Dr. Mahama Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, Member of Parliament for Walewale, has criticized President John Dramani Mahama‘s State of the Nation Address (SoNA), accusing him of misrepresenting the country’s debt situation.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, March 1, Dr Abdul-Kabiru argued that the economic challenges highlighted in the address were not new, insisting that Ghana’s debt burden had been a long-standing issue.
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During his address to Parliament on Thursday, February 27, President Mahama painted a bleak picture of Ghana’s finances, revealing that the country’s public debt had reached GHS721 billion. He also pointed to the dire financial state of key state-owned enterprises, including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
However, Dr Abdul-Kabiru dismissed these concerns as old news, recalling that Ghana had already sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due to its debt crisis. He noted that the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio, which stood at about 80% at the time, has since dropped to 70-72% due to the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and foreign debt restructuring.
“The State of the Nation Address presented by the president did not offer anything new to the Ghanaian people. Debt and debt stress have never been new issues in this country,” he said.
The Walewale MP further accused the president of exaggerating the situation to create an unnecessary sense of crisis.
“As a matter of fact, our debt levels have come down following the DDEP and foreign restructuring programme, which put the country through painful adjustments. So, presenting it now as though the situation is worse than before is playing with the truth,” he added.
Dr Abdul-Kabiru called on the government to be more transparent in its economic assessments and to acknowledge the progress made instead of focusing solely on past challenges.
