Ken Ofori-Atta, Finance Minister
After tagging incompetence with the John Mahama administration some seven years ago, many famous faces in the current government including the president and his loquacious vice cum economist also vilified and blamed the same administration when it signed the then Ghanaian economy on to an IMF programme, describing the move as consequential to only "economic mismanagement and reckless borrowing" deliberately oblivious of the drastic reduction in prices of commodities that had engulfed the global market at the time.
Amidst the vilifications and castigations was a cacophony of vows, by which vows Nana Ado and his cohorts portrayed themselves as the only persons possessing the ideological wherewithal to save the then-ailing economy from a possible crash.
The internet bears copious evidence to the effect that, these tactless braggarts; president Akuffo Addo, his vice; Dr. Bawumia and other ideologues of the NPP created the impression while in opposition that, only failed governments that have mismanaged their economies, seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund.
With all this misinformation, they profited politically having won power and formed government in 2017.
While expectations of the Ghanaian masses were commensurate with their promises, they, upon assumption of office, became more powerful than their kingmakers, routinely doling out monies from the public purse for the pursuit of their self-seeking initiatives at the sacrifice of the wailing citizens by whose thumbs, the got power.
A bit more worrisome and blameworthy is the fact that the Nana-Bawumia administration has borrowed more than any Ghanaian government in recorded history after deceiving the voters of this nation into trusting their brand and faking prowess at replacing borrowing with better ways of generating internal revenue for national development.
Today! Not only have they depleted the national purse, but they've also collateralized a good number of state funds like ESLA and GETFUND for loans.
All the while they have formed government, they've touted the solidity of their Economic Management Team even when reality holds and displays an opposing viewpoint like the downgrades from prominent credit rating institutions. They heeded not to expert calls for a return to the IMF.
"We will never go to the IMF" was their declaration and reply to all those who admonished them to seek the support of the international fund.
Preceding the declaration was the display of empty pride for the capabilities of The Economic Management Team to rescue the economy from the doldrums without external assistance. until recently when with their blinded sight, they could only see a single most potent remedy to our frightful economic conditions, being a disgraceful return to the IMF.
They've since shamelessly taken back their spittle into their mouths, and being unrepentant politicians as characteristic of their personalities, they still ridiculously try to explain away, with wishful and pointless arguments, their own logic about how incompetent governance and mismanagement of an economy serves as the causative factors of signing for a programme with the IMF.
Just how are you able to substantiate your claim that Covid-19 is to be blamed for the economic woes we are suffering as a nation when indeed! The financial assistance we have sourced effortlessly in the name of fighting Covid far outweighs the total amount of money we have taken from the IMF in all the sixteen times we have sought from the fund, financial support.
This instigates a comforting reminisce of the apt, solemn and prophetic response that came from His Excellency; John Dramani Mahama when he was being castigated and vilified by the Npp, that posterity is his judge.
Although the truism of his response could not be in contention, I least anticipated this rate of swiftness with which posterity has really judged JDM's administration and the current one which by all standards, is a travesty of governance and political administration.
If Nana Addo and Dr. Bawumia were any principled politicians, they should have been apologizing profusely to the Ghanaian populace for the disrespect, deceit, the peddling of blatant falsehood with which they dubiously acquired their votes and the gross mismanagement of our economy, the basis upon which we are signing for an IMF bailout programme.