Terkper faced calls for removal but the case is different today; it is worse — Suhuyini

Terkper faced calls for removal but the case is different today; it is worse — Suhuyini

Member of Parliament for Tamale North constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini, has described as a wrong comparison of the circumstance and economic situation for demanding the dismissal of Ken Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister and similar calls during the tenure of his predecessor, Seth Terkper by some NPP faithfuls.

According to Suhuyini, the current economic situation under the leadership of President Akufo-Addo making life unbearable for the citizenry is worst off juxtaposed to the situation during the Mahama-Amissah-Arthur era which led to the calls for Terkper’s exit.

Citing exchange rates and rising inflation among other things to buttress his point, he rejected unreservedly on Good Morning Ghana Thursday attempts by some members of the governing New Patriotic Party to employ ‘bothsideism’ in their argument to water down on the current hardships.

“Seth Terkper has been vindicated by the many policies decisions he took and anybody that understands economics and finance today will tell you that indeed he laid a solid foundation for economic foundation as far as the management of our economy is concerned and this country with those policies that were implemented,” he positioned.

Since time immemorial, Alhassan Suhuyini said all Ghanaian Finance Ministers for different reasons have faced calls for their dismissals but there are genuine concerns and pertinent reasons for Ofori-Atta’s removal.

“We are talking about the records and the times that we find ourselves and the places where the calls are coming from. Things may look similar but they don’t always make them the same,” the Tamale North MP said.

The NDC lawmaker said the fact that people have been displeased with the works of Finance Ministers in the past “does not necessarily mean that the circumstances under which those calls were made are the same – they may look similar but they are not the same.”

He further outlined reasons he thinks the Terkper and Ofori-Atta comparison should not be tolerated stating that the Mahama administration’s Finance Minister’s achievement is unmatched.

“When Seth Terkper was our Finance Minister what was our exchange rate? What was our exchange rate depreciation? The cedi was trading at about GHS3 -4 to the dollar. Today, we are talking about GHS15 [to the dollar]. Within a year it has moved 100 percent that is what we are talking about.

When Seth Terper was our Finance Minister what was our inflation rate? Under single digit. We are talking about 37 percent today.

Mr. Suhuyini stated that some of these comparisons are “needless” and sometimes “provocative”

“You are getting money more than any government in the history of the 4th Republic has gotten. But you are investing it in the wrong areas. You are investing in consumption when you finish consuming it you will have nothing that will lay the eggs.

We said that we cautioned, but they went on partying and reckless (sic) expenditure spree. We talked about the reporting style of Ofori-Atta. Didn’t we? Reporting our expenditure when they put up the banking and energy sector levies they don’t add it to our debt stock,” he added.

Several Ghanaians including opposition parties and some 80 NPP MPs have mounted pressure on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to remove Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen amid the current economic challenges.

They believe sacking the two key persons will help restore confidence in Ghana’s economy.

Meanwhile, the managing editor of the Insight Newspaper Kwesi Pratt has stated that replacing the Finance Minister will not change the country’s fortunes instead he calls for fixing the economic structure.

Speaking on Good Morning Ghana Wednesday, Mr. Pratt said the fundamental problem with Ghana’s economy is structural and not its managers,

“The impression being created; ‘remove Ofori Atta and Charles Adu Boahen and everything will be fine’ is a false impression.

“It is false to the extent the economy is suffering structural problems and unless we focus our attention on the structural problem of the economy which all of us know – even the president knows. At his inauguration did the president not talk about moving away from the Guggisberg economy? He knew that it was a structural problem,” he averred.

Mr. Pratt added, “Even if you remove these two gentlemen [Ofori-Atta and Charles Adu Boahen] or all the ministers and do not deal with the structural problem of the economy we are indeed in deep deep (sic) trouble still”

 

By: Bernard Ralph Adams | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana

 

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