Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the majority leader, has claimed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a superior steward of the economy despite the twin demonic developments of COVID and the Russia-Ukraine war.
He questioned the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) track record in government and asserted that the Minority’s allegations were unsupported by reality due to the NDC’s abject failure in that capacity.
The leader questioned whether the minority members who said the NDC was the stronger economic manager were natives of the nation or immigrants.
The majority leader argued that preliminary data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) indicates that overall GDP growth for the first half of 2022 was 4.0%, compared with an average of 3.9% in 2016 when there was no COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war, as he closed out debate on the Motion to Approve the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government on Tuesday, December 6.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu used agriculture as an example and claimed that the sector’s growth from 2014 to 2022 is evidence of how the NPP performed in comparison to the NDC.
According to him, agricultural production increased by 0.9% in 2014, 2.1% in 2015, and 2.7% in 2016 while the NDC was in office. It increased to 6.2% in 2017, 4.9% in 2018, 4.7% in 2019, 7.3% in 2020, and 8.4% in 2021.
Even though there was no COVID or Russia-Ukraine war, the story, he claimed, is the same in other industries.
Speaking about education, the majority leader said the NDC administration grew it at -0.3% in 2014 and further lowered it to -0.5% in 2015.
According to him, the previous administration only just managed to keep the sector afloat in 2016 with 2.6%, but in 2022, the NPP’s worst year, education rose by 9.0%.
“Health and social work grew by 9.3% today, compared to 2.7% in 2014, -4.4% in 2015, and 4% in 2016.”
“The gross in other service activities was -0.1% in 2016 when the NDC was departing, but in the worst years of the NPP the sector increased by 2.0%,” he said.
The Majority Leader noted that the statistics produced under the NPP are far superior than those produced under the NDC in practically every aspect of the economy.
In his remark, minority leader Haruna Iddrisu claimed it is absurd for the Finance Minister and the administration to be pleading for greater performance after two and a half years.
He questioned what the Akufo-Addo administration accomplished in the six years it had before seeking for an additional two to do better.
He questioned, “What did you do with your six years and you want us to think that you can do in only two years what you failed to do in six years?”
He claims that despite the NPP government’s lofty promises, the much-heralded one-million-one constituency is now essentially extinct.
He claims that the Finance Minister and the government are purposefully delaying bringing up this proposal since doing so would increase the financial burden of keeping their word.
He said that the government had constructed restrooms in his constituents’ neighborhoods and was contributing $1 million to development. He issued a challenge to all MPs, asking them to prove that one million dollars had been spent in their district during the previous six years of the Akufo-Addo administration.
The Minority’s attitude on the Electronic Transaction Levy (e-levy), according to Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, has not changed. He reaffirmed that the e-levy hinders Ghana’s efforts to create a cashless society.
He argued that the government ought to leverage the infrastructure of mobile phones to hasten growth and integrate ICT into all facets of societal life.
He urged the government to consider the needs of the average Ghanaian and issued a warning that the Minority will not support the drop in the e-levy from 1.5% to 1% without exemptions.
Even while the Minority continues to reject the tax in principle, he requested the Finance Minister to include a threshold of at least GH300.
The government’s economic strategy and 2023 budget statement were subsequently adopted by the House via voice vote.
Source: newsthemegh.com