Open Letter To Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta

Ken Ofori Atta, Minister of Finance

Dear Ken Ofori-Atta,
Mr. Dreadlock, greetings from Binduri.
Wahala dey for you oooooo. Obouy you dey see top? Well; Let’s see how it goes.

Is been about a week ever since you delivery your so called ‘Adwuma’ budget after your ‘Asempa’ budget crashed; a very hopeless and jobless budget it was; so I want to address pertinent issues emanating from the deceptive 2018 budget which must be made known to the suffering Ghanaians. After the Asempa budget achieved nothing but Asembone for Ghanaians; you have now brought another set of empty promises; calling it “Adwuma” budget. What an insult!!! Well I will tell you why but first lets analyse the following. Dr. Hassan Ayariga flayed your long deceptive essay at a press conference today and I wish to convey his digest to you:

BUSY YEAR
You said “this year has been a very busy one for all of us. This is the third Budget we are presenting in the year. The first one was in March, the second, the mid-year performance review and now, we are presenting the 2018 Budget.” This shows you have been busy reading budgets and not working. You are only interested in reading essays. You keep wasting our time, resources and energy on irrelevant things.

NPP’S SELF-ACCLAIMED ACHIEVEMENTS*
You said your policies are yielding results, restoring hope and bringing relief to Ghanaians; it’s a pity and a sad distin. What hope were you talking about? Is it the increasing fuel prices? Is it the increasing cost of commodity prices? Is it the high spare parts prices despite the so-called removal of special import levy? Who says talking about Free SHS means all is well? Do you really hear what people say about that ill-implemented policy?

That free SHS is an embarrassment and a disappointment to students and parents. Can’t you can see the disappointments in the face of parents whose ward met the entry requirement but could not be placed because government is trying to control the number of admissions because of the cost? Can’t you see the disappointment in the eyes of the students who sit on the floor to learn in class? Can’t you see the disappointment in the eyes of the students who sleep under trees because there isn't enough space to contain them in the dormitory? Can’t you see the disappointment in the eyes of parents whose wards are getting pregnant because they stay alone without supervision as there is inadequate dormitories to accommodate them for which matter they have rented private accommodation making them vulnerable? Keep trickling yourselves.

FISCAL DISCIPLINE
On the issue of fiscal discipline, you claimed you’ve resolved to be fiscally disciplined and respect the limits parliament set for you within appropriation claiming you are well on course to end the year with a fiscal deficit of 6.3 percent lower than the 6.5 percent contained in the budget. You cannot be serious. I mean this is preposterous. When you are not spending you will definitely stay within appropriation. Infact any government can achieve that by deciding to be lazy and not spending.

ACHIEVING THE ‘IMPOSSIBLE’
You also claimed you have achieved in one year what seemed impossible in eight years previously. Verbose rhetoric of no substance. Were you drunk? If you claim you have restored macroeconomic stability, renewed confidence in the economy, provided reliable electricity supply, returned to robust growth, with a real GDP growth of 7.8 percent in the first half of 2017, against 2.7 percent in 2016, there will surely be hard question to answer.

What confidence has NPP restored in the economy when international rating agencies have downgraded Ghana? I mean the recent world economic outlook report which downgraded Ghana as not being business friendly. The Danish Embassy recently lashed at us stating corruption is scaring away investors from Ghana so what were singing? Why has the ESLA bond failed woefully after you extravagantly splashed a whopping GHc177 million on its administration alone? Something is just not adding up.

How much investment has been made in the economy so far? Why were you comparing real GDP growth of the entire 2016 to the first half of 2017? What contribution or foundation did you lay in 2016 that resulted in the 7.8% in the first half of 2017? Tell me whether really there was dumsor when you took over office and what investment has been made in the power sector to ensure reliable power supply.

INFLATION RATE REDUCTION
You said end-October inflation stood at 11.6 percent from 15.4 percent end-December 2016. Let me ask what is the essence of reduced inflation when it has no positive impact in the pockets of the ordinary Ghanaian? Why boast of reducing inflation when prices of goods are skyrocketing? That is the reality on ground. The reduction in inflation is meaningless unless it is impactful positively on the prices of goods and services as well as the purchasing power of the citizenry. Even at 15.4% in December, 2016 commodity prices were lower compared to the NPP’s low inflation that results in high cost of living. Is it voodoo or what?

POLICY RATE REDUCTION
This bragging of bringing the policy rate down to 21 percent from a peak of 26 percent in 2016 is most absurd and should not have been mentioned as an achievement. That is a beer parlour propaganda you played on us Obouy!!! It rather exposed a lazy government that refused to spend in order to prevent the banks from lending. While they're not lending because people don’t go for loans what else can you do rather than being compelled to reduce the rate to entice them to borrow?

MAIDEN 15-YEAR BOND
The dubious GHc2.25bn questionable bond is too much an embarrassment to be mentioned among the so-called achievements of Akuffo Addo. Was it not the bond you issued in four hours to friends and associates without involving the Attorney General? Have you answered the charges against your fraudulent issuance of this bond lodged with the CHRAJ? Have you disclosed to Ghanaians who the 5 percent investors who subscribed to the bond are? When the pot tries to call itself white, we must find out why.

Then again, we are told external balances improved driven by higher export earnings and lower imports. This is interesting. What did we export in the ten months to accrue so much? Why have we imported less? Is it because times are hard and the businesses cannot afford to import? Is it because of high prices such that the appetite for imports dwindled? The improved gross international reserves to US$7.2 billion, equivalent to 4.1 months of imports cover should be automatic when you are not importing. If you don’t spend your money remains for you.

Obouy; you managed to calculate primary balance to 0.3 percent surplus in September 2017 against a deficit of 1.6 percent in September 2016 but could not tell the country’s debt stock in September, 2017. Who are you misleading? Ghanaians will not be fooled by cooked figures. Every antecedent figure should be provided to enable us appreciate his false claims. To me, you’re practicing creative accounting and window dressing.

I am also shocked you said government have successfully completed the 4th IMF/ECF program review and achieved positive developments in the oil & gas sector - favorable ITLOS ruling, and Sankofa producing first oil three months ahead of schedule. What has the NPP done in these areas? How can you complete something you did not start? Is the IMF program now an achievement? Oh, Ken and Bawumia! When will you find your feet in this confusion?

What has the NPP contributed to the ITLOS victory which you were terming your achievement? What investment did make in the oil and gas sector. The Sankofa project and the TEN fields were already established by the $6 billion investment from ENI Ghana which, the NPP vehemently opposed before they took over. So, what did you do to warrant an achievement on their part?

THE 419 GHANA POST GPS
Discussion of this scam is now a taboo in Ghana. The National Digital Property Addressing System to provide a unique address for all properties in Ghana was launched recently with the clueless Dr. Bawumia erroneously claiming it has leapfrogged the USA, Germany, UK and Sweden. This is no achievement especially when it is another plagiarism that cost the tax payer over GHc11.6million.

Most IT experts who examined the fraudulent leapfrogging app said it was a free app on google app store yet our Vice President, the most prudent finance expert, has gone to buy this free app. Is it an achievement to buy something that is not for sale? Is it not fraud to claim to have bought something which is dashed to you free? I grant it to you; it is not easy to create loot and share on this massive scale.

THE NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
The National Identification Scheme was already done last year by the previous government of John Mahama. What your NPP is doing now is to roll it out. It will be sensible to give some credit to the previous government for the great work they did but as usual your NPP is taking credit for work it did not do. What is now surprising is that after Akuffo Addo got the first card, the country must now wait till next year July to start getting our cards. Much ado about nothing.

TEACHER AND NURSING TRAINEES ALLOWANCES
You have again fooled Ghanaians to believe you have restored these allowances. The drama at Sunyani has dissipated. The nurses have now claimed the allowance did not come in October. They are not sure November will even come while some are yet to receive both the September and October allowances. As for the teacher trainees it is pathetic. You have gone back to John Mahama’s policy of paying the teachers through the Students Loan Trust (SLT). Starrfmonline.com on Monday reported that the trust has taken over the teacher trainees allowances. This means you have reneged on restoring the allowances and opted to implement Mahama’s policy by giving the trainees loans through the SLT. Is this hypocrisy an achievement?

FALL OUTS OF THE ASEMPA BUDGET
It is worthy to note the following:
 The Asempa budget couldn’t pay DKM customers

 The Asempa Budget couldn't build a single hospital

 The Asempa Budget couldn't build a single school

 The Asempa Budget couldn't construct 1 kilometer of road

 The Asempa Budget couldn't reduce light bills

 The Asempa Budget couldn't reduce water bills

 The Asempa Budget couldn't reduce import duties

 The Asempa Budget couldn't reduce fuel prices

 The Asempa Budget couldn't pay workers on time

 The Asempa Budget couldn't create jobs for unemployed Ghanaian

 The Asempa Budget couldn't provide jobs for our nurses

 The Asempa Budget couldn't continue all the infrastructure projects initiated by NDC

 The Asempa Budget borrows money to pay workers
A lot more questions are begging for answers after the Review of 2017 Budget and the reading of the 2018 Budget. Ghanaians are asking:

 How many Zongos have received their Zongo Development Fund as it was captured in the 2017 Budget?

 Out of the Thousands of Jobs you promised under Planting for Food and Jobs Policy, how many personnel have you been able to engage and where are they?

 Why did you fail to tell us our Debt Stock so far in 2017?

GOVERNMENT’S PROJECTIONS IN THE 2018 FISCAL YEAR

INDUSTRY TO GROW AT 17.7%
You said industry is estimated to grow by 17.7 percent at the end of 2018, making it the best performing sector. This is intriguing to say the least.

Here are few questions:
What growth and which industry were referring to? Manufacturing or Mining? Can we get the breakdown? Is it the one district one factory which we are being told is still being appraised? By the way your government promised it will complete 55 of these factories by the end of this year; so where is JACK?The one pineapple factory started by the NDC which Akuffo Addo and his ministers went to inaugurate with jamboree fanfare has grown weeds and habouring snakes and grass cutters. Which of these factories are growing when they have not been established?

The one million dollar per constituency promised in the dead Asempa budget did not materialize. What are the districts going to establish and with what money to grow? The much touted one village one dam remains a slogan till now. How are slogans going to ensure there is water to enable irrigation and for that matter increased food production?

According to the 2018 budget presented, the Agricultural and Services sector will grow by 4.3 to 4.7 respectively. I’m not sure you’re serious! Is it the fall army worms that are growing? Over 9 million cedis of taxpayers’ money has been wasted on fighting the fall army worms without success. Your government has no clue how to end the menace with thousands of hectares of farms succumbing to the attack. Are these the reasons there will be growth?

The Planting for Food and Jobs which we don’t know where it is heading is being touted to help shore up food security. Has your government told us how many new farmers it has nurtured under the program and how many more hectares of land are being cultivated? The rhetoric in parliament is becoming a waste of our time.

The NDC government gave free fertilizer to cocoa farmers. When your NPP government came you gave the contract to your constituency chairmen who sold the free fertilizers to the poor farmers at GHc80.00 per bag. After selling the free fertilizers you decided to add salt to the injury of the farmers. The free fertilizer policy was scrapped and replaced with a subsidy system. This means farmers will have to buy fertilizers now by themselves.

Is this wicked policy not clearly going to reduce cocoa production and the consequential drop in foreign currency earnings of the country? How will a drop in the production by this subsidy policy grow the cocoa sector?

REVENUE MOBILIZATION & JOB CREATION
In the 2018 budget, your government has cut down on spending; you are trying to control fiscal deficits by reducing your budget spending which will result in:

 Non-payment of contractors,
 Grinding to a halt of all government projects,
 Companies cutting down on their budget and laying off workers.

The further effect of the above is massive creation of unemployment and suffering of suppliers. By not spending you are telling us that you are cutting down on borrowing. If you don't spend how do you create jobs? In any case the clamoring of better revenue performance is absolutely debatable.

The Akuffo Addo administration has in just eight months borrowed over GHc40 billion without anything to show for it. Your government now borrows to consume. Dr. Bawumia who was disturbing our ears that they are not going to borrow has actually led this reckless borrowing venture. The bragging of being better managers of the economy has come under critical examination; and what is the result? Bawumia is leading this country to engage in the most reckless and incompetent borrowing so far. Only God knows if we will not hit the skies by the time the 419 Adwuma budget expires.

Everyone knows taxes bring in revenue. The NPP in opposition was against taxes that bring revenue as nuisance taxes. The Asempa budget removed some of these taxes including the 17.5% Value Added Tax. Few months later you reported lower revenue performance. Do we need rocket scientists to tell you the causes of the low performance? You are very much aware and have resorted to bring your own version of nuisance taxes. It was the expose’ by the Ghana Palaver newspaper that saved Ghanaians the imposition of mobile money taxes. The national stabilization levy which was supposed to end in December, 2017 has been extended to 2019. The TOR debt recovery levy has not been scrapped. Are these not nuisance taxes anymore?

Ghanaians should fear the NPP. They are Greeks bringing the gifts we cannot tell what they contain.

ENERGY SECTOR
The government has cancelled about eleven Power Purchases Agreements thereby reducing energy supply. By reducing energy supply Ghana cannot be a net exporter of energy. How are we going to meet industrial supply and standards? You have not outlined any serious energy policy initiatives in the budget. How can we guarantee stable power supply to the factories you intend to establish?

On the issue of the proposed electricity tariffs reduction, you craftily dodged which component of the build-up you targeted for reduction. Is it the energy cost, levies and taxes, or you provided any subsidy to take care of the reduction? I dare say today that you were playing tricks on Ghanaians by this move. The proposal to PURC when rejected will not be blamed on your government which promised to reduce power tariffs but on the PURC whom you will claim have carried out a legal mandate. When you promised the reduction, you knew very well the PURC is critical but made it look like you will just do it. We won’t believe this hoax.

Another shameful falsehood told to our face is your claim that NPP ended dumsor. Who in this country doesn’t know that dumsor ended before the 2016 general elections? Was the NPP in power in 2016? By the way how many megawatts have the NPP added to our national grid since assuming office?

THE NATION BUILDERS’ CORP
Beyond everything I was tempted to be happy because of the proposed employment of the 100,000 unemployed graduates until I realize it is a strange magic to be performed; a miracle by Ken Ofori Atta and Akuffo Addo. The total annual budget allocation for the 100,000 corps members for the whole of 2018 is GH¢50 million. If you divide 50,000,000 by 100,000 each employee will earn GH¢500.00 per yr. This also implies each graduate will receive GH¢41.67 per month. Does this make any sense? How can you employ graduates and pay them not even national daily minimum wage but a paltry 19.30% of the minimum wage? How was this scam cooked to mislead our youth to develop false hope in this 2018 budget?

What a shame to deceive our countrymen this way! I am wondering how 100,000 direct jobs will be created for graduates when the Senior Minister, Osafo Marfo, says the Public Sector is full. We need to be told whether this GHc41.67 a-month job is continuous or only for one year and they return to the streets?

VOLUNTARY FUND TO FINANCE EDUCATION
In September this year the President wasted our tax money to organize a jamboree at Adenta to launch the Free SHS 1 policy. There was no feasibility study to ascertain how the program should be implemented. There was no policy document too. This administration jumped into frenzy to start the program the same way they parroted it on political platforms. Immediately after the jamboree the problems began as you were warned but you ignored. Schools have no capacity to accommodate the children. There are no dormitories leading to children sleeping on bare floors.

Just last Monday the president of the Conference of Assisted Second Cycle Schools (CHASS), Mrs Cecilia Kwakye Cofie, warned that the schools risked being closed down if fees absorbed by the government do not reach the schools immediately. Your government was boasting it has released funds to the schools but here we are. The horses have spoken. She further revealed they have submitted the enrolment figures long ago. What was the Akuffo Addo government waiting for? Is this not evidence that there was no plan for the policy hence the struggle to fund it?

Instead of addressing this problem our competent government said it has created voluntary fund for the willing public to donate to support the Free SHS. The introduction of the voluntary contribution announced by the government shows how it is battling to finance its maiden flagship programme. You should be bold to admit government has failed woefully to sustain the FREE SHS which is not even covering about 60% of the total SHS population. How can we be sure that in two to three years when the policy reaches 100% coverage the voluntary contribution can accrue enough funds to adequately cater for the policy? Competence indeed!

This is a free advice to your government. Either take urgent measures to salvage the problem or swallow your pride and scrap it. The current suffering of our school children who are sleeping in the open on verandas and receiving poor tuition under trees and congested classrooms is unacceptable. The free SHS has produced free unwanted children resulting from pregnancy because the children are sleeping on free range.

The education sector saw 11% increase in its allocation but the increment in its payment of compensation and of goods and services far outweigh its capital expenditures. This will affect the infrastructural developments (schools and dormitories) and other logistics. The advent of the Free SHS has come along with an increase in the student intake hence any deficit in infrastructural development will render the policy a larger failure in the near future.

HEALTH SECTOR
The health sector budget in 2018 of 7.1% shows a decline from the 2016 and 2017 allocations of 7.8%. This means the health care delivery will not improve and the 7.1% falls short of the Abuja Declaration target of 15% of the total budgetary allocation. What this means is that your government has no plans to expand infrastructure in this sector. There will be no improvement in the human resource capacity of the sector next year. We are already aware most doctors are sitting at home jobless while government has left the University of Ghana Medical Centre to rot just because it could not resolve to allow the University to manage the facility.

The reduction in the allocation also means more jobless nurses will sit longer at home. Those enjoying the deceptive restoration of allowances should brace up for this.

Nowadays Ghana is dirtier than before. More funds are needed to fight emergency situations and communicable diseases should they break out. This is the reality of the 2018 budget; it does not care about you and I, it cares about reckless unrealistic promises.

SECURITY
It is no surprise the 2018 budget is silent on security. There is ample evidence that we are no longer safe in the peaceful country handed over to this delta force commander in chief. There have been wide reports of Akuffo Addo’s vigilantes wreaking havoc all over the country but the commander in chief of the Armed Forces is helpless. He is now asking the poor Ghanaian to help stop the menace of the hooligans he bred among the society. Kindly convey this message to him; those delta, invincible etc. forces are living the character of their founder. It is he Akuffo Addo alone who can stop them and he must do so now because he is their godfather.

THIS 2018 BUDGET IS AN ESSAY
The somersault from Asempa to Adwuma budget is an unmodulated beat of music that has no message. The truth is that as a result of the mismanagement and corruption in your NPP’s and President Nana Addo’s administration;

Teacher are suffering and crying;
Nurses are suffering and crying;
Patients are Suffering and crying;
Traders are suffering and crying;
Pensioners are suffering and crying;
Drivers are suffering and crying;
Contractors are suffering and crying;
Civil servants are suffering and crying;
Farmers are suffering and crying;
Fishermen are suffering and crying;
Industries are suffering and crying;
Artisans are suffering and crying;
Kayayei are suffering and crying;
Delta forces are suffering and vandalizing;
Invincible Forces are suffering and destroying;
Bolga Bull Dogs are suffering and rampaging;
Flagstaff House workers are suffering and crying;
Ghanaians are suffering and whining;
SHS students are suffering and crying;
When Assibid talks, you say Assibid is talking, how can a PHD holder supervise this? Sometimes we need to trust our leaders. Nana Addo promised a magic to create jobs by Ken Ofori Attah. We want to see them not flukes.

Mr. Minister, all is not well. Wahala dey. We are suffering. Tell Dr. Bawumia to stop whining and get to work. A word to the wise is enough.

Assibid Dauda.
The Binduri Youth