Akufo-Addo Tries Red Herring to Distract from Economy’s Collapse

As allegations emerge that the ruling NPP’s hostage crisis over Dome Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Sarfo, possibly stems from sex abuse at the Jubilee House and desperation to extract an obnoxious e-levy to offset a collapsed economy, President Akufo-Addo attempted using ex-President Mahama as a diversionary tactic.

According to the president, even in the throes of COVID-19 which he has made whipping boy for his incompetence, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth under him is better than what he inherited from Mahama.

“It is encouraging for my government and party, the New Patriotic Party, to recall that the rate of growth of the economy, 5.6%, against the background of the exceptionally difficult circumstances of the COVID-era, is still considerably better than the 3.4% we inherited (in 2016) in calmer times from our predecessor administration,” he claimed.

Mr. Akufo-Addo flung the red herring while delivering the Keynote Address at the National Labour Conference, held in Kwahu Nkwatia, in the Eastern Region, on Monday, February 28, 2022.

In respect of the claims on GDP growth, many commentators have pointed out that the Finance Ministry and Bank of Ghana have no credibility left because of the alleged cooking of figures to make the government look good.

Some commenters point out that this rascality of cooking figures to make the government look good is the reason the World Bank and the IMF are saying Ghana’s Debt to GDP ratio is heading towards 90% while the government is claiming that it is in the range of some 76%.

Meanwhile, the president’s claim also conveniently left out the fact that the debt to GDP ratio is over 84% in 2022 but was just a little over 55% in 2016, during the Mahama administration.

In 2016, Ghana’s debt to GDP ratio was 55.94%, by the end of 2017 when Akufo-Addo became President, it had jumped to 56.98%. By 2019 it was 62.59% and in 2022 is over 81%, according to independent data.