The Minority in Parliament has sharply criticized the government for attributing the nation’s economic difficulties to the Covid-19 pandemic.
They argue that the economic mismanagement began well before the pandemic hit, leading the country into a fiscal crisis.
During the presentation of the 2024 Mid-Year Budget Review by the Finance Minister, Isaac Adongo, Ranking Member on the Finance Committee, expressed the Minority’s discontent and accused the government of using the pandemic as an excuse for its failures.
“Before Covid-19, this government had already driven the country into a severe fiscal crisis. We were supposed to see improvements in our net international reserves, but we missed the targets for March and June, with September 2024 now in sight,” Adongo stated.
He referenced a statement from the Bank of Ghana, which revealed that even before exiting the program in May 2019, the government faced significant fiscal issues. “The assertion that Covid-19 is solely responsible for our current economic problems is unfounded,” Adongo added.
In response, Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei Asare defended the government’s fiscal discipline, noting a 2.9% savings in the first half of 2024. “Despite being an election year, we have adhered to our budget constraints, spending GHC1.1 billion out of the planned GHC1.48 billion from January to June 2024, reflecting our commitment to staying within our budget,” she stated.
