Ghana ‘messed up’ because Akufo-Addo’s EMT can’t call his ‘untouchable’ cousin to order over ‘reckless borrowing’ – Mahama

Ghana’s economy is in ruins because President Nana Akufo-Addo has made his cousin, the finance minister, untouchable, former President John Mahama has observed.

At a lecture on Ghana’s ailing economy at the UPSA on Thursday, 27 October 2022, Mr Mahama said: “To be clear, we are in this mess because an untouchable finance minister, relying on his Databank workers, and neglecting the advice of seasoned experts at the Finance Ministry, has been left to run this economy into the ground”.

“We are in this mess because a so-called ‘solid economic management team’, over the last few years, has been unable to call the president’s cousin to order when he embarked on a reckless borrowing spree, indiscriminate closure of indigenous banks and financial institutions, and creative presentation of economic statistics to make our situation look rosier than the reality”.

“We are in this mess because we have a president who fails to take responsibility and has instead left the nation on autopilot in the hands of bungling ministers who he describes as ‘excellent’”, Mr Mahama added.

He recalls: “Last December, the president is on record as having said the present economic mess is not his fault”.

“For emphasis, the biggest blame for the current tragic situation with our economy lies with the very people charged with managing the country — not with the pandemic, not with the war— our country has been unprofessionally, and Ghana has been treated like an experimental playground and a family heirloom”.

“And I regret to say, this was all avoidable. Things could have been different, and I remain very convinced they could”.