Ghana in worse economic crisis, needs people with experience to reset – Mahama

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, says the current economic crisis is the worst in the history of Ghana, stressing “everything is declining under this government”.

Speaking to the chiefs and people of the Zebilla constituency, he said, the country needed an urgent reset which required an experienced pair of hands to do so.

“Things were not perfect under my government, but at least, we were making some progress…we have gone through crises in the past, but I must say that even though we have seen hard times, this time is probably the worst crisis ever experienced,” he lamented.

The former President who is undertaking the first phase of his 2024 election campaign tours explained that the crisis was not limited to only the economy but had extended to almost all institutions, imposing the brunt on vulnerable people.

Excessive borrowing, coupled with mismanagement of the economy leading to depreciation of the Cedi, he stated, has raised Ghana’s debt from GH₵120 billion in 2017 to GH₵750 billion in 2024, which required the domestic debt restructuring and external support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“For the first time in our history, this is when we have overborrowed to the extent that we declare to the entire world that we are bankrupt. As I speak today, we are not servicing our debt because we told our creditors that we cannot pay.

“All the 17 times we have been to the IMF, it was just to stabilise the economy, and it was never because we couldn’t afford to pay our debt,” he added.

The NDC Flag bearer dismissed the assertion that the ailing economy was caused by COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war and added that the current government got GH₵22 billion from the IMF, the World Bank, and the Stabilisation Fund during the COVID, but mismanaged them.

He said most of the traditional industries that brought the country foreign exchange had been mismanaged by the current administration.

“The last cocoa season before I left office, we produced 967,000 metric tonnes of cocoa for export and it brought $2 billion directly into the economy but today they are producing just slightly above 400,000, so they cannot even raise $800 million to infuse the economy.

“I established two new oil wells (Sankofa and Ten fields) before I left office and so when they came, we had an increase in oil production but today our oil and gas production has declined by 32 per cent”, he added.

Mr Mahama explained that the current government had damaged every sector of the economy through mismanagement and what he described as “state capture” where only a few people were benefiting from the national cake and said it was time for a change of hands to save the country from collapse.

The 24-hour economic policy of the NDC, he said will significantly contribute to reviving the economy and create jobs for the youth.

“Eighty per cent of Ghanaians say Ghana is going in the wrong direction. The time has come to change course and send NPP packing. It is time for an experienced, safe pair of hands to take over the country and turn our fortunes around,” he stressed.