Mahama's government is misguided - CPP

The Convention People's Party (CPP) has described the Mahama government as ill-advised and misguided following their inability to fix the many challenges facing the nation's economy.

A statement signed by the Chairman of the CPP, Samia Nkrumah said it is high time the failed National Democratic Congress (NDC) government gave way for 'a political party that liberated our country from colonial serfdom and aspired to develop the productive resources of our country for the benefit and prosperity of her people.'

Making reference to the Finance Minister's address to the nation on Wednesday on government's debt management policies, Ms Nkrumah pointed out that the Minister was not candid with citizens on how government is managing the country's debt.

According to her, 'there has been a quantum leap in the accumulation of debt under the NDC government - from Ghs 9.5 billion to Ghs 88.2 billion of public debt, a staggering increase of Ghs 78.7billion in 7 years.'

'The government has failed to tell the nation how this huge debt was utilized.

It is deceptive and evasive to talk about debt management without disclosure on what these huge sums of money were used for, as utilization necessarily informs and directs debt management policy,' she said.

The CPP chairman observed that it is apparent government is contracting debt to pay existing debts that are due because 'we have not applied debt income for industrialization and transforming our peasant agricultural economy.'

'It is also apparent that our current economic slump is the result of poor fiscal management and indiscipline.'

Ms Nkrumah challenged the government to admit the 'inevitable detrimental consequences of debt accumulation and repayment that necessarily include the transfer of public wealth to those who lend to the government such as the IMF, and a reduction in national wealth.'

On the issue of granting concessions of public assets to external private interests, the CPP was of the view that the government has displayed 'gross ignorance of current trends in acquisition of global assets as it relates to the capacity of governments to promote growth and global distribution of income.'

Ms Nkrumah said it is 'mindboggling how a government committed to the prosperity of its people is unaware that our resources feed the developed world and that we are a net exporter of capital and that our economic growth is impeded by deprivation and expropriation.'

'The concession of our assets is therefore none other than a case of mis-education or corruption, or both,' she added. She alleged that the NDC government is systematically and intentionally making efforts 'to hand over our freedom and sovereignty as a nation.'

'A nation intended to be a great producer of all manner of goods has been reduced to a large market for foreign goods - e-waste, second hand products, and inferior Asian merchandise.

Our assets have either been sold off or run into the ground to the extent that our citizens lose faith that we can manage it ourselves.' She clarified that 'Ghana must and needs to work again; we must reclaim, reform and revive our industries. Reclaim, reform and revive our faith in ourselves.'

Source: Citifmonline.com