NPP cannot be performing better than NDC – Spio-Garbrah

Former Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has refuted reports suggesting that he has commended the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration for managing the economy better than the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

In a post on Facebook, Mr Spio-Garbrah described the report as “inaccurate.”

He explained he only commended the “NPP’s performance with regards to reducing inflation and the budget deficit, but then it is important to note that just those two variables do NOT constitute an “economy” so the headline that “ NPP is doing better than NDC in managing the economy” which is attributed to me by some media houses is inaccurate.”

Adding he said, “I have not said anywhere that the NPP is doing better than the NDC in managing the economy. There are several factors that indicate prudent economic management but for which the NPP government have so far not lived up to expectations.”

Below is what Mr Spio-Garbrah posted on Facebook

THE NPP CANNOT BE SAID TO BE PERFORMING BETTER IN MANAGING THE ECONOMY THAN THE NDC.

It has come to my notice that my response to a question posed by Kwabena Anokye Adisi (popularly known as Bola Ray) on Starr Chat has been misreported in some online portals.

I will like to place on record that my statement in response to Bola Ray’s question that requested me to rate the performance of Nana Addo’s government was as paraphrased below:

“In the area of security the NPP is doing very poorly, in the area of infrastructure they are scoring zero but in the area of the Economy they are doing fairly well so far.”

In my interview on the Starr Chat, I commended the President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for patronizing made in Ghana fabrics.

I also commended the NPP’s performance with regards to reducing inflation and the budget deficit, but then it is important to note that just those two variables do NOT constitute an “economy” so the headline that “ NPP is doing better than NDC in managing the economy” which is attributed to me by some media houses is inaccurate.

I have not said anywhere that the the NPP is doing better than the NDC in managing the economy.

There are several factors that indicate prudent economic management but for which the NPP government have so far not lived up to expectations.

The NPP is at least GHc2 billion short in revenue generation; they have also superintended over slippages in the exchange rate, including frequent shortages of dollars on the open market.

The microeconomic indicators have not being good enough to impact positively on the lifes of the majority of our countrymen and women.

Nana Addo’s government has been unable to pay various categories of workers on time; prices of fuel and utilities have seen astronomical increments contrary to the express campaign promises of the NPP in opposition. They have also done very little to create jobs and generate employment, at best they have only robbed Peter to pay Paul by terminating the employment of perceived NDC members or sympathizers in the civil and public service including highly unaligned civil servants, replacing them with NPP stalwarts.

The NPP government has so far failed to diversify the economy. While in opposition they sung the chorus that borrowing was a lazy and an unsustainable approach to managing the economy. While in government, they have clearly shown they are more bereft of ideas of financing government expenditure; consequently, they are raising monies through all manner of bonds using questionable procedures that lack transparency.

While the erstwhile NDC government borrowed to augment infrastructural development, one cannot point to with accuracy what the NPP is spending these borrowed monies on. They also failed to reduce public expenditure contrary to their campaign promises, appointing an unprecedented 110 ministers, the Presidency receiving an unprecedented budgetary allocation, among others.

No one can reasonably compare the NPP government’s performance with the erstwhile NDC’s without doing a holistic analysis of the many indicia of proper economic management at both the macro and micro level. I therefore could not have said that NPP are a better managers of the economy than the NDC.

Source: Graphic.com.gh