Akufo-Addo Mismanagement Of Economy Is Affecting Healthcare And Education Sectors In Ghana –Mahama Fires Back 

FORMER PRESIDENT John Dramani Mahama has stated that the mismanagement by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has negatively affected healthcare and education sectors.

He noted that Our economy is plagued by high pubic debt levies, which hinder investment in socal and economic development projects.

 For example, Mr Mahama noted that  in 2016, "if you shared the pubic debt of 120 billion Ghana Cedis among 30 million Ghanaians, each Ghanaian owed four thousand Ghana Cedis.

He added that "Today, if you divide the debt of 577 billion Ghana Cedis by 30 million Ghanaians, all of us sitting here owe nineteen thousand Ghana Cedis each. This, coupled wth a relatively high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth, exacerbates the challenges faced by our citizens."

He pointed out that the inflation and exchange rate volatility further erode workers' purchasing power and push more Ghanaians below the poverty line.

For the first time in over fifty years, he stressed that we have defaulted on our debts and been downgraded by credit rating agencies to the lowest levies ever experienced. 

He noted that the escalating cost of living, driven by hyperinflation, a collapsing currency, and rising prices of essential items, including food, has made life unbearable for millions of Ghanaian households.

"Due to the government's debt restructuring programme, the working and middle classes face the greatest threat to their livelihood. This debt exchange has expropriated the interest 

payments on bonds hed by the working and middle cass, affecting many households, including pensioners. 

"The poor, dependent on the working and middle class, are now uncertain about their future. According to the World Bank, inflation has pushed as many as 850,000 Ghanaians into poverty in the past year alone.

"Unemployment among young people n Ghana has skyrocketed to almost 13%. The 

consequences of this economic catastrophe have affected every sector of our national life, 

particularly education, heath, and infrastructure," Former President Dramani Mahama made the statement when he was

He said government has no grasp of the magnitude of the economic suffering that Ghanaians are going through and is unwilling to make the necessary decisions to resolve it. 

According to Mr AkifoAddo and the government economy management also appear unprepared to improve the genera governance of the country and end corruption, nepotism, politicisation, and the weakening of state institutions . 

He stressed that the NPP people are oblivious to our country's falling state of education and health and remain fixated on poorly implemented programmes that have thrown the sector into crisis.

"We have a President who has run out of ideas on how to solve the economic challenge we find ourselves in, and by his recent declaration, his focus and last energies would be expended on installing his anonted successor as the next President.

"We could have avoided this unpleasant 

situation. The signs of this crisis were there for all to see. A conflicted Finance Minister whose only interest was to borrow endlessly and mire our economy in the quagmire of debt was obvious from as far back as 2019.

" A President whose budget was creatvey crafted to hide huge liabilities to present a favourable economic outturn to the world so that he could borrow more from the international capital markets was evident for all to see.

"Appointment of family and friends into various positions in government, brazen interference 

to obstruct the fight against corruption, reckless abuse of the public purse, arrogance, and luxury in the conduct of public officers have all been characteristic of this administration since its inception in 2017. 

"It is regrettable for me to note that at such a crucial time n our nation’s ife, society's moral 

voices refused to speak up against these unfortunate developments in our democratic 

governance," Mr Mahama noted.

According to former President, the NDC was left alone as the solitary voice seeking to hold the government accountable and speaking up for the voices Ghanaian. 

"We were often cast as spoilt brats 

who were ranting because we had lost power.

Today, the chickens have come home to roost. We are all affected. There must be an end to 

this decline and a restoration of stability to the economy so that Ghana's citizens and working people can breathe a sigh of relief and not have their already nadequate incomes eroded by inflatonary pressures. 

In the last few years, he said "I have outlined polices that a future NDC government will implement. 

He added that the aim is to stop the steep decline in the economy, turn it around, and stabilise it. 

"I have also shared my positions on governance and institutional reforms to ensure our country is reset and built into the Ghana we all want.  It is important to note that we in the NDC will not be couching propagandist sogans and passing them off as policy. We have much to learn from the disaster that unfolded before our eyes when sections of our population became enamoured with empty slogans and acronyms. 

"We will focus on substantial government issues to get the job done in a rightful

manner. We wil cut out the rigmarole and deliver realistic policies to impact our economy and country positively.

He mentioned that the NDC proposes a series of transition measures to address the 

economic decline and set Ghana on the path to recovery.

These measures include reducing public debt through a moratorium on non-concessonal 

borrowing, actively seeking concessionary financing and grants, and reviewing legislation to limit the no core activities of state owned enterprises.