Ghana’s Highly-Accumulated Debt Caused By NPP’s Own Enrichment

It made major headlines on social media and online news outlets last week that “Ghana’s public debt increased to GH₵610 billion as of December 2023. Comparatively, this is a 26.85 percent rise from the GH₵446.3 billion recorded in December 2022. The new debt figure represents 72.5% of gross domestic product.” With such a report, any intelligent Ghanaian should be worried about the current state and the future prospects of the nation. I need to say that the future of Ghana is bleak under the NPP government.

Hon. A.B.A. Fuseini on Akufo Addo's enormous appetite for corruption.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Ghana is the right government to point to when looking for an example of a reckless administration in Africa that has accrued so much debt that it is unable to explain to the populace how the money was spent or how the debt came about. There has never been advancement in the country, even though Akufo Addo's administration has gotten more foreign financial assistance, notably COVID funding from the World Bank and others from the IMF.

While the NDC never left an economy in disarray, the NPP government refused to acknowledge its own shortcomings, incapacity, and pervasive corruption that caused the economy, businesses, and investments to collapse. Instead, it placed the blame on the former Ghanaian leader. "When I left office, the debt to GDP was 57%, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that the optimal GDP for middle-income countries be 60%," said Mahama.

To determine the cause of the NPP's careless spending and widespread corruption, which contributed to Ghana's infrastructure collapse, it is imperative to go back in time. Regarding the nomination of President Ken Ofori-Atta's relative as Finance Minister, I have already written several articles. Any competent government would never make such an appointment because it encourages corruption rather than moving the country forward. Ghanaians ought to understand the primary cause of their nation's downfall.

Considering the banking industry's main duties include lending money to people and businesses and protecting depositors' assets, Ghana's economy depends heavily on it. Therefore, when banks start to have problems, it's a task that requires precise and appropriate remedies to keep them from going bankrupt. However, the NPP government used GH¢18 billion to bring down banks that required GH¢9 billion to remain afloat. This demonstrates the recklessness and incompetence of the NPP government.

In the interest of the family and the NPP politicians, rather than the suffering people he begged to believe in him and give him authority to help, Akufo Addo took advantage of his relative Ken Ofori-Atta, the finance minister, to enter into a number of dubious ventures. Yet, the president ignored the people's protests against the E-Levy's implementation, which eventually devastated their lives and ruined their businesses, despite telling Ghanaians that he should be fired if he is not good.

A government is clearly engaged in systemic corruption when it is deeply in debt and lacks accountability. People in Ghana may observe that, despite Akufo Addo having cut more sod than any other president to start projects, the NPP has not yet finished any after nearly eight years in office. 58 million dollars have been spent on a cathedral for which no foundation has yet been laid. To make room for this Baal cathedral, Akufo Addo destroyed government properties.

Since everything in Ghana is political, it was difficult to convince Akufo Addo that the country was having financial difficulties and that he needed to reduce unnecessary spending and opulent travel. The more Hon. Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa attempted to warn the president about the impact of his careless spending on the state, the more the NPP politicians assaulted him. How serious are Ghanaians as a people if they disregard this and support Bawumia, who is also responsible as president?

A larger portion of the funds that the NPP government was embezzling from the nation ended up at the Ghana Embassy’s account in Belgium. That’s why the Ghanaian government was instructed to shut down its three Belgian bank accounts by the Belgian authorities when they learned of the money laundering. Ghanaians are unaware they are dealing with a Mafioso organization when it comes to the NPP government. When Akufo Addo was exposed by Al Jazeera in their "Gold Mafia" documentary, I wasn't surprised.

Even though Akufo Addo promised Ghanaians he would fight corruption before taking office, his failure to do so made both dead and current NPP politicians incredibly corrupt. As a result, people who vote for them live in extreme poverty, while others, like Eugene Arhin, Cecilia Dapaah, the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, and the late John Kumah, steal millions of dollars and amass wealth.

How do you expect the nation to progress when such appointments are made by Akufo Addo, if NPP politicians are assigned to posts they do not know about?

Ghanaians should realize that until they strive to overthrow the NPP, neither their lives nor the country will advance since individuals in positions of authority are not typical people; they lack empathy, compassion, or awareness of the suffering of the populace. They still treat the people with disdain, as evidenced by their disregard for both the Constitution and the people. Thus, I shall counsel all wise Ghanaians not to waste their time on a government that has no interest in them.