The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Haruna Iddrisu, has decried Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, claiming that he has failed to keep the cedi from depreciating against the dollar, despite his prior assurances to Ghanaians.
The MP further admonished a gathering in Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region, that the words of the Vice President should be taken with levity.
“Dr Mahamudu Bawumia thinks that arresting the depreciation of the cedi was as easy as stopping a trotro between Wulugu and Walewale. He should know that it’s not that type of economics. You should be careful about what he promises you.”
The former Minority Leader also added that “Ghana is suffering two twin evils: an economic crisis and an energy crisis of a dumsor. Look at how bad the economy is. In this excruciating hardship and suffering, Akufo Addo still praises himself that he is doing well. Doing well for who?’’ Mr. Haruna asked.
Ghana’s provisional overall real Gross Domestic Product(GDP) grew by 3.2% in 2023 in the second quarter. The provisional non-oil real GDP also increased by 3.2% in the quarter.
The services sector remained the main driver of growth in the second quarter, recording a growth rate of 6.3%, and the agriculture sector with a growth rate of 6%.
Mr. Amin Adam cited the 3.3% and 3.2% growth rates in the first and second quarters of 2023 to buttress his point.
“As far as recovery is concerned, I think that the figures show clearly that we are recovering, and we are recovering so fast. We offloaded the IMF fiscal adjustment into the 2023 budget which was presented in November 2022. So from that point even though we hadn’t gotten the approval of the IMF program which happened in May this year the government had decided through a program that we put in place the Post COVID Programme for Economic Growth (PCPEG) that outlined several policy measures that the government wanted to implement.”
“And this is why in the first quarter, growth for example grew by 3.3%. In the second quarter, it grew by 3.2%. And so half into the year, growth rebound has been strong averaging 3.2% against 3% same time last year,” he explained.
