Dr. Cassiel Ato-Forson, a former deputy finance minister under the late John Dramani Mahama, has demanded that the mid-year budget review presentation made by the current finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, be thrown out with the trash.
After the Minister ended his remarks, he spoke to the media and claimed that although the economy was in its worst condition, the administration appeared indifferent.
He asserted that the Nana Addo-led government has demonstrated that they are unprepared to lead the nation.
I want to emphasize that if they aren’t prepared, they should turn over control of the government to some of us who are.
“We can guarantee that, if given the chance, we will take on the issue head-on and work to restore prosperity to Ghana. We already have, and we will do it once more.
“What I witnessed today is depressing. As a Ghanaian, I am disappointed since there was a significant chance lost. You shouldn’t be shocked if, by today’s end, our bonds on the world market start to perform poorly once more. This piece of paper needs to be thrown away right now. It is empty and useless, so we need to tear it into bits, he suggested.
The mid-year budget review was delivered by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who noted that Ghana’s economy was having difficulties.
The administration, he claimed, acknowledges that circumstances are difficult and that things are not as we would like.
However, we have faith in the Ghanaian people’s spirit of perseverance, which does not flinch in the face of difficulties. We as a government are motivated by this spirit to exercise the necessary leadership.
Despite what we had previously decided, he continued, our decision to approach the IMF once more is a short-term solution for balance of payment support. In the long run, our economy needs a significant structural change.
“Despite multiple attempts to structurally restructure the economy through various industrialization programs, the economy’s structure is still essentially primary.
We are mostly dependent on basic commodities, the extractive industry, and market price takers. Both in the public and private sectors, our capacity and productivity continue to be low.
“There are significant inefficiencies and insufficient skills to support our advancements and raise living standards. No matter how well we manage the economy, any negative global development has a negative impact on us.
