Reckless spending: Ghana’s economic woes

When president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was campaigning for the presidency, he made a series of promises that resonated with the general populace. Candidate Akufo-Addo was consistent with his message, he promised to protect the public’s purse, fight corruption and make it unattractive.

The general belief and understanding amongst Ghanaians were that, a new dawn of hope will befall us if candidate Akufo-Addo was elected as the president of this country. Ghanaians were of the conviction that the sunshine of hope will break through the clouds of suffering, poverty, joblessness, hopeless and corruption will be a thing of the past if Nana Akufo-Addo wins the 2016 elections.

Candidate Akufo-Addo pricked our emotions with the following renditions.

“This year, try me too. Give me the chance to show you what I can do. Four years is not so far away, if I come and I don’t succeed, kick me out. God knows my heart and I can assure you that I won’t disappoint you. Progress and prosperity are what I am offering the people of Ghana.”

His chorus was backed by his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia whom Ghanaians were made to believe was an economic wizard with the solutions to the economic challenges facing this country.

Ghanaians voted massively for Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the rest is nothing but regrets. The Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government has become the most reckless spending government in the history of Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo in his first term appointed 126 ministers to run the affairs of this country, this is unprecedented. As at March 2023, the office of the president has a combined staff of 1,048 this includes presidential staffers and civil servants.

The president also embarked on unprecedented luxurious and ostentatious life style at the expense of the Ghanaian tax payer. He has a penchant for hiring luxurious aircrafts for his foreign trips at the cost of £14,000 per hour, living like an Arabian King.

In one of his trips to the UK and Germany, the cost was an accumulated GHC3.46 million. In another single trip to France, Belgium and South Africa, the cost was GHC2.8 million at the expense of the Ghanaian tax payer.

Under this Akufo-Addo Bawumia led administration, there has been a culture of overspending and a lack of fiscal discipline as pervasive issues deeply rooted in our political and economic landscape.

The normalization of overruns and reckless expenditure, demands a candid discussion and sustainable solutions to address these negative cultural practices being perpetrated by this government.

The government’s lack of admission of their mismanagement is disheartening and shows clear lack of respect for Ghanaians. The least Ghanaians deserve is an apology for running down the economy, rather than the disrespectful and arrogant posture of the government and its appointees.

The only way this mismanagement will seize is by voting against this government, because it is obvious that, they are committing a “crime of denial”, they have continuously refused to admit their contribution to the current economies melt down.

A vote for the NPP and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will be an endorsement and perpetuation of this economic mismanagement and reckless spending. The government is irresponsible and lacks respect for the citizenry.