Heed the call for a national dialogue on economy – minority

The Minority in Parliament Tuesday called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to heed the call by Former President John Dramani Mahama for an urgent national dialogue to help save the economy from collapse.

According to the Caucus, the call had become necessary following alleged job losses, a spike in transport fares and general hardship being suffered by Ghanaians, portending grave danger for the country’s security.

Addressing the Parliamentary Press Corps in Parliament, Mr James Algaga, Deputy Ranking, Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, said: “The Minority in Parliament owes it a sacred duty to protect the 4th Republican Constitutional Order.

…”If care is not taken, Ghana, our beloved country will soon be heading in the direction of Sri Lanka, a South-East Asian country, which went bankrupt in recent memory due to economic mismanagement which eventually resulted in mass protests and demonstrations and eventual collapse of the country’s government.”

Mr Algaga said official data sources indicated that Ghana’s annual inflation rate accelerated for the 17th straight month to 37.2 per cent in October 2022.

He, however, told the Press that the reality on the ground was that in some specific cases inflation was well above 50 per cent and the figures represented the highest inflation rate the country had seen in several decades.

To that end, the group emphasised its call for President Akufo-Addo to dismiss Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, without further delay to allow for new thinking to be brought to bear on the ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, adding that such a step would make it unnecessary for them to proceed with their much-anticipated motion to censure the finance minister.

“Even more alarming is the country’s Debt-to-GDP ratio. The World Bank in its Africa Pulse report released in October 2022 projected that Ghana will end 2022 with a Debt-to-GDP ratio of 140%. The Ghana Cedis on the other hand has now been adjudged by Bloomberg as the worst-performing currency in the world, overtaking bankrupt Sri Lanka’s rupee has slumped by more than 45%. Currently, one needs almost GH¢14.00 to purchase 1USD,” the Member of Parliament, Builsa North said.

Reacting to the Press Conference, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, the Defence Minister, admitted to the current economic hardship in the country and called for collaborative efforts by all, especially the minority, to help solve the problem, especially on the floor of Parliament.