Fellow at Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana and Pharmacist, Dr KWAME Asiedu Sarpong has dismissed Finance Minister Amin Adams’s apology for the economic hardships faced by Ghanaians as mere political rhetoric.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, apologized to Ghanaians for the hardships they are experiencing due to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
During a town hall meeting in Accra on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Dr. Amin Adam explained that the DDEP was a requirement set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), making its implementation necessary.
His apology comes after the Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, advised members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to admit their mistakes in the management of the economy and apologize to Ghanaians.
Same was reiterated by the Member of Parliament for Obuasi West Kwaku Kwarteng who has called for the political class to wake up to the realities of the public outcry and adopt a responsive approach to governance.
Mr. Kwaku Kwarteng who is a member of the governing NPP and a former deputy finance minister admitted without mincing words that successive governments have run the economy of Ghana like a Ponzi scheme, borrowing in an endless cycle of repaying existing and new debts.
According to Dr. Sarpong, the Finance Minister’s apology appears to be an attempt to shift blame from the government’s policies which have been widely criticized for contributing to the country’s economic woes.
Dr Asiedu Sarpong pointed out that the government’s bad decisions led to the debt restructuring, resulting in the current difficulties.
He argued, “The first thing he should apologize for, is the mistakes they made, which led us to go through these hardships. If he had apologized that they didn’t do well and that their bad decisions made us go through these difficult conditions, the reason we did the debt restructuring which has yielded us into this difficult situation, so forgive us, I would have understood.”
Speaking in an interview with Millicent Safo Adu, host of Bresosem at Abusua 96.5 FM; Dr Sarpong refuted the Minister’s claim that the hardship was necessary albeit not desired.
He stated “Because of their poor governance, the debt restructuring was successful; 94% accepted it, including myself, but he does not accept his wrongs. He should stop blaming COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.”
He further argued that the Minister should have apologized for their mistakes, which led to 54% inflation, and not just swept the failures under the rug.
“He should accept that bad decisions resulted in 54% inflation. When they realize that the decisions were poor and that they corrected it, inflation is now 23%, so we’re sorry is acceptable.
Dr Sarpong continued “If you don’t accept the decisions that you made, which have led us to where we are, then what you did to make it right is what you are accepting”.
Dr Asiedu Sarpong contended that the Minister’s claim of not intending to impose hardships is unconvincing, given the warnings raised about excessive borrowing.
He indicated “I disagree with his statement that it is not their intention to impose hardships on the people because, when they started borrowing, people raised the alarm that borrowing was too much. They responded that it was strategic borrowing”.
However, while Dr Asiedu Sarpong acknowledges the improvement in Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio, he argued that the success is largely due to the IMF program and inflows from development partners.
“Yes, you will say it was successful because of the IMF program or the inflows coming from our development partners, but we are not open to the capital market”.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kwadwo Owusu
