Government admits economic hardships
NDC calls for disbanding of EMT
A video of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia announcing members of the government’s Economic Management Team, EMT, which he heads has resurfaced in recent times and is being shared by opponents of the government.
The idea is to ridicule the Vice President and the government for the current economic downturn that government is grappling with.
According to a member of the National Democratic Congress’ Communications Team, Beatrice Annan, it is sad that the team Bawumia listed and referred to as a ‘solid team,’ has become a liquid digital team.
Speaking on issues of the economy on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme, Ms. Annan said it was curious that Bawumia who was supposed to lead the EMT was now silent on the economy but had taken on a digitalization robe instead.
“It is interesting to note that the once solid economic management team has acquired a latent heat of fusion and has all of a sudden metamorphosed into a liquid digital economic management team, because that solid team we cannot find it anywhere.
“The team is no longer solid, it is liquid. Now all the members of the solid team, their leader is now an IT expert.
“Some are concentrating on their own and others don’t ant to be associated with this government. So, the once, ‘what a solid team!’ has become a liquid digital team and that is why we are where we are,” she stressed.
Government has admitted the economic crisis the country is facing and has stated that plans are afoot to deal with them headlong. Impact of COVID-19 and the recent Russia-Ukraine war has been cited as major contributory factors.
Despite this, government has staved off a push by the Minority in Parliament for a bipartisan probe into government expenditure into COVID since the pandemic arrived in March 2020.
Pro-government voices insist that such expenditure have been catered for in the budget whiles the opposition insist that there are unaccounted for monies.
Government, aside internally generated funds dedicated to fighting the pandemic, also benefited from support from bilateral and multilateral partners in the fight against the pandemic.
Meanwhile, government insists that a major part of the economic downturn the country is experiencing is because of the impact of COVID-19.
President Akufo-Addo has assured, however, that the economy will bounce back sooner rather than later.
Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of Ghana