John Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has pledged to cancel non-essential projects, including the "One Village-One Dam" initiative, if elected.
He plans to redirect funds into more profitable ventures to boost state revenue.
Mahama argues that the nation's current economic woes demand strategic policymaking, particularly in reducing government spending.
He criticizes the incumbent government for failing to decrease expenses, focusing instead on revenue enhancement.
“This government made many mistakes and we find ourselves in this crisis again and we need to cut down expenditure. This government is not willing to cut expenditure. In a crisis, you slash expenditure and increase revenues.
“All they are doing is increasing revenues but without reducing expenditure. We are going to eliminate all those wasteful projects; One Village-One Dam and all those things that they spent billions on so that we can use that money in the more productive sectors to make the economy grow again. Like Planting for Food and Jobs,” the former president said.
In contrast, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, aspiring to succeed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, maintains that their administration has managed the economy wisely amidst global challenges, including implementing expenditure cuts.
Addressing Muslims during Eid-ul-Adha prayers on June 16, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer remarked, "global events in the past three to five years have significantly impacted nations and their citizens, and our country has not been spared.
"This has led to a series of uncomfortable situations for our citizens. Even though we are not yet where we want to be, which is back to the economic boom we experienced a few years prior to the crisis, data shows that our economy is on the path of recovery."
TWI NEWS
He emphasized the government's substantial reduction in general expenditure. Finance Ministry data indicates a total budgetary allocation of GH₵259 billion.
Amidst economic challenges, there have been calls on the government to reduce expenditure by cutting the size of the government and prioritising policies.
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