‘Why didn't government call for forum when ‘chopping the meat’’?
A policy analyst, Mr Atik Mohammed, has criticised the government’s “poor” handling of the economy- a development he said had made life unbearable for many Ghanaians.
Speaking on Accra-based Peace FM Thursday, Mr Mohammed said the current economic challenges could be blamed on corruption on the part of the government.
He cited rising inflation, the depreciation of cedi and general hardship in the country as proof that the government had failed Ghanaians.
Mr Mohammed defended the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) decision to boycott the National Economic Forum (NEF), saying the forum was a waste of time and money.
According to him, the National Democratic Party (NDC) government had consistently ignored ideas and suggestions from many Ghanaians, including members of the opposition, as to how the economy could be improved.
Mr Mohammed wondered why the government dared to invite NPP to the forum, when its appointees had, according to him, lambasted the largest opposition party and declared that its leaders lacked ideas.
Mr Mohammed, who is also a member of the People’s National Convention (PNC), said it was regrettable that the government was calling on the opposition to attend a forum after it (government) had dissipated the country’s resources.
He said: “The government knows what it did. President, you were the ones who ate the meat. When you were eating the meat, you didn’t call anybody for a forum, to discuss how to spend the money. ..”
Listen to Mr Mohammed:
{mp3}atiknew{/mp3}
The NEF, according to the government, aims at developing a comprehensive blueprint to accelerate the nation’s economic growth. It will be held on the theme, “Changing the narrative: building a national consensus for economic and social transformation.” But the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) described it as a public relations gimmick, calculated to keep Ghanaians in the dark about the real state of the economy. The Party has, therefore, stayed away from the forum.
The NEF ended Thursday at Senchi in the Eastern Region.
