Members of the opposition party, NDC have asked President Akufo-Addo and his economic team, led by Vice President Bawumia to concede that they have failed and have been unable to live up to the rhetoric roiled out during the 2016 campaign.
According to them, the depreciation of the cedi, and the current worsening economic conditions in the country is due to gross mismanagement and poor policy choices by the Akufo-Addo government.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, the Minority Spokesperson for Finance, and Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam constituency, Cassiel Ato Forson, said that, “The rapid decline in the value of the Cedi has thrown the economy in disarray and the projections surrounding it, as contained in the 2019 budget. This has therefore undermined confidence in the economy and sent the wrong signals to the investor community.”
Ato Forson also stated that the budget as presented by the Finance Minister can no longer be relied upon as the true blueprint upon which the management of the economy for this year can hinge.
According to him, its credibility and sustainability have been completely undermined by the Cedi depreciation.
“This new budget/ statement to Parliament must announce bold and permanent steps to arrest the Cedi, not the propaganda ‘IGP’ approach. It should announce reliefs to the business community and Ghanaians as a whole” he said.
“We propose the scrapping of the Special Import Levy. The exchange rate depreciation has compounded the woes of importers whose duty payments have shot up astronomically. This has led to steep rises in the prices of goods and service and has imposed further hardships on the ordinary Ghanaian,” Ato Forson added.
Meanwhile, he called on the government to as a matter of urgency focus on building a strong and resilient real sector that will support the consolidation of the gains from the other key sectors.
“The time to end the high import-dependent economy dilemma is now,” he added.
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