022.
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said he has always had the notion that President Akufo-Addo is empty ever since he, Asiedu Nketia, was a member of parliament.
According to him, due to Akufo-Addo’s arrogance, he failed to learn from former President John Dramani Mahama’s address which had solutions and proposals.
In a Facebook post, he indicated that President Akufo-Addo’s address on Ghana’s economy on October 30 was “nothing beyond the smoke”.
“I have always insisted that President Akufo-Addo is empty. I formed this opinion many years ago as an NDC Parliamentarian. He was representing the NPP in Parliament. Listen critically to him, and you will know he is full of smoke. Nothing beyond the smoke.
“President Mahama set the right tone in his brilliant address with solutions and proposals at the UPSA for Akufo-Addo to learn from. But arrogance and lack of capacity deprived him of the opportunity to drink from his predecessor’s fountain of wisdom,” he said.
He urged Ghanaians to join the NDC to vote against the NPP in 2024.
“But there’s hope! We have elections 2024 to win to rescue Ghana from this incompetent and clueless NPP government that is determined to use foul means, including violence, to steal the outcome of the elections,” he stated on Facebook.
However, he asserts that the speech must be entirely focused on the steps the government is taking to lessen the suffering of typical Ghanaians in the midst of the country’s economic crisis.
On Saturday, October 29, the seasoned journalist stated anything in the president’s message short of solutions will render it useless, according to Accra-based Pan African TV.
“I don’t know what the president is going to tell us about but whatever he is going to tell us tomorrow must do with solving the problems that confront us. Anything beyond that is useless. What are the solutions? What does he propose to resolve the problems that confront the Ghanaian people. Tomorrow [October 30] that’s all we want to hear,” he said.
To this end, Kwesi Pratt Jnr has outlined four areas the president must steer away from in other not to make Ghanaians angrier.
He said such attempts at blame game “will annoy us even more” if the president’s address chooses to go on that tangent.
He said what was most important was that the address focused on how to stabilize the prices of goods and services as well as tackle the country’s debt stock.
“I don’t think anybody in Ghana is interested in the evaluation of the government that he took over from. It is not necessary. It is a waste everybody’s time. We don’t want to hear the Mahama administration did that and did not do that and so on…it’s useless.
“Nobody wants to hear that. What we want to do…you are the president. You are sitting in the chair. What are you going to do in order to take us out of this mess. Finish. So the blame game is not what we are expecting tomorrow. Blame game should be out.
“In fact the blame game will annoy us even more tomorrow. Nobody wants to hear that tomorrow and I hope the president and his handlers know the mood of the country and they know that tomorrow, that’s not what we are expecting.
“All we want to know is how to stabilize prices, how to deal with the debt stock which is killing us, how to make sure ordinary people too can breathe small. That’s all we want to know,” Kwesi Pratt said.
The ace broadcaster has also cautioned the government to stay clear off ceasing the savings and wealth of Ghanaians in foreign currencies.
He contended that such an action if announced by President Akufo-Addo will run contrary to the lawful practice of people being allowed to save in foreign currencies.
“I think there are some other things we don’t want to hear tomorrow and I am not alone. There have been all kinds of rumors flying around. I don’t think anybody wants to hear tomorrow the president announcing measures which amounts to the confiscation of people’s savings and investments.
“We are not responsible for this mess. The laws allows people keep their monies in the bank in dollars. On the basis of the law, people have engaged in lawful enterprise, accumulated their wealth, save their wealth in foreign currencies and so on…government should not come and seize those monies,” Kwesi Pratt stated.
Kwesi Pratt said the two measures adopted by governments in previous times did not augur well for the country.
According to Investopedia.com, while devaluing a currency may be an attractive option, it can have negative consequences.
“We don’t want to hear about a devaluation of the national currencies anymore because these devaluations have not helped us over the years,” Kwesi Pratt emphasized.
“We do not want to hear demonetization and redenomination and so on…we have tried it and it didn’t work. We want to hear something fresh and new,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo’s October 30 address comes after a three-day crunch Cabinet meeting in the Eastern Region at the Peduase Lodge over the depreciation of the cedi, as well as the IMF programme and the skyrocketing prices of food and other items.
Information Minister and MP for Offoase Ayirebi, Kojo Opong-Nkrumah, ahead of the address has said that Akufo-Addo has taken key decisions aimed at rebooting the economy.
“We’ve wrapped up a three day cabinet retreat during which President Akufo-Addo has settled on key decisions aimed at responding strongly to the impact of the global economic challenges on Ghana
“This follows a week of interactions with various economic actors and inputs from the IMF negotiations so far. Tomorrow evening we start the exercise of rebooting as the Prez outlines measures. #ResolvingTogether,” Oppong-Nkrumah tweeted on Saturday, October 29, 2022.
In an effort to aid the nation out of its current economic difficulties, former president John Dramani Mahama advises the government to reduce spending by lowering the number of appointees, disband or realign state entities with identical functions, and halt non-essential projects.
He questioned the need for the Free SHS Secretariat given that the Ghana Education Service could carry out the policy just as well.
Speaking at a gathering titled “Building the Nation We Want,” the former president urged the government to take more action to fight corruption.
Mr. Mahama said the incompetence of the Finance Minister and the entire Akufo-Addo government has caused the depreciation of the Cedi and other economic challenges in the country.
The former President said it is not acceptable for Mr. Ofori-Atta to continue to be in office supervising the 2023 budget and the completion of Ghana’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Mr. Mahama was optimistic that the economy will get better and urged Ghanaians to unite and consume locally produced foods as a way of supporting the economy.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has paid a condolence visit to Justice Joyce Bamford Addo, a former Speaker of Parliament, as well as Supreme Court Judge.
The visit on Friday was to commiserate with the former Speaker on the death of her sister.
Mr. Mahamaconveyed the condolences of the leadership and members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the former Speaker.
He was accompanied by former Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah.
He claimed it had been detrimental to “wanton collateralize” nearly all statutory funds in order to obtain more loans.
The former President stated Thursday night in a speech on the nation’s struggling economy with the theme, “The Ghana we desire,” that it had constrained the financial ability of the funds established to aid the government in meeting fundamental commitments.
The situation, he said would inhibit the chances of future governments to run successful administration due to limited access to financial resources.
“Government should de-securitise these funds and add them onto the public debt as part of the discussions on debt restructuring,” he said.
Mr Mahama estimated that freeing the funds from the burden of collateralisation and the renegotiation of energy sector Independent Power Producer Payment (IPP) payment could guarantee government access to revenue of about GH¢ 16 billion in 2023 to GH¢ 19.4 billion in 2025.
“This will significantly ease the cash-crunch, which has crippled many sectors resulting in government’s inability to meet such basic obligations as supplying food to secondary schools and providing textbooks for basic schools, ” he said.
Mr Mahama called for a moratorium on all non-concessional borrowing, canvassing bilateral partners for more concessional financing and grants and a stop to Central Bank’s financing of government above the five per cent threshold, especially through currency printing.
He also called on government to leverage its competitive advantage in the energy sector to partner the private sector and mobilise the needed infrastructure and investment to export energy to other west African countries and save foreign exchange due to limited importation.
“It is regrettable that in the last six years, government has been unable to bring any new oil or gas prospects into operation,” he noted.
Sack Ofori Atta, reconstitute Economic Management Team – Mahama to Akufo Addo
In response to the nation’s economic woes, former president John Dramani Mahama suggested that president Nana Akufo-Addo dissolve the Economic Management Team (EMT) and establish a new one with the president as the head. An economist, Daniel Yaw Mordey, has come out against this plan.
The former president recommended that the president dissolve the EMT led by Vice-President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia and establish a new one to better manage the economy while delivering a talk at the University of Professional Studies in Accra on the topic of “Building the Ghana We Want.”
According to him, the EMT cannot be chaired by a holder of third-class results in economics.
He said from a look at the economic challenges the country is facing, the EMT needs to be chaired by an individual who attained a first class in economics.
That person, he mentioned, must be economically savvy.
As it stands, we know the president at the university had a third-class result in economics and given the situation Ghana is currently in, the EMT cannot be chaired by a third-class economics student, he argued
John Dramani Mahama, a former president of Ghana, is adamant that dismissing Ken Ofori-Atta as finance minister will not have any bearing on Ghana’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the creation of the budget.
The President met with lawmakers who demanded the dismissal of the Finance Minister and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, according to a statement from the majority leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu.
He claimed the President appealed to these Members of Parliament to exercise patience for the Finance Minister to finish the IMF negotiations and also the presentation of the country’s budget in November.
The Majority Group Members of Parliament according to the statement acceded to the President’s appeal.
But reacting to the statement from the Majority Leader, former President John Dramani Mahama indicated that the absence of Ken Ofori-Atta will in no way affect the preparation of the country’s budget and the current negotiations.
He argues these things are done in groups and there is no way his absence will even be felt if he’s taken out of office adding that there are surely people with the requisite experience to carry on the work reminding them of their mantra “we have the men”.
According to the Bank of Ghana, Ghana’s public stock debt stock reached GH402.4 billion in July 2022, or 68 percent of GDP.
John Mahama is of the opinion that the government must approach the debt restructuring process in a way that addresses both domestic and external debt components, even if the World Bank has predicted that the percentage will reach 104 percent by the end of 2022.
Although the figure has been projected by the World Bank to reach 104 percent by end the of 2022, John Mahama believes government must conduct the debt restructuring exercise in a manner that covers both domestic and external debt components.
Speaking at a public lecture on Ghana’s economy on October 27, the former president said the current economic conditions have since left many Ghanaians suffering with severe erosion of indigenous capital.
“For us in the NDC, our position is that any debt restructuring must not place the absolute burden on only the domestic debt. Restructuring of our debt must cover both domestic and external debt,” he stated.
He further pointed out the impacts of the banking sector clean-up exercise which he believes has resulted in job losses and erosion of capital for many Ghanaian businesses and families.
It is for this reason, John Mahama wants government to conduct a proper debt restructuring exercise amid ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
“Any debt restructuring restricted to cover only domestic creditors would lead to a further erosion of local savings and capital and would also severely weaken the Ghanaian banking sector,” John Mahama stressed.
Meanwhile, Global investment bank and financial services firm, JP Morgan has warned Ghana’s potential debt restructuring exercise could further weaken the position of the local currency.
JP Morgan in a recent Emerging Market Quick Take touching on the recent performance of the Ghana Cedi, it attributed the decline to the Bank of Ghana’s decision to purchase dollars from mining and oil companies, inadvertently reducing forex availability within the inter-bank market.
The global investment bank further attributed the loss of confidence in the domestic economy, which it believes has drained FX reserves and resulted in volatility.
“A middle-income country should maintain a debt to GDP ratio of no more than 60 percent, according to recommendations.
If you surpass 60% and reach 70% or more, you are classified as a highly indebted poor country, or HIPC.
Everyone in Ghana owes close to GH $900 if we divide the debt among all citizens, including children, he said.
Addressing residents of Kakasunaka in the Kpone Katamanso constituency on Wednesday as part of his campaign tour of the Greater Accra Region, Mr Mahama said the government has since the year 2017 borrowed GH¢157 billion, thereby increasing the debt to GDP ratio to an unprecedented 76.7 percent.
“The recommended debt to GDP profile for a middle-income country is that we should remain not more than 60 percent debt to GDP. If you pass 60 percent and you go to 70 percent and above, you are becoming highly debt distressed, which is the same as HIPC. If we take that debt and divide it amongst all Ghanaians, including children, everybody owes almost GH¢9000,” he said.
Mr Mahama was amazed at the ballooning national debt stock inspite of attacks on his tenure and pledges by the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) that it was capable of developing the country without loans.
He said when the NPP was in opposition, it created the impression that Ghanaians were sitting on money but were hungry as a result of the policies of the Mahama administration.
“But today we are hungrier than we were in 2016. How many people can eat three square meals a day today? And the question you ask is, where is the money, GH¢ 157 billion, what have you done with it? Show us”, he said.
Mr Mahama said his government developed the country with the GH¢56 billion it took in loans, adding the evidence can be seen all over the country that his government invested in roads, school blocks, hospitals, water and power expansion projects, among others.
Mr Mahama said, among others, the next NDC governement will focus on job creation, implementation of Free Primary Healthcare to ensure universal access to healthcare, rolling out Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (T-VET) as well as state-sponsored National Apprenticeship Programme.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has called on parliament to pass legislations that will stop governments from using statutory fund as collateral for loans.
He said the “wanton collateralisation” of almost all statutory funds for the purpose of taking more loans had been unhelpful.
It had limited the financial capacity of the funds set up to help government meet basic obligations, the former President said Thursday evening in an address on the economy hardship in the country on the theme: “The Ghana we want”.
The situation, he said would inhibit the chances of future governments to run successful administration due to limited access to financial resources.
“Government should de-securitise these funds and add them onto the public debt as part of the discussions on debt restructuring,” he said.
Mr Mahama estimated that freeing the funds from the burden of collateralisation and the renegotiation of energy sector Independent Power Producer Payment (IPP) payment could guarantee government access to revenue of about GH¢ 16 billion in 2023 to GH¢ 19.4 billion in 2025.
“This will significantly ease the cash-crunch, which has crippled many sectors resulting in government’s inability to meet such basic obligations as supplying food to secondary schools and providing textbooks for basic schools, ” he said.
Mr Mahama called for a moratorium on all non-concessional borrowing, canvassing bilateral partners for more concessional financing and grants and a stop to Central Bank’s financing of government above the five per cent threshold, especially through currency printing.
He also called on government to leverage its competitive advantage in the energy sector to partner the private sector and mobilise the needed infrastructure and investment to export energy to other west African countries and save foreign exchange due to limited importation.
“It is regrettable that in the last six years, government has been unable to bring any new oil or gas prospects into operation,” he noted.
Former president, John Dramani Mahama, does not believe it is wise to use public funds to build the national cathedral at a time when the nation is facing economic difficulties.
Mr. Mahama contends that now is not the time to allocate public funds to initiatives like the building of a national cathedral that are not necessary.
On Thursday, October 27, 2022, he gave a lecture on the state of the economy of the nation with the title “Building the Ghana We Want.”
Mr. Mahama made the following statement at the event’s location, the University of Professional Studies in Accra: “The public funding of the national cathedral, particularly at this time, must halt.”
Stressing he was a Christian himself, he further noted, that the cathedral cannot be prioritised amid the current economic challenges and public funds invested into the construction of the cathedral already, should be audited.
“Being a Christian myself, and deeply appreciative of the centrality of God in nation building, I agree with most Ghanaians who believe that the project cannot constitute a top priority of government at this moment, warranting further injection of scarce public funds.
“Because of the non-transparency of the procurements associated with the project, I believe that the project should be subjected to a value-for-money audit in order to open the way for believers who wish to contribute to its construction to do so,” Mr. Mahama stated.
Despite public outcry about the construction of the cathedral, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has maintained that: “We will surely build the [National] Cathedral.”
Meanwhile, a call centre has been announced for the National Cathedral Project.
The Board of Trustees for the Project announced this at a Press Conference on Monday, 24 October 2024.
The call centre will provide answers to Ghanaians seeking information on the project including how to donate and enhance the relationship between the cathedral and the public.
A member of the Board of Trustees of the Project, Rev Joyce Aryee, was also hopeful that despite the country’s current economic challenges, persons would still donate to complete the National Cathedral.
“Human beings are so resilient. I am 76. I have lived through worse economic times in our country, therefore, I know economic times are as transient as the seasons of life,” she said.
“God has a way of touching our lives in ways that sometimes we don’t understand. We are still going to church, aren’t we? And we are still making donations, aren’t we? But times are difficult and that’s what gives me hope that, never
mind how difficult times are, some people will willingly support,” Rev Aryee argued.
The Deputy Majority Chief Whip of the 8th Parliament, Habib Iddrisu, has described the ‘Building the Ghana We Want’ lecture by ex-President John Dramani Mahama as a useless exercise.
According to him, the former president failed to proffer any tangible solution to the country’s challenges.
In a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Habib Iddrisu added that Mahama only engaged in mere fabrications and lamentations of his own failures as president.
“Yesterday, I literally wasted my time listening to the ex-president. I listened throughout his speech, and I couldn’t actually understand. In fact, it was very empty. In fact, it was a lamentation of his own mistakes.
“At the end of the day, there is nothing new that he said yesterday that he had not said before. His presentation was empty in terms of facts. It was empty in terms of data. It was a lamentation of his own mistakes,” he said.
He reiterated that the former president did not give any solution to the challenges in the country, adding that, left to him alone, the Akufo-Addo government would not give any attention to the statements Mahama made.
Meanwhile, former President John Dramani Mahama, while delivering the lecture at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, UPSA; lamented the state in which Ghana finds itself economically, stressing that the buck stops with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He holds, however, that Akufo-Addo has refused serially to take responsibility for the current mess.
Mahama said that the country had been left to ministers who were performing below par but who the president insists are ‘excellent.’
He recalled an incident last December where Akufo-Addo said the economic challenges were “not my fault; he refuses to take responsibility,” Mahama stressed.
The former president insisted that mismanagement was at the heart of the current crisis and not a pandemic or war, “Ghana has been turned into a family heirloom,” Mahama noted.
According to him, the National Democratic Congress remained ready to share pragmatic steps on how to deal with the current challenges despite the refusal of the New Patriotic Party government to seek support, even if through back channels.
John Dramani Mahama, the 2020 presidential candidate of the country’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), addressed the nation on Thursday, October 27, 2022, from Accra.
The event, dubbed ‘Building the Ghana We Want,’ allowed the former president of Ghana to diagnose what he believed are the current problems the country is facing, as well as proffer solutions to how to make them better.
Reading a 39-page address at the UPSA Hall in Accra, the former president outlined a number of issues that he believes can save the country from further economic mess if the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government implores them.
Below are highlights of his speech as put together by GhanaWeb:
1. Reducing the public debt, debt service obligations and creating fiscal space
“The biggest problem with our economy today is the huge size of our public debt, estimated to be around GH¢ 522 billion by close of this year. This must immediately be tackled and stopped from growing further.
“To achieve this:
1) An immediate moratorium must be placed on all non-concessional borrowing.
2) Government must actively canvass our bilateral partners for more concessional financing and grants.
3) There must be a stop to Central Bank financing of government above the 5% threshold. The current printing of money to finance Government’s deficit is further fueling inflation.
4) Government must stop collateralizing statutory funds for the purpose of taking on more loans. The wanton collateralization has been unhelpful.”
2. Cutting cost, reducing waste, and spending wisely
Under this, he called for the down-streaming of the size of ministers, secretariats and agencies, the cutting down of the budget of the Office of the President, check waste in government expenditure and corruption, the suspension of non-essential projects, and a call for greater transparency in public procurement.
“It is a notorious fact that corruption has defeated the Akufo-Addo government. In fact, it is fair to say that there has never really been a fight against corruption under Akufo-Addo.
“The graft and misapplication of public funds by government appointees call for radical action and not shielding of perpetrators, as we have sadly witnessed in the last few years.”
3. Stabilizing the currency, cutting the import bill and job creation
While expanding this point, John Dramani Mahama called for a consideration of the Operation Feed Yourself program of 1976, as a measure of sustaining progress in agricultural production, with a focus on small scale producers.
He also called for the Akufo-Addo government to leverage on the country’s energy and petroleum sectors to help shore up the economy.
“We do enormous damage to our currency, the cedi, and our economy, when we spend billions of dollars on the importation of rice, sugar, tomato products, frozen fish, poultry, meat products and vegetable cooking oils.
“Yet we have more than the potential to produce here to feed ourselves and even export. It is estimated that forex outlay for food products for which we have a comparative advantage to produce locally amounts to some $3 billion every year.
“It is said that out of adversity comes opportunity. Restriction of importation of some of these products, side-by-side with increased local production, is a realistic proposition that we need to begin to consider.”
What Ghanaians can do to support the economy:
President John Dramani Mahama however called on the citizenry to play a critical role in all of this.
Basing his call for domestication, he urged people to patronize more local products and avoid the needs to patronize things from overseas.
“While responsibility for the difficulties we face lie with the Akufo-Addo and Bawumia government, there are things we can do as citizens in our own small way to minimize the suffering we are going through and help Government turn the situation around.
“A good way to start will be to regulate and minimize out expenditure by sticking to only the things that we really need. As much as possible, we need to acquire and sustain a taste and preference for locally manufactured products.
“If we must buy consumables or food products, let us choose that rice or chicken that is produced locally so that it doesn’t become necessary to find millions of dollars to import the same items.
“Let us consciously eat more of our local foods like yam, local grains, cassava, beans, local fruits, and vegetables. That way, we reduce demand for foreign currency, reduce the pressure on our own currency and boost domestic production to create a win-win situation.
“Cut down on non-essential foreign travel and cut down on expensive foreign products in our homes. If there ever was a time to be thrifty, this is it!”
Former President, John Dramani Mahama says the construction of the National Cathedral Project can longer be a top priority, given the existing cost of living crisis in the country.
He maintains, no further attempts must be made to continue committing public funds and the little state resources to the project in these crucial times.
“The public funding of the national cathedral, particularly at this time, must stop”, the former President said.
John Mahama whilst making reference to his Christian values emphasized that resources should rather be channelled to revive the ailing economy, adding that funds already pumped into the construction works should also be subjected to value for money audit.
“Being a Christian myself, and deeply appreciative of the centrality of God in nation building, I agree with most Ghanaians who believe that the project cannot constitute a top priority of government at this moment, warranting further injection of scarce public funds.”
“Because of the non-transparency of the procurements associated with the project, I believe that the project should be subjected to a value-for-money audit in other to open the way for believers who wish to contribute to its construction to do so”, Mr. Mahama added.
John Mahama was delivering a speech themed, ‘Building the Ghana we want’ at the University of Professional Studies, Accra on Thursday, October 27, 2022.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is still unwavering in his resolve to build a National Cathedral in Ghana.
“We will surely build the [National] Cathedral,” President Akufo-Addo stressed.
For him, the project is dear to his heart and will ensure that the facility is built to glorify God despite the tough times.
He insisted that the Cathedral is a “priority among priorities”.
“Though the economic hardships are having a toll on Ghanaians, I am very optimistic that things will get better, adding that “these challenges too will pass.”
Recently, a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral project, Rev. Joyce Aryee, said she is optimistic Ghana’s economic crisis will not stop donations to the project.
At a press conference to announce a call centre for Ghanaians to seek answers on the project such as how to make donations, Rev. Aryee, said she did not expect the economic hardship to persist in the long term.
Construction work on the National Cathedral was suspended because of a lack of funds.
The $450 million project was envisioned by the government in March 2017 as a physical embodiment of national unity, harmony, and spirituality.
It remains unclear how much has been pumped into the project from donations and government support.
As of June 2022, various church denominations had contributed GH¢2.21 million towards the construction.
Former president, John Dramani Mahama has urged the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration to cut costs, remove waste, and spend money wisely.
On Thursday, October 27, 2022, Mahama stated that one method to achieve this is by scaling back his administration. The event was titled “Building the Nation We Want.”
Additionally, he recommended that the government put on hold non-essential initiatives and eliminate or restructure governmental entities that served comparable purposes.
Again, the 2020 flagbearer of the NDC backed calls for the dismissal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta from office; adding that his removal will not affect the ongoing negotiations between Ghana and the IMF.
“A big contributor to the excessive public expenditure is the sheer size of government. President Akufo-Addo has been particularly irresponsible in keeping a needlessly large government. At a point, we had over 120 ministers in his government with hundreds of political appointees at the Presidency and others attached to ministers and state organisations.
“While the President has cut down this number, there is still room for a further reduction including merging some Ministries to reduce expenditure and cut down the number of Ministers to below 65. It is also necessary to trim the large number of political appointees who have sought refuge in the Flagstaff House. This will reflect the necessities of the time and the need for modesty and prudence” John Dramani Mahama noted.
Former president, John Dramani Mahama has urged the Black Stars to do everything humanly possible to beat Uruguay even if they lose their opening two games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Ghanaians have harboured some ‘football hatred’ for Uruguay after the two-time World Champions denied Ghana an opportunity to become the first African country to play in the semi-finals of the World Cup in a very controversial game which saw Luiz Suarez’s preventing a goal-bound header with his hands in 2010.
Though many including former Black Stars coach, CK Akonoor have urged the team not to be revenge driven in their final group game against Uruguay in Qatar, former president Mahama believes that it will be a sweet revenge for the Black Stars to beat the North Americans.
“Unfortunately, we are in a Group of death. The teams in our group are the strongest and look at what faith has made, bringing Uruguay into our group again.”
“It will be sweet revenge if we score them and so even if you don’t beat anybody, just beat Uruguay for me and let’s pay Suarez back for what he did to us,” John Dramani Mahama said as quoted by ghanafa.org.
The Black Stars will face Uruguay on Friday, December 2, 2022, at the Al Wakrah Sports Complex in the final Group H game.
Rapper Sarkodie is undoubtedly one of Ghana’s most popular musicians known globally for his talent. Back home, he is celebrated for winning awards and also being vocal about matters that affect citizens.
Unhappy about Ghana’s economic situation, Sarkodiewent after the country’s leadership some eight years ago under John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He called out the president for mismanaging the economy which was characterized by power outages popularly known as ‘Dumsor’, hikes in fuel prices, and the cedi’s poor performance against the American dollar.
Sarkodiereleased two songs in the space of one year to ‘attack’ the then-government which was run by John Mahama. He spelt out all the wrongs under his leadership and called him to action.
Fast forward to 2022, Ghana is now facing a much more difficult situation that has witnessed citizens calling for the heads of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and other ministers who have woefully failed in their various positions.
GhanaWeb throws back to two of Sarkodie’shit songs that best describe Ghana’s current economic crises under Akufo-Addo.
1. Inflation
Released in 2014, ‘Inflation’ was Sarkodie’s first punch at the NDC’s government and the then-president, John Mahama. The lyrics in the songs are more than ever relatable.
The introduction of ‘Inflation’ goes like this: “The nation is full of surprises. Besi nne we still leave in crisis. Kantamanto kokohwe nneeama prices. ECGfoo nso play omo tactise. Ene na dumso, okyena na pipe. Towo nnooma so na yebe dum no five. Filli wo gallon na save wo life.”
Parts of the lyrics touched on the cedi’s performance against the dollar and the fuel price hikes.
2. The Masses (Inflation Part 2)
Just a year after Sarkodie released Inflation, he came out with ‘The Masses’ to hammer on the need for the government to address the plight of Ghanaians.
The song equally got all the hype despite claims that it was a deliberate attempt to make the government unpopular.
Sarkodie poured out his frustration on the song that was sung in the Twi language.
Meanwhile, Sarkodie in a couple of tweets has urged President Akufo-Addo to fix the country following distress calls from all four corners of the country as a result of the economic crises.
The Akufo-Addo administration has been urged by Mahama to be transparent and to consult with the “best minds” among Ghana’s decent citizens.
“The government should come clean and tell us, ‘What is the state of the economy?’ You must put everything on the table…That is why I called for a national dialogue. I said bring the best brains together. I have been president before, it served me well. I called the Senchi Forum, it didn’t reduce my stature as President,” Mahama added.
Speaking in an interview with the host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Dr George Domfeh, said the call for a national dialogue is needless.
Read Also: Economic crisis: “Mahama’s call for national dialogue apt”- Amon Kotei
According to the development economist, factories that could have mitigated our crises have been left to rot in the bushes.
“The call for a national dialogue is needless as the solution to our economic crisis is right in front of us.” I believe the current crisis is God-sent, especially for a country that does not prioritize local industries and has left factories from the Nkrumah era to rot.
“What national dialogue do we need again? Belgium doesn’t grow cocoa, but they have built factories to make chocolates from cocoa. Cocoa is giving Belgium so much money, yet we take pride in exporting our cocoa to these countries, and we are here talking about a national dialogue. We import toothpaste into this country. Are we serious?”,” Dr. George Domfeh told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.
Former President, John Dramani Mahama has showered praises on Kurt Okraku led administration for bringing vitality into Ghana football after taking over from the Normalisation Committee.
Okraku and his Executive Council took over the reins of Ghana Football in October 2019 after he secured votes in the third round of the GFA elections.
Prior to that, the sport was in the hands of a Normalisation Committee chaired by Business mogul Dr. Kofi Amoah for about 16-months following the Anas Expose that sought to expose some corrupt officials in Ghana football.
“We know that under this administration, the GFA has brought some more vitality into our football and we are all supporting this administration to make sure we move football to the next level,” former President Mahama said as quoted by ghanafa.org.
“I know there are challenges in the domestic League because our people are more interested in the foreign League and so people don’t come to the stadium as they should but it is normally a good family entertainment, but we need to raise the standard so people will love to come to the stadium.”
He added, “There has been concerns about refereeing and so it depresses the quality of the league but we have faith that you have all that in hand and we will continue to support you.”
“My doors are open and if there is anything you think as a former President, I can do to bring in any moral encouragement, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Issaka Amon Kotei, a local government specialist, has urged President Akufo-Addo to adopt the previous president John Dramani Mahama‘s offer for a national conversation.
This comes after John Dramani Mahama, a former president, alleged that Ken Ofori-Atta, the minister of finance, had been concealing his activities behind Ghana’s dire economic state the entire time.
The Akufo-Addo administration has been urged by Mahama to be transparent and to consult with the “best minds” among Ghana’s decent citizens.
“The government should come clean and tell us, ‘What is the state of the economy?’ You must put everything on the table…That is why I called for a national dialogue. I said bring the best brains together. I have been president before, it served me well. I called the Senchi Forum, it didn’t reduce my stature as President,” Mahama added.
Read Also: Ensure all journalists operate without oppression- Mahama tasks GJA
Speaking on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Local governance expert, Issaka Amon Kotei asked Akufo-Addo to take Mahama’s suggestion in good faith and speak to stakeholders.
Issaka Amon Kotei has called on government to consult the major stakeholders who are key players within the economy in a forum.
According to the governance expert, these stakeholders will calm the masses so nobody is taken by surprise.
“When it comes to trade,, GUTA is a stakeholder. When it comes to the salaries of workers, TUC is a major stakeholder. When it comes to the welfare of teachers, GNAT and NAGRAT are major stakeholders. Even students are major stakeholders. “It will be better for them to come clean and tell us the exact state of the economy,” he added.
Former president John Dramani Mahama’s assistant Joyce Bawah Mogtari expressed regret about the state of the Ghana cedi a few weeks after Bloomberg named it the currency with the worst performance against the US dollar.
According to her, bringing up that situation amounted to criticizing those whose poor economic decisions had caused the cedi to depreciate against the dollar.
She expressed her opinions in a tweet that said, in part: “The world’s worst performing currency at the moment is the Ghanaian Cedi.
Since the Cedi is not a person, how can we speak down to it? By speaking up for the leaders whose poor economic management brought the Cedi to ruin!
I’m grateful.”
The issues about talking down the cedi replies a recent admonition by New Patriotic Party, NPP, member, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, about how the media’s coverage of the currency could lead to speculation and further worsening the status of the cedi.
Gabby holds that whenever journalists report negatively on the cedi, they become accessories to fueling speculation about the currency and thus become complicit in its depreciation.
He wrote in a Facebook post of October 20 thus: “Journalists can report and influence. But where the default mode is to influence negatively, such media houses run the risk of becoming partners in speculation.
“It is not the job of journalists and analysts to fix the cedi; but fixing it is not helped if they make it more their job to fuel speculations.
“The cedi may be worth 60% less now than what it was to the US dollar last year. But it is not worthless! My sympathies go to the many, many businesses and consumers out there who simply do not know to where to turn,” the post added.
Bawah Mogtari, in another tweet acknowledged that President Akufo-Addo will be addressing the nation on the economy, whiles expressing the hope that Vice President Bawumia will also be invited to answer some pressing questions.
“Hopefully after the President Akufo Addo’s presentation, he will invite his Vice President Bawumia to respond as succinctly and as loquaciously as he did in 2016 to the 170 questions he set for our late VP Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur! Thank you,” her tweet read.
A former president’s adviser, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, revealed this today, October 24, 2022, in a Facebook post.
She posted on her Facebook that “John Mahama talks on Thursday, October 27th at 7 pm about Ghana’s failing economy, the unparalleled difficulties sweeping the land, and the way forward.”
Ghana’s economy has in recent times witnessed a downturn with the government admitting that the country was facing challenging times.
Many economists have also pointed to the rate of inflation, fuel price hikes, and fast depreciation of the Cedi as the basis for the claim.
Amid economic downgrades from rating agencies such as Fitch, Standards and Poor and Moody’s, Ghana has been prevented from accessing the international capital market which has compelled it to initiate contact with the International Monetary Fund for a programme. Ghana is looking at securing a $3 billion facility over a three-year period.
Mahama in his recent commentary on the economy has urged the government to fast-track negotiations with the IMF in order to secure the programme with the Bretton Woods institution quickly.
He added that with the passing of each day, Ghana’s economic situation was getting worse.
“Distressing! Every passing day makes our economic situation worse. Gov’t must work with greater alacrity to lock in a programme with the Fund in order to create a more predictable economic outlook,” John Mahama tweeted on October 4.
The former president also in an October 19 tweet said the economic hardship confronting the country is the worst in thirty years.
He made the remark while reacting to news that a man had died by electrocution on a high-tension pylon near Kasoa.
“I returned from a trip to the sad news of Kakra who electrocuted himself. Levels of hardship in Ghana are dire; the worst in 3 decades. But suicide is never an answer. Even in the darkest night, there’ll come dawn. The sun will rise again. Let’s be each other’s keeper & keep hope alive,” Mahama tweeted.
The anticipated address by John Mahama will be his second major address on the economy in recent times. On May 2, the former president engage with Ghanaians on the topic “Ghana at a Crossroads.”
