Ghana went to the IMF because of Mahama's policies and external factors, Bawumia
Bawumia defends government's decision to seek an IMF assistance
Ranking Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has berated Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia for partly blaming the John Dramani Mahama government for the current economic hardship Ghanaians are facing.
He said instead of leading the country through this difficult moment as head of Ghana’s Economic Management Team, the vice president is blaming everyone except his government for the challenges in the country, citinewsroom.com reports.
Ato Forson added that after boasting that the government had the men to salvage the country from the challenges Ghanaians are facing, Bawumia and his team are now running to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support.
“In April this year, the same Dr. Bawumia, told the whole nation that the Economic Management Team under his chairmanship had put in place adequate measures to prevent the nation from going for an IMF programme. Today, Ghana is back to the IMF not even in good shape, but in dire economic situation. Is this not a spite of the Vice President’s assurance?” he quizzed.
“You will agree that we are not in normal times. Indeed, we are in very perilous moments; we are in uncharted waters; there are difficult moments ahead and so, what we expect from the head of the Economic Management Team is some modicum of respect, honesty, integrity, and above all seriousness when it comes to governance and the issue of the economy. This is not the time for theatre comedy, and obviously not the time for IT jocular pranks. We are tired of the monotonous blame game on former President Mahama,” he said.
The vice president has asserted that some policies of former President John Dramani Mahama and external factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war are responsible for the economic difficulties in the country.
According to him, Mahama’s policies resulted in the Energy Sector Excess Capacity Payments and the Banking Sector Clean-Up which together with the COVID-19 and the Russia- Ukraine war have made life unbearable for Ghanaians.
Speaking at an event on Thursday to outline Ghana’s achievements in digitalisation, the vice president indicated that the government had no choice but to seek an International Monetary Fund programme to help stabilise Ghana’s economy.
IB/SARA
Ranking Member of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson