Story: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
A former Deputy Minister of Finance and the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, is calling on the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to address issues of the excruciating hardships the country is experiencing.
According to him, the Vice President was called upon to make his voice heard on the current economic challenges Ghana is faced with and not to do comparisons.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency in the Central Region noted that the Dr. Bawumia who is Head of the Government’s Economic Management Team failed to address current pressing economic issues which have visited Ghanaians with excruciating hardships.
Dr. Ato Forson made this known on GTV’s flagship programme the Breakfast Show, while reacting to submissions made by the Vice President Dr. Bawumia while addressing Ghanaians on the state of the economy on Thursday, April 7, 2022, at a forum organised by the Tertiary Education Confederacy (TESCON) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in collaboration with the Think-Tank Danquah Institute at the Pentecost Conference Center at Kasoa in the Central region.
While addressing Ghanaians on the State of the economy Dr. Bawumia noted that aside from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war is adversely affecting the prices of food supplies.
“The increase in commodity prices has been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia and Ukraine together account for 30% of global wheat exports; the longer the conflict ensues, the greater will be the disruption to global food supplies. The conflict is also likely to slow down global growth.
“According to the AfDB, the price of wheat has shot up by 62% since the war began, the price of fertilizer is up by 300%, and the price of maize is up by 36%. Here in Ghana, some 60% of our total imports of iron ore and steel are from Ukraine; Russia accounts for some 30% of Ghana’s imported grains, 50% of flour, and 39% of fertilizer.
“So we are directly affected by the Russian-Ukraine war. Unfortunately, we do not know when it would be over.
In spite of all of those challenges, the Nana Addo-led government has managed the Ghanaian economy better and efficiently than what the John Mahama-led administration bequeathed us.” The Vice President reiterated.
But the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee was of the view that Head of the Economic Management team did not speak to issues affecting the ordinary Ghanaian, but rather used the golden opportunity to compare apples to oranges.
Watch the full interview below;
