'You compare John Mahama’s ‘B’ ratings to Nana–Bawumia’s administration? – Afriyie Ankrah scoffs

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, a former director of elections and campaign manager for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has questioned the logic behind comparing the economic management prowess of former President John Dramani Mahama and President Nana Akufo-Addo–Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia administration when international rating agencies rated the former a ‘B-’ and the latter, a junk status.

“Rating agencies are not subjective. Neither are they NPP and NDC. When we were in office, our ratings were B-, which was stable. The government today didn’t even get an F. We were rated junk. That means the economy is in a mess,” he argued.

Referencing reports from independent rating agencies including Ernst and Young, Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard and Poor’s, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah insisted that the NPP administration had failed on every macroeconomic indicator.

“Our debt to GDP ratio was 55.6%, but this government took it as far as 104%. What other example of economic mismanagement do we need?” he quizzed.

Making his assertions on Ultimate FM’s Breakfast Show in Kumasi, he told host Julius Caesar Anadem that the country inherited a ‘disastrous economic management team’ because the NDC failed to adequately articulate the achievements of the John Mahama–Amissah–Arthur administration to the citizenry.

He pointed out that the best economic performance the NPP posted in 2017 could not have been the doing of a government that had freshly taken office, insisting that the prudent investments of the NDC in 2014, 2015, and 2016 culminated in the 2017 economic growth, which had already been projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Before we left power, we had invested in two new oil fields, the TEN and Sankofa Wells. That is why the IMF, World Bank, and Fitch all projected that in 2017 the economy was going to grow by 8%.

Beyond that, we had gone for an IMF program of some US$1.6 billion and had taken one tranche. They came to inherit two tranches,” he clarified.

Elvis further argued that the economy came tumbling down a steep hill immediately after the Nana Akufo-Addo–Dr. Bawumia's administration exited the IMF program and began implementing their own home-grown economic policies.

He wouldn’t cut the NPP government any slack over the excuse of exogenous factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine war, insisting that Ghana’s economic downturn didn’t mirror any comparative economic analysis.

“Russia, Ukraine, and COVID did not only happen in Ghana. It happened all over. Countries like Togo, Mali, and Burkina Faso are all enjoying single-digit inflation and growth. It is just mismanagement,” he contended.

“The auditor general’s report was very clear that we needed GH¢10 billion to handle COVID. We cumulatively raised GH¢27 billion, and the rest was used for non-COVID expenditure. Is that not mismanagement?” he asked.

Afriyie Ankrah called out the government for mismanaging key sectors of the economy, including the cocoa sector, where he recounted the losses incurred by CocoaBod and the sharp drop in the volumes of annual cocoa yields in Ghana.

“At the time we were leaving office, we were producing 960,000 metric tons of cocoa, but as we speak, the government is struggling to make 400,000 metric tons. Can you imagine the impact of that on the rural economy and the country’s balance of payments?” he questioned.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah asserted that the power crisis, otherwise known as "Dumsor," couldn’t be foisted on John Dramani Mahama, who left the country with enough power generation options with extra buffers.