Prez failed to paint true picture of economy - Minority

The Minority in Parliament has stated that the State of the Nation Address delivered by President John Dramani Mahama in Parliament yesterday did not paint the true picture of the state of Ghana’s economy.

Contrary to the suggestion by President Mahama that Ghana’s economy was back on a sound footing, the Minority said the economy was not doing well by every yardstick.

Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps in the Chamber of Parliament moments after the President’s address, the Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said: “The President presented palpable untruths, half-truths and embellished truths.”

He said advancing the economy of the country would be predicated on solid economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate, interest rate, inflation and the strength of the local currency.

However, he said, those economic indicators did not have any positive outlook, saying, “By every yardstick our country is not doing well economically.”

Health care/arrears

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was collapsing, while the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) were all in arrears.

Besides, he said, contractors had not been paid for two years and wondered why the President was touting his achievements in the light of those challenges.

Agriculture/industry

The Minority Leader said agriculture was in the doldrums, growing at just 0.04 per cent.

He questioned how the country could accelerate growth and generate employment “with such a tragic growth in agriculture”.

Besides, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said industry, especially the manufacturing sector, was faltering. “These are the hard realities of the time,” he added, and indicated that the Minority would give a comprehensive response to the State of the Nation Address next week Monday.

He said Article 34 (2) of the Constitution provided Ghanaians with what to expect in a State of the Nation Address, namely, the measures taken towards the realisation of the basic human rights of persons in the country, the health of the economy and the right to employment.

He said the address was a tragedy of a presentation because it fell short of mentioning clear achievements in terms of job creation, industry and health care.

Social contract

The Minority Leader said the social contract that the President signed with the people was encapsulated in the 2012 manifesto of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) — “Advancing the Better Ghana Agenda: Jobs, stability and development.”

However, he said, “The President opted to dwell on development occasioned in his view by infrastructural development; especially he focused on road construction on which he spent more minutes than the total kilometres (km) he had been able to add”.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the President told the truth about the 4,000km of roads his administration and that of the late President Mills had been able to add in eight years.

However, he said, the President did not tell Ghanaians that former President increased the total road network substantially between 2001 and 2008, making it unprecedented achievement of his administration in the annals of the country.

The Minority Leader said former President Kufuor spent $1.2 billion to construct and tar 4,440km of roads between 2005 and 2008.

“Under President Mahama, he spent $1.9 billion to do only 740km of roads. That is a shame,” he said.

Writer’s email: mjafaru@yahoo.com

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