Haruna Iddrisu warns Akufo-Addo that businesses are struggling and that food inflation is rising

Haruna Iddrisu, the Parliamentary Minority Leader, has stated that the economy is suffering under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-leadership. Addo’s

Businesses are unable to cope with the difficult economic conditions, he stated during a speech in Parliament on Tuesday, April 5th.

“Businesses cannot cope,” he remarked, adding, “I see an effort by the President to laud himself when he claims to have built 10,000 kilometers of roads.” He could have simply stated that he constructed a 10,000-kilometer flyover between Accra and Beijing, and we would have believed him.

“The Ministers of Revenue and Finance must make the necessary apprioatre decisions to priefct Ghana’s private sector contractors.”

“We are concerned about food inflation rising from 12.8% in December 2021 to 17.4% in February 2022.” “This is the highest level of food inflation in our country’s history.”

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has stated that the rehabilitation programs put in place by his government as a result of the coronavirus outbreak are credible.

He believes that through implementing these programs, Ghana will be able to emerge stronger from this moment.

“The recovery program we have in Ghana is really credible, and that is what will allow us to emerge from this era with a better economy, and that is the future we are looking for,” he said.

In an interview with the BBC on Monday, April 4, Mr Akufo-Addo praised the oil-producing West African nation’s economic development, but when asked about the local currency’s troubles, he remarked, “I don’t know any economy in the world that is performing well.”

“The Cedi has started to solidify. The globe is going through a difficult time right now, and Ghana and Nigeria are no exceptions. There is no country on the planet that is immune to the effects of Covid-19 and the [Russia-Ukraine conflict].”

Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta has outlined several government initiatives to address challenges harming the economy, particularly the Cedi.

“With immediate effect, Government has imposed a complete moratorium on the acquisition of imported automobiles for the rest of the year,” Mr Ofori-Atta said on Thursday, March 24. This will have an impact on all new orders, particularly 4-wheel drives. “We will ensure that the overall effect is a reduction of at least 50% in total vehicle purchases by the public sector over the term,” he stated.

“Again, with immediate effect, the government has imposed a moratorium on all foreign travel, with the exception of pre-approved critical/statutory travel; by the end of December 2022, the government will have completed ongoing procedures to eliminate “ghost” workers from the government payroll;

“Discretionary spending will be lowered by another 10%.” To achieve the discretionary expenditure cutbacks, the Ministry of Finance is now engaging with MDAs to assess their spending plans for the remaining three (3) quarters; ii. These are times when energy resources must be used very efficiently.

“In line with this, from April 1, 2022, all political appointees and heads of government institutions, including SOEs, would receive a 50% reduction in gasoline coupon allocations,” he added.