Nat’l Tymes News Desk
DR. CASSIEL Ato Forson, Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, says ordinary Ghanaians suffered the most during the country’s economic crisis under the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, Dr. Ato Forson said households and businesses across the country struggled with rising inflation, high interest rates, declining incomes, and widespread economic uncertainty.
According to him, inflation rose above 50 percent during the period, while many businesses experienced severe hardship due to high borrowing costs and reduced economic activity.
The Finance Minister disclosed that Ghana requested debt treatment under the G20 Common Framework on December 13, 2022, in order to restructure more than five billion US dollars in bilateral debt. He further stated that the country later defaulted on its external commercial debt obligations on December 19, 2022.
Dr. Ato Forson also criticised the introduction of taxes such as the E-Levy, betting tax, COVID-19 levy, and emissions tax, describing them as burdensome measures imposed on citizens during difficult economic conditions.
“In the midst of all these hardships imposed on the people of Ghana, the NPP government of the day remained bloated, purposefully inefficient, and wasteful,” he stated.
The Minister further indicated that by December 2024, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration had undermined the IMF programme it had earlier committed itself to implementing.
Dr. Ato Forson’s comments formed part of parliamentary deliberations on the state of the economy and measures being undertaken by the NDC government to restore fiscal stability and economic growth.
Source: Nationaltymes.com
