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Accounting for COVID-19: Ghana lacked basic wisdom and vision

51922688 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia

Fri, 3 Feb 2023 Source: Lawrence Appiah-Osei

The Nana Addo/Bawumia administration made us believe that all the problems Ghana have were due to COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war, but we now know that these events rather came to help the economy of Ghana.

In fact, if COVID had not come, some of us would not know where Ghana’s economy would be now. We got everything we needed during the COVID time but the lack of basic wisdom and vision from Nana Addo, Dr. Bawumiah and Ken Ofori-Atta got us into this mess. Now we need to cut the hair of some people to survive.

We now know that the monies we received for COVID were far more than we spent, and the excess money was used to support the budget and the economy. The corruption associated with the expenditure alone could let the President and Finance Minister resign in any serious country. I am per this medium also calling for a forensic audit of all expenditures on the Russian-Ukraine war.

After the COVID money had come to support the economy, inflation is at 54.1%, Debt to GDP is at 93.5%, a unit of petrol is GHC 14, the cedi is GHC 14 to the dollar and the total debt is at GHC 575 billion. Who in Ghana thought that with Nana Addo as President, Dr. Bawumia as Vice President and Ken Ofori-Atta as the Finance Minister, Ghana would ever record such nasty figures? They are not ashamed too. They still talk about being better managers of the economy.

Now, who in Ghana thinks that those who got us into this huge mess have at least the basic wisdom and vision to get us out? Unfortunately, those who shouted for the men of wisdom, don’t see that those in charge of Ghana now lack even the basic wisdom to govern a country.

My fear for Ghana is that in the unfortunate event and Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, Alan Kyeremanteng, or Dr. Bawumiah becomes the next President of Ghana, he will appoint Ken Ofori-Atta as the Finance Minister and Hon. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah as the Information Minister. That is the scary part of the NPP campaign.

The big information Ghanaians should look for is the position of Alan, Bawumia and Ken Agyapong on the debt to GDP of 93.5%, the Haircut and the GHC575 billion total debt.

Ken Ofori-Atta said we will never go to the IMF, and a week later, we were negotiating with IMF. Nana Addo told us there would never be any haircuts in the debt exchange, five days later, investors were told of a haircut to their investments. When such caricatures in the NPP come to you to vote for them again, should you even pay attention to them?

Let them know that their lack of basic wisdom and vision to govern the country got us into this big mess. They should first go and pray for just basic wisdom and come back. I am still wondering what some people in this government and some Ghanaians would have done and said if H.E. John Mahama were the President today.

Mahama reba

Columnist: Lawrence Appiah-Osei