The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Stephen Ayesu Ntim, has said the NPP has performed far better than the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC), despite the current global economic challenges facing the country.
He said before the ravaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, Ghana’s economy was the toast of the world as the country was hailed as among the fastest-growing economies.
“But COVID-19 disrupted the growth momentum of our economy and later the Russia-Ukraine War.
“As a result of these factors, Ghana’s economy, which was among the fastest-growing economies in the world, started to decelerate in 2020, and the government has committed everything in its toolkit to regenerate it.” Mr Ntim said this yesterday at a press conference in Accra, in response to the NDC presentation of the State of the Nation.
Examining the performance of the NDC and NPP governments between 2013 to 2019, Mr Ntim said the NPP before COVID-19 recorded an impressive seven per cent average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for three fiscal years (2017-2019).
He said, had COVID-19 not happened, Ghana’s economy would have continued to grow into 2020, and the story of Ghana’s economy today would not be one of hardship but of growth and prosperity.
“The NDC-Mahama administration performed poorly. Between 2013 and 2016, the NDC returned a mournful 3.9 per cent average growth.
GDP declined consistently over that period (2013-2016). Somehow, those who could not manage Ghana’s economy in a relatively stable global economic environment suddenly claim they have magic wand to turn the fortunes of Ghana around in this volatile global economy,” Mr Ntim said.
He said the NPP took office in 2017 and turned around the mismanaged and collapsed economy inherited from the NDC, stressing that, the industrial sector grew from 4.3 per cent in 2016 to 15.6 per cent in 2017.
“Let me remind you that the abysmal performance of the NDC in the Real sector was against the NDC inheriting a booming economy from the Kufuor-led NPP administration, which gifted the NDC oil discovery in commercial quantities.
“After inheriting a booming economy, Ex-President Mahama and NDC left their successor, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a collapsed economy in 2016,” Mr Ntim said.
He said, former President Kufuor inherited a debt stock of approximately ¢5.4 billion in 2001 and added about 81 per cent, but the NDC inherited a debt stock of GH¢ 9.7 billion in 2009; by 2016, they increased it to GH¢122 billion.
“That represents 819 per cent growth in the debt stock. The NPP government, which the NDC characterises as having over-borrowed, has added just about 304 per cent to the debt stock,” Mr Ntim said.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN
