Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has stated despite the twin satanic developments of COVID and the Russia-Ukraine war, growth in various sectors of the economy vindicates the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as better managers of the economy.
He questioned the track record of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in government and argued facts do not justify the claims of the Minority because the NDC’s performance in government was most horrible.
The leader questioned whether the Minority members who claim the NDC as better managers of the economy have just been born into the country or have arrived from elsewhere.
Concluding debate on the Motion to approve the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the government on Tuesday, December 6, the Majority leader argued provisional data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicates overall GDP growth for the first half of 2022 was 4.0% compared with an average of 3.9% in 2016 when there was no COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war.
Citing agriculture as an example, Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated growth in the sector from 2014 to 2022 bears testimony of the performance of the NPP against the NDC.
He said, “In 2014 when the NDC was in power, agriculture grew by 0.9%; in 2015 it was 2.1% and 2016, 2.7%. In 2017 it grew to 6.2%, 2018, 4.9%; 2019, 4.7%; 2020, 7.3% and 2021, 8.4% .
The story, he said, is no different in other sectors even though there was no COVID or Russia-Ukraine war.
Speaking on education, the Majority leader indicated the NDC government in 2014 grew it at -0.3% and in 2015 pushed it down further to -0.5%.
The then-government, he said, barely managed to keep the sector afloat in 2016 with 2.6% but in 2022 under NPP’s most horrible year, education grew by 9.0%.
“Health and social work, 2.7% in 2014, -4.4% in 2015 and 4% in 2016 but today the health and social work have grown by 9.3%.”
“In 2016 when the NDC was leaving the gross in other service activities was -0.1% today in the worse years of the NPP the sector grew by 2.0%,” he stated.
The Majority leader argued that in literally every facet of the economy the figures churned out under the NPP are far better than those under the NDC.
Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu in his contribution argued it is paradoxical for the Finance Minister and the government to be begging for two and half years to do better.
He questioned what the Akufo-Addo government did with the six years that it should today be asking for two years to do better.
“What did you do with your six years and you want us to believe in only two years you can do what you failed to do in six years,” he asked?
According to him, despite the high-flying promises by the NPP government, today the much-touted one-million one-constituency is effectively dead.
According to him, the Finance Minister and the government are deliberately avoiding mentioning this policy because the depreciation of the cedi imposes more burdens financially to honour that promise.
He argued government built toilets in constituencies and claimed it was providing a million dollars for development. He challenged any MP to show and demonstrate in the last six years of the Akufo-Addo administration that one million dollars entered their constituency.
Mr. Haruna Iddrisu stated the position of the Minority in respect of the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy) has not changed and reiterated it was a disincentive to Ghana’s quest to build a cashless economy.
The government, he said, should be taking advantage of the mobile phone infrastructure to accelerate development and mainstream ICT in all aspects of national life.
He warned the Minority will not support the reduction of e-levy from 1.5% to 1% without exemptions and charged the government to care about the ordinary Ghanaian.
He urged the Finance Minister to provide for a threshold of at least GH¢300 even as the Minority still oppose the tax in principle.
The House subsequently approved the 2023 budget statement and economic policy of the government by a voice vote.
