A former Deputy Minister of Finance, and Member of Parliament for Ajumako Eyan Esiam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has said that the ruling NPP has no moral right to talk about the next general elections.
He said that this is based on the abysmal performance of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government in the last 6 years.
“I’m surprised the government is still talking about breaking the 8. If we were in any serious country, Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia would have resigned by now because they have mismanaged the economy. It’s scary the way they are managing the economy. 60% of state-owned agencies have collapsed under NPP,” he explained.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson further stated that the country is suffering from an economic mess and that should not give the party any rights to still want to stay in political office after 2024.
The Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament also described as “bogus” claims by the NPP that the energy sector cost has contributed to the current mess in the country.
According to him, under-recoveries in 2018 and the payment of electricity supply subsidies are rather the reasons, insisting that anyone who will blame the NDC for the inefficiencies of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is short-sighted.
“All they (NPP) know is shifting blames and that is wrong. You remember the reduction in energy prices in 2018 by the former energy minister Boakye Agyarko? Government should have paid for the subsidies but it did not. So, it has accumulated over the years. Also, the Electricity Company of Ghana was expected to rake in about 14 billion cedis this year but they only collected 70 percent.
"So, government is compelled to pay the about 4.2 billion known as inefficiencies. How should you then blame NDC for your mess after 6 years? This is a bogus government. Let nobody make a mistake by blaming the economic mess on the energy sector cost,” he told Kwesi Parker-Wilson of Kumasi-based Oyerepa Fm.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who is the Minority Spokesperson on Finance, further stated that the NPP government can only reverse the current economic crisis if it admits its efficiencies and seeks help in addressing them.
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Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson is the NDC's spokesperson on finance