By Iddi Yire
Accra, Aug 03, GNA – Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader has said that the Government’s Debt Restructuring Programme, has impoverished Ghanaians – the rich, the middle class and to a larger extent, the poor.
The Minority Leader stated this in his closing remarks during the Debate on the 2023 Mid-Year Fiscal Policy Review of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government.
The Budget Statement was presented to the House by Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister on Monday, July 31, in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and the Public Financial Management Act, 2016.
Dr Forson noted that this was the first Mid-Year Budget Review, post the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme and that it must also be made clear that this was the worst form of an IMF programme since Mansa Musa went on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
“Ghanaians must understand clearly that it is not the IMF which imposed these horrible conditionalities and austerity on them.” He said.
Adding that the Government had imposed them on the Ghanaian people.
“This is the only IMF programme that came with a debt restructuring, the first in the history of our country.”
Dr Forson said this same debt restructuring had rendered the nation’s banking and financial institutions insolvent and bankrupt.
He said all banks, non-bank financial institutions and insurance companies declared huge losses in 2022 because of government’s recklessness and mismanagement which resulted in this debt restructuring.
He said Ghana was in distress, the people were in despair and most Ghanaians had lost hope in the Government.
“All the hardships we are seeing and experiencing were avoidable. These hardships are needless.” He said.
Dr Forson said the level of economic adjustments witnessed by Ghanaians in the last 12 months had never happened in the history of the country.
He cited that inflation rose to hyper levels at 54.1 per cent in 2022- unprecedented in the history of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
He said that the Cedi depreciated from GHS6/$1 to over GHS15/$1 in the year 2022; stating that “This is over 100 per cent depreciation on a Straightline calculation.”
He said depreciation coupled with inflation had reduced the rich to a middle class and above all the poor had become poorer.
He said the Bank of Ghana’s printing of money caused the depletion of Ghana’s external reserves which resulted in the unprecedented depreciation of the Cedi, the main cause of the hyperinflation in 2022.
The Minority Leader said an estimated 850,000 people were reported by the World Bank to have been pushed further down the poverty line in 2022 due to inflation alone.
GNA