The former President, John Dramani Mahama has said that government’s careless spending and mismanagement of the economy is the cause of the economic woes of the country and not the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said it is unfortunate for the ruling government to blame the economic hardship on the Covid-19 pandemic when countries who went through same agony have been able to revived the economy and are doing better.
Speaking at the NDC Professionals Forum on Monday, September 6, 2021, at the Cedi Conference Centre of the University of Ghana, the NDC 2020 Presidential Candidate for, said even though the pandemic has affected the economy, it is not the main reason for the hardships Ghanaians are currently facing.
According to him, the reckless spending in the 2020 polls by the president and the government is the cause of the difficulties Ghanaians have been plunged into.
He said 2020 polls produced the largest-ever budget deficit in the recent economic history of Ghana last year.
“COVID-19 has become the convenient whipping boy and has been cited as the reason for the crisis we face now and the attendant economic hardships. Yes, COVID-19 affected the economy, and no one can dispute that. It is however not the main reason why we are in the current hole we find ourselves.”
“COVID-19 only became a pretext for reckless election-related spending, which produced the largest-ever budget deficit in the recent economic history of Ghana last year.”
“Times are hard even though, the New Patriotic Party, NPP still insists times are not hard and that I am the one giving Ghanaians the impression that times are hard. This makes me wonder what kind of logic they have that Ghanaians cannot feel hardship unless I come and tell them.”
