Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam MP Cassiel Ato Forson has said the current state of the nation saddens him as Ghana has become worse off with no end in sight.
The legislator, who was also the Deputy Minister for Finance under the erstwhile Mahama administration, is convinced Ghana is now a highly indebted middle-income country (HIMIC), adding that the situation is even worse than in the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) days.
The heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) are a group of 39 developing countries with high levels of poverty and debt overhang, which are eligible for special assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam MP expressed his frustration on Monday, 25 July 2022, after the mid-year budget presentation by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
Describing the budget as empty, useless, and one meant for the trash, Dr Forson said the Finance Minister failed to address the very concerns of the ordinary Ghanaian.
He said the sector minister missed an opportunity to tell the true state of the Ghanaian economy to the people.
“Unfortunately, we only heard propaganda, and he has missed every target. He is even going to miss more and further set an unrealistic target that will force us deeper into the ditch. I think all this government knows is that every problem must be confronted with a debt. I call it one problem, one loan.
“Today, our public debt is in excess of GHC400 billion, yet the minister failed to talk about public debt. I thought he would use this opportunity to talk about debt restructuring. Colleagues, let me be honest: our country is now a highly indebted middle-income country (HIMIC). Our position is worse than the HIPC days. That is where we are.
“I expected the minister to be truthful, candid and face the problem head-on, but unfortunately, what we witnessed today is nothing but incompetence. We have seen incompetence at the highest level. I have never seen anything like this since I became a Ghanaian. Unfortunately, our country is in bad hands. The Ghanaian economy is bad, but I have not seen a government ready enough to deal with the situation,” he stressed.
He further called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to conduct an immediate reshuffle in order to put the economy in the right hands.
“I am saying this not because I am an opposition MP but because I am a Ghanaian first, and I care about where this country is going. If the country worsens, it affects all of us not only NDC or NPP.
“So, please, let’s get serious here. This is people’s pocket. The economy is your child’s future. This government has shown that they are not ready to govern, and if that is the case, they should hand over the economy to some of us who are ready to deal with the situation,” he added.
He assured the populace that the erstwhile Mahama administration, if given the opportunity, would confront the problem head-on and take Ghana back to prosperity.