Building The Ghana We Want Speech By John Mahama

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BUILDING THE GHANA WE WANT
AN ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF GHANA BY HE JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA
Thursday 25th October 2022

INTRODUCTION
Good evening to you, wherever you are joining us from this evening – and, to all who made the
time to join us here at the UPSA Auditorium as we talk about “Building the Ghana We Want.”
Thank you, Dr. Ato Forson, for the very concise and accurate presentation on the dire economic
situation we find ourselves in as a country. Your presentation has laid bare, the stark and
objective, yet depressing reality of our country today, how we got here and the dreadful
consequences that it has spawned.

GHANA’S ECONOMIC SITUATION TODAY
In the last few years, our economy has lurched from crisis to crisis, ultimately resulting in the
most debilitating living conditions in several decades. Within a space of ten months, our
currency, the Ghana Cedi, has depreciated by over 62% against the US dollar, which is the
highest in recent memory.

Our public debt is projected to hover around GH¢ 522 billion by close of this year, with a
corresponding debt to GDP ratio of above 100%. The debt service obligation arising from this,
is monstrous and is making it impossible to finance almost all critical sectors of the economy.
The wage bill has gone up due to unbridled recruitment into all sectors of the public service
resulting from a poor capacity of the private sector to mop-up the teeming youth graduating
from all levels of our educational system.

Worse still, Ghana has been classified as the country with the highest likelihood of debt default,
which reflects the multiple downgrades by the international credit agencies. As it stands, we
remain firmly shut out of the international bond market.

Inflation is almost 40% and is set to rise higher. Amidst contestations about the credibility of
the method applied, some finance and economic experts believe that the reported inflation
numbers, as with other economic indices, are worse than the published narratives.
Ghana is on record as having the highest food inflation in the world at 122%, notwithstanding
the much touted but grossly mismanaged Planting for Food and Jobs programme. We are
grappling with treasury bill rates of about 30% as local investors in our financial instruments
suffer huge risks associated with lending to government.

We are also experiencing massive reverse capital flows as investors lose what is left of their
confidence in our economy and pull out in droves.
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It is estimated that as much as $ 2 billion has been taken out of our economy by investors who
fear the worse since the beginning of this crisis. Cote D’Ivoire and other neighboring countries
have become the latest operational destination for many multinational businesses, while
others have pulled out completely from Ghana.

These are not just abstract numbers or vague data constructs. They offer a bird’s eye view of
the state of our economy, and translate into our everyday lives, our daily suffering, and
struggles. They underscore our reality, and the devastation millions of Ghanaian households
are going through today.

Ladies and gentlemen, the daily price increases, unending fuel price adjustments, ever-rising
inflation, a fast-depreciating currency, corruption, arrogant and insensitive leadership, and the
waste of scarce resources, have combined to make life simply unbearable for the generality of
Ghanaians.

Prices of items including everyday medication, salt, gari and cooking oil, are constantly on the
rise. If you do not buy an item at a particular point in time, you are likely to find that the price
has significantly increased a few hours later.

The mortgage market is collapsing and is threatening the financial plans of many families.
Mothers suffer heartbreak each day because they cannot afford to feed their children like they
used to. Countless young people with enormous potential are struggling to pursue their
lifelong dreams because of financial problems.

Small entrepreneurs are frustrated as they break their backs to keep their businesses open
against great odds. This is not just an instalment in cyclical hardships, and we should not
pretend that it is.

Investments have been lost; businesses have been destroyed; the pharmaceutical sector
threatens to increase prices further and are also threatening to re-introduce the obnoxious
cash and carry system.

People have been struck by sicknesses and are unable to seek medical attention, due to
prohibitive costs and regrettably some have paid the ultimate price with their lives. The
standard of living, purchasing power, life savings and quality of life of the ordinary Ghanaian is
depreciating by the day.

Many are terrified that tomorrow may be worse as they grapple with the uncertainty of our
current situation. The signs of this crisis have been there since 2018 when alarming increases
in our public debt levels and huge expenditure overruns became apparent.
The NDC did not keep quiet when it became obvious that we were heading for a ditch. We
spoke up. We advised government. We made suggestions. I even asked government to desist
from the creative accounting through which Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta was selective in
presenting budget data and thereby creating a picture that was rosy but far removed from
reality.
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All these fell on deaf ears.
Government became even more brazen and reckless and took their mismanagement to
dizzying heights in the run up to the 2020 elections, amidst boastful claims that they were the
best managers of the economy. Immediately after the elections, it became clear that we had
been thrown into a bottomless pit of debt, staggering budget deficits and a rapidly
deteriorating fiscal position.
The looming disaster at the time required an urgent response. Even as the crisis deepened
earlier this year, we in the NDC beseeched government with many prescriptions, which I
articulated in my ‘Ghana at the Crossroads’ speech” in May this year and urged Government
to seek multilateral assistance urgently.
Among others, I also called on President Akufo-Addo to expeditiously convene a national
dialogue on the economy at which Ghana’s best and brightest minds, could huddle together,
and formulate a robust response to our challenges. I guess it is too late for that now.
I re-echoed demands by Ghanaians that the finance minister and the Chair of the Economic
Management Team, who have been primarily responsible for this economic catastrophe, be
relieved of their positions to breed confidence among stakeholders and offer the economy a
new lease of life.
I asked that the President deploys some of the arsenal in the Presidential toolkit and reshuffle
his government to inject innovation and freshness of thinking into the running of the country.
I also asked that the President addresses the nation to inform the public of the specific steps
he was intending to take to weather the pending economic storm. This address was meant to
calm the anxiety of the investor community and rally Ghanaians behind any such efforts.
Regrettably, the President dug-in and failed to do any of these. Let me note that, since this
event was advertised, I have been made aware that the President intends to address the nation
sometime this weekend. It is my prayer that his words would strike the right chords in the
hearts of Ghanaians.
Since my speech in May, the situation has spiraled out of control and the effects have been
calamitous for all of us. The temptation to say “I told you so” may be strong, but we do not
believe that this is the time for vainglorious pursuit of vindication, and neither is there any
room for gloating.
Even now, as Ghanaians continue to suffer, there is a desperate effort to shift blame. In almost
robotic fashion, Government and its hirelings recite in unison that we are at this perilous
juncture only because of COVID-19 and the Russia – Ukraine conflict, despite overwhelming
evidence to the contrary.
In fact, because of COVID-19, this government received more than $6 billion in windfall from
both domestic and external sources. But for the deep hole in our finances and the reckless
election 2020 expenditure, this should have been sufficient to protect Ghanaians against the
disease and promote post-pandemic economic recovery.
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There has been a desperate attempt at “political equalization” by propagandists and
supporters of the Government – claiming that all political parties are the same. Subtly, they
are attempting to suggest that no other person could have done better; or that all political
parties in Ghana cannot be differentiated ideologically.
For the avoidance of doubt, we in the NDC will not have dared been as reckless, nor would we
have been allowed to be as irresponsible, in the handling of the public purse and the nation’s
resources as the NPP has been. We’ve had our own set of challenges in government but
nothing we did, or the outcome thereof, has come anywhere close to the disaster unfolding
before our eyes today.
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”. Last December the President is on record as having said that 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 managed, 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. I want to re-state what I have said over the years – we are ever ready
and willing to share pragmatic steps that will help put our nation back on track.
Ideally, backroom channels of communications should exist between the ruling party and the
opposition to allow for exchange of views on important matters to the benefit of Ghanaians.
Unfortunately, that has not been the case under this government for which reason we in the
NDC are compelled mostly to engage the people of Ghana directly on some of the things we
believe ought to be done to mitigate the untold suffering of our people and get the economy
back on track.
Even though Government has requested for an IMF programme, the lateness of the decision
and the extent of economic decay means an early approval of a Fund programme could prove
elusive. It may take a couple more months before an agreement is reached on a programme
with the Fund. In the meantime, there is the need to stem the rapid decline in the economy
and reduce the unbearable hardships Ghanaians are facing.
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It is for this reason, that I intend, today, to dwell more on solutions as the state of the economy
and its fallouts are well known to all of us.
SAVING GHANA
We have already put out an eleven-point proposal that could have arrested the decline before
we got to this critical point. Many of those proposals outlined in my ‘Ghana at the Crossroads’
speech are still relevant and can be implemented, even if belatedly, to help address the
problems we face.
Many months after government reluctantly requested for an IMF programme, it has failed to
coordinate and communicate any credible Home-Grown Plan for consideration by the Fund
and the Ghanaian people. When we approached the IMF for a programme in 2015, we did so
only after putting together a robust Home-Grown Programme, which the IMF adopted almost
entirely, save for minor additions.
Ladies and gentlemen, the immediate causes of the economic disaster we face are the
unacceptably high public debt occasioned by a reckless borrowing binge, and an exceptionally
large budget deficit, arising out of over expenditure. These two problems – debt and deficit –
have undermined confidence in the economy and created very serious solvency problems for
government.
This has set us up on a vicious cycle of debt and even more debt. Tackling these twin challenges
would mark the beginning of the much-needed recovery. We note that some discussions are
reported to have been initiated between government and stakeholders on a domestic debt
restructuring plan as part of the preconditions to secure an IMF programme.
This simply means that after mismanaging the economy and creating this crisis, Ghanaians and
others who have invested their hard-earned money in government bonds and other
instruments or executed contracts and supplies awaiting payment, will be asked to forfeit part
of the interest due them and a significant part of the principal when it falls due, or arrears
owed them.
This is a most unfair and unjust proposition. It is not fair for innocent people, investors, and
business owners to lose their investments, when those who took the decisions and whose
incompetence and mismanagement have brought us to this situation, are not only still at post,
but are praised and protected by the President.
The President must not only replace the finance minister but must also reconstitute and take
control of the Economic Management Team himself. I have noted the recent draft motion of
censure by the Minority against the Minister and the recent rebellion of the G-95 Majority
members calling for the removal of the Minister. I have also noted the statement by the
Majority Leader of a compromise reached that the Minister will leave after he has completed
the budget and IMF negotiations.
I think this is untenable. Budget preparation and IMF negotiations are the result of teamwork,
not the work of one individual. I fail to see how the absence of the Minister will affect the
preparation of the budget or the negotiations with the Fund.
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There surely must be persons with the requisite experience to carry on this work. Afterall what
happened to the “we have the men” mantra?
For us in the NDC, our position is that any debt restructuring must not place the absolute
burden on only the domestic debt. Restructuring of our debt must cover both domestic and
external debt.
Ghanaians in the last few years have suffered severe erosion of indigenous capital. The banking
sector clean-out led to significant loss of jobs and erosion of capital of many Ghanaian families
and businesses. Any debt restructuring restricted to cover only domestic creditors would lead
to a further erosion of local savings and capital and would also severely weaken the Ghanaian
banking sector.
BUILDING THE GHANA WE WANT

• Reducing the public debt, debt service obligations and creating fiscal space
  The biggest problem with our economy today is the huge size of our public debt, estimated to
  be around GH¢ 522 billion by close of this year. This must immediately be tackled and stopped
  from growing further.
  To achieve this:
  § An immediate moratorium must be placed on all non-concessional borrowing.
  § Government must actively canvass our bilateral partners for more concessional
  financing and grants.
  § There must be a stop to Central Bank financing of government above the 5% threshold.
  The current printing of money to finance Government’s deficit is further fueling
  inflation.
  § Government must stop collateralizing statutory funds for the purpose of taking on
  more loans. The wanton collateralization has been unhelpful. It haslimited the financial
  space of the statutory funds, including GETFund, and the District Assemblies Common
  Fund. Government should de-securitize these funds and add them onto the public debt
  as part of the discussions on debt restructuring.
  We estimate that if the proceeds due ESLA, GETFund, Road Fund etc., are freed of the
  burden of collateralization and IPP payments are renegotiated, government would
  have access to a total of about GH¢ 16 billion in 2023, GH¢ 17.6 billion in 2024 and GH¢
  19.4 billion in 2025 from these funds alone.
  This would significantly ease the cash-crunch, which has crippled many sectors
  resulting in government’s inability to meet such basic obligations as supplying food to
  secondary schools and providing textbooks for basic schools.
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  EXPENDITURE ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION
  ITEM 2023 INDICATIVE (GH¢) 2024 INDICATIVE (GH¢) 2025 INDICATIVE (GH¢)
  GETFUND 2,602,792,390 3,009,461,440 3,743,993,613
  ROAD FUND 1,949,296,790 2,210,728,337 2,427,680,636
  MIIF 1,817,296,790 2,005,210,007 2,329,783,372
  ESLA PLC 5,028,665,684 5,715,321,520 6,480,628,825
  ENERGY SECTOR IPPs 4,605,709,092 4,533,751,656 4,437,982,034
  TOTAL SAVINGS 16,003,903,956 17,614,472,960 19,420,068,034
  We also recommend that legislation be passed by Parliament to prevent the
  collateralization of statutory funds to ensure that the current problems do not re-occur.
  § Government should also begin work to amend the enabling legislations of some stateowned enterprises like the Ghana Cocoa Board to prohibit them from engaging in noncore, quasi-fiscal functions. COCOBOD is currently reeling under a debt of about GH¢
  14 billion and is severely distressed, putting further strain on government finances.
  The astronomical debt has so crippled COCOBOD and made it impossible for them to
  pay bills due the licensed buying companies and their suppliers. This debt overhang has
  affected the Produce Buying Company, which is currently unable to pay the salaries of
  its workers. Indeed, similar liabilities within other state-owned enterprises amount to
  a staggering GHS 30 billion and is impacting the public debt.
  § One of the biggest sources of suffering and difficulty for Ghanaians today is the cost of
  fuel, which has skyrocketed to the highest levels in our history due to the rapidly falling
  cedi and is affecting everything else on the market. Something needs to be done about
  it.
  Ghana is making huge windfalls from the sale of crude oil, royalties, tax payments,
  surface rentals and others. Section 4.1 of the 2022 semi-annual PIAC report confirms
  that an amount of $731.94 million was realised from Ghana’s oil resources in the first
  half of 2022 alone. This is equivalent to about GH¢ 8.7 billion, surpassing the total
  projected petroleum revenue for the whole of the 2022 financial year, estimated at
  GH¢ 6.6 million (refer to paragraph 253 of the 2022 annual budget statement
  presented to Parliament in November 2021).
  The Government can apply some of these huge windfalls to cushion consumers. In
  addition, other revenue handles have witnessed significant positive out-turns. For
  instance, the 2022 Fiscal Data report from the Ministry of Finance reveals that for the
  first two quarters of the year, the Price Stabilisation & Recovery Levy (PSRL) alone has
  so far accrued over GH¢ 798 million as compared to a projected target of GH¢269.3
  million, which is almost 200% of the revenue target. The Government must therefore
  apply the PSRL to the intended purpose and cushion petroleum consumers.
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• Cutting cost, reducing waste, and spending wisely
  One other major problem that has brought us to this point is the reckless and frivolous
  spending of our scarce national resources. A fundamental principle in economic management
  is fiscal discipline even in times of crisis. It is simply not possible to live beyond our means and
  avoid the kind of economic turmoil we are in today.
  Rampant over expenditure has reflected in the extraordinarily large budget deficits of the last
  two years, which is set to persist for a third straight year if urgent cost cutting measures are
  not taken.
  As noted by Dr. Ato Forson in his presentation, government would have to cut expenditure by
  up to 4% of GDP to create the fiscal space desired to get us out of this economic crisis. The
  Minister in his mid-year budget statement announced a 30% cut in expenditure across board.
  It appears that this cut is not working as Government expenditure in the first half of the year
  has significantly exceeded the target.
  The Minister rather than a vague reference to percentage cuts, must be specific in what areas
  these expenditures are to be cut. This will give a clear picture of the expenditure reduction and
  how much will be saved from the directive. Drastic action must therefore be taken to reverse
  the cycle and bring public expenditure within acceptable and prudent limits.
  Let me propose some measures on how government can cut cost.
  SIZE OF GOVERNMENT
  A big contributor to the excessive public expenditure is the sheer size of government. President
  Akufo-Addo has been particularly irresponsible in keeping a needlessly large government. At a
  point, we had over 120 ministers in his government with hundreds of political appointees at
  the Presidency and others attached to ministers and state organisations.
  While the President has cut down this number, there is still room for a further reduction
  including merging some ministries to reduce expenditure and cut down the number of
  Ministers to a figure below 65. It is also necessary to trim the large number of political
  appointees who have sought refuge in the Flagstaff House. This will reflect the necessities of
  the time and the need for modesty and prudence.
  SECRETARIATS AND AGENCIES
  There are also too many agencies created overnight without any functional necessity that must
  be scrapped or merged for efficiency to ensure savings to the public purse.
  Take the Free SHS secretariat as an example. The Ghana Education Service has adequate
  capacity to handle the implementation of the policy without the wasteful existence of another
  secretariat.
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  Why create and staff a ‘One District, One Factory’ Secretariat with new project vehicles and
  other costs when the Ministry of Trade and Industry has an Industrial Development Unit that
  is well placed to enhance industrialization in Ghana?
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  The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, National Employment Agency,
  MASLOC, Ghana Enterprises Agency and many others should be merged into one entity, under
  the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations. They all have similar and overlapping
  functions, which the Ministry is mandated to undertake.
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  The so-called Special Development Initiative Secretariat and the accompanying Development
  Authorities must be scrapped, and their supposed functions sent back to the Metropolitan,
  Municipal and District Assemblies whose work they have usurped for sloganeering purposes.
  The development of local level infrastructure has always been under the purview of District
  Assemblies. All that is required is the timely release of their Common Fund and any other
  additional resources, and they will be well placed to undertake this function effectively.
  The functionaries are already in the districts, they already know their functions, which includes
  taking care of the poor and persons with disabilities. Mr. President, give them the funds to
  develop our communities. The MMDAs are by far better custodians of local economic
  development. Let us empower them.
  OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
  The budget of the Office of Government Machinery has ballooned over the last six years from
  a little over GH¢700 million to GH¢ 3.1 billion in 2022. Expenditure rationalization, to be
  successful, must first start in the President’s office. Substantial savings of GH¢ 1 billion or more
  can be made by slashing the budget of the Office of Government Machinery.

CHECK WASTE AND CORRUPTION
We need to introduce stricter public financial management guidelines and regulations. A
tougher sanctions regime must be introduced to check the haemorrhage of over GH¢ 17 billion
annually. This must be rigorously enforced to curtail the appalling waste and corruption the
Auditor General unearths every year.
Everything must be done to win the fight against corruption. It is quite clear that government
has lost the fight against corruption. It is a notorious fact that corruption has defeated the
Akufo-Addo government. In fact, it is fair to say that there has never really been a fight against
corruption under Akufo-Addo.

The graft and misapplication of public funds by government appointees call for radical action
and not shielding of perpetrators, as we have sadly witnessed in the last few years.
SUSPENSION OF NON-ESSENTIAL PROJECTS
All non-essential projects such as the €116 million new Accra International Conference Centre
and the construction of new embassy buildings for new missions abroad must be suspended
for now.

The public funding of the national cathedral, particularly at this time, must stop. Being a
Christian myself, and deeply appreciative of the centrality of God in nation building, I agree
with most Ghanaians who believe that the project cannot constitute a top priority of
government at this moment, warranting further injection of scarce public funds.
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Because of the non-transparency of the processes and procurements associated with the
project, I believe that the cathedral project should be subjected to a value for money audit in
other to open the way for believers who wish to contribute to its construction to do so.
Similarly, the proposed building of Constituency offices for MPs should be shelved until the
economy is out of the woods. In the interim, office space can be found within the District
Assemblies or other government buildings for the purpose.

In our current economic state, public funds must go into projects that are necessary and which
meet the pressing needs of our people in the communities. Such projects must have tangible
and measurable impact on job creation and national development.
If it is not too late, we can pull out of hosting the All-Africa Games as it would severely stretch
our already precarious finances by hundreds of millions of cedis.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
There must be greater transparency in public procurement. As a result, value for money audits
and assessment must be made of all projects procured by sole sourcing or restrictive tendering.
We should institute a strict and irrevocable precondition for government and parliamentary
approval of all public contracts and transactions above an agreed value.

• Stabilizing the currency, cutting the import bill and job creation
  My brothers and sisters, the above remedies represent some of the short to medium term
  proposals for government to mitigate the total collapse of the Ghanaian economy. There is,
  however, the need for broad, long-term economic, governance and structural reforms that will
  guarantee sustained socio-economic growth for our country and help us avoid some of the
  mistakes that have led us to this perilous point.
  Our governance structure and institutions are in urgent need of reforms to make them more
  responsive and in tune with the aspirations and hope of the Ghanaian people. We have known
  for decades that the economic model and structure we operate cannot deliver the needed
  development and certainly not at the pace we desire.
  We do not stand a credible chance among the comity of nations if there are no fundamental
  shifts in our economic structure, which has remained raw material-producing and heavily
  import dependent.
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  RE-VISIT OPERATION FEED YOURSELF
  General Acheampong, despite the depraved corruption that swallowed him up in later years,
  was off to a good start in the early part of his regime. His “Operation Feed yourself” and
  “Operation feed your Industries” programmes yielded massive results during the period from
  1972 through to 1976.
  A student of Nkrumah and ardent supporter of Acheampong, Daniel Augustus Lartey simply
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  known as Dan Lartey of blessed memory formed the GCPP in his attempt to run for President.
  The central plank of his economic policy was “Domestication”. He was unable to articulate the
  vision eloquently.
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  But the chickens have come home to roost and today we are faced with the effects of neglect
  of their diagnosis that was made years ago about the structure of our economy. We do
  enormous damage to our currency, the cedi, and our economy, when we spend billions of
  dollars on the importation of rice, sugar, tomato products, frozen fish, poultry, meat products
  and vegetable cooking oils.
  Yet, we have more than the potential to produce here to feed ourselves and even export. It is
  estimated that forex outlay for food products for which we have a comparative advantage to
  produce locally amounts to some $3 billion every year.
  It is said that out of adversity comes opportunity. Restriction of importation of some of these
  products, side-by-side with increased local production, is a realistic proposition that we need
  to begin to consider. There must be prioritization and strategic investment in private
  commercial large-scale production of these commodities. We cannot sustain progress in
  agricultural production based on only support for small scale producers.
  Government must support large scale commercial agricultural production to achieve food selfsufficiency. We must look at the entire value from production to processing and marketing.
  LEVERAGING THE ENERGY AND PETROLEUM SECTOR
  Doing this is not beyond us, as a country. We have done it before, an example being the
  construction of a gas processing plant at Atuabo in the Western Region. The Atuabo Gas
  Processing Plant has led to a 61% reduction in the importation of Light Crude Oil, resulting in
  annual savings of about $300 million. The plant also supplies about 50% of the nation’s LPG
  needs, reducing the need for forex to import LPG.
  Thanks to President Atta Mills of blessed memory. We would have been in a worse situation,
  at this time, if this plant had not been built. We must expand the capacity of the Ghana National
  Gas Company to extend its distribution pipelines.
  As a matter of urgency, there is the need to revamp the Tema Oil Refinery and ensure that the
  refinery processes domestic crude oil, as was started under our administration. This will not
  only help prevent fuel shortages but also reduce significantly the demand for forex cover to
  import finished products. Currently, about $400 million is required every month to import
  finished petroleum products.
  Another sector we can develop to rake in much-needed foreign exchange is the power sector.
  With the completion of the 330KV Kumasi- Bolgatanga line, which began in March 2016 under
  my administration, the country is poised to export additional power to the Sahelian Region. I
  would encourage Government to work urgently to deploy the Ameri and other plants to enable
  the nation export more power for much-needed foreign exchange.
  It is regrettable that in the last six years, Government has been unable to bring any new oil or
  gas prospects into operation. This administration benefitted from additional revenue from the
  productions from the TEN and Sankofa fields, which were fast-tracked by the NDC
  administration.
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  Unfortunately, under Nana Akufo-Addo, we have seen Exxon Mobil exit our oil industry. We
  have seen a stalling of work on the Aker Field. Unnecessary litigation has stalled the bringing
  on stream of extra oil and gas from the ENI prospects and led to the withdrawal of all expatriate
  ENI staff from Ghana to Cote D’Ivoire.
  The President must take a direct interest in reversing these unfortunate developments in the
  Oil and Gas sector. This sector has the potential to rake in additional revenues, especially now
  when the demand for these products has pushed world energy prices significantly upwards.
  Government must build on this experience and leverage the comparative edge we have as apeaceful country with highly skilled human resources to make Ghana a major hub for energy
  export.
  Considering the wide expectation of an energy crisis in West Africa in the near future, a
  strategic partnership with the private sector can rake in forex through the export of energy.
  This new and additional forex will offer the Bank of Ghana critical reserves and can also finance
  the manufacturing sector for further job creation.
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  We must do whatever it takes to add value to our exports through primary, secondary, and
  tertiary processing. We must add value to our cocoa by increasing domestic processing,
  refining our gold before export, and pursuing the dream of an integrated bauxite and alumina
  industry. VALCO and many other strategic industries that can serve as extra pillars for our
  economy must be brought on stream.
  In the last NDC administration, we made modest efforts towards extending assistance to local
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  investors for increased production of poultry, rice, tomatoes, cooking oil, and pharmaceuticals.
  We constructed a new sugar processing plant in Komenda in the Central Region and began
  discussions with another private sector investor about the establishment of another sugar
  processing plant in and around Savelugu.
  We encouraged the Produce Buying Company to build a shea processing factory at Buipe,
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  which created many direct and indirect jobs. Unfortunately, it has been mismanaged and is
  currently shut down.
  We procured a strategic investor to partner with COCOBOD to establish a jute sack production
  facility here in Ghana. The project was meant to eliminate our importation of jute sacks,
  produce enough sacks for use and export the excess to countries in the subregion.
  Unfortunately, that project also stalled with the advent of the Akufo-Addo administration.
  A resurrection of all these projects and ideas will not only create jobs for our youth and other
  able-bodied Ghanaians but will in the medium-term help Ghana attain and consolidate our
  status as middle-income country.
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  We must plug the loopholes in our gold export industry to reap better returns from this
  extractive activity that is causing so much destruction to our environment.
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  It is trite knowledge that the figures we capture in respect of our gold exports are far lower
  than the quantity of the metal that leaves our shores. Better accountability in this sector can
  yield hundred of millions of dollars more for the national kitty.
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  WHAT WE CAN DO AS CITIZENS
  It is said that desperate times call for desperate measures. There is no denying that we are in
  desperate times. While responsibility for the difficulties we face lie with the Akufo-Addo and
  Bawumia government, there are things we can do as citizens in our own small way to minimize
  the suffering we are going through and help Government turn the situation around.
  A good way to start will be to regulate and minimize out expenditure, by sticking to only the
  things that we really need. As much as possible, we need to acquire and sustain a taste and
  preference for locally manufactured products. If we must buy consumables or food products,
  let us choose that rice or chicken that is produced locally so that it doesn’t become necessary
  to find millions of dollars to import the same items.
  Let us consciously eat more of our local foods like yam, local grains, cassava, beans, local fruits,
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  and vegetables. That way, we reduce demand for foreign currency, reduce the pressure on our
  own currency and boost domestic production to create a win-win situation.
  Cut down on non-essential foreign and domestic travel and cut down expensive foreign
  products in our homes. If there ever was a time to be thrifty, this is it!
  Even after an IMF programme has been agreed, the austerity of the next few years is going to
  be severe. We must save scarce family resources and use them for only the most priority
  expenditure.
  I was touched by news that one of the biggest manufacturing companies in Ghana had
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  extended a one-off cost of living payment to its employees to ease their suffering. This is a
  humanitarian gesture I would encourage many more companies to emulate because the
  suffering is real and intense.
  I would also propose that just as it was during COVID-19, industries and businesses that can,
  should give their employees the opportunity to work from home some days of the week as a
  way of cutting down on transportation costs which have become too expensive for many
  people.
  
• There are many things we can do to claw back control of our economy and resolve the cyclical
  bursts and booms we have suffered all these decades. The NDC 2020 manifesto contained
  many such bold proposals that can move our country forward. These include the “Big Push
  Infrastructural Plan” which has as its major plank, the implementation of critical, and relevant
  self-financing national infrastructure to facilitate rapid socio-economic development.
  With an imminent IMF programme, aspects of the ‘Big Push Infrastructural Plan’ with priority
  for self-financing projects will still be relevant in our present circumstances. Also, a well tabled
  and widely agreed consultation can approve a 10-year Priority Investment Programme (PIP).
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  The Atuabo Gas Plant and the Kotoka International Airport Terminal 3 projects are examples
  of this model. They are yielding benefits for our country, as we speak.
  These policy proposals remain as relevant today as they were at the time we formulated them
  in 2020, and government is free to adopt some of these measures as well as what I have
  outlined tonight to save our country.
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  In Building The Ghana We Want, we must all put our heads together. We in the NDC value the
  mandate bestowed on us periodically to govern, and do not intend to abuse it whenever we
  are given the privilege by Ghanaians to form any future government.
  In the interim, we will continue to play our role as a viable and responsible opposition party
  that keeps government in check and holds them accountable. It is in that spirit that we have
  outlined the above measures to help resolve the economic mess we are in and bring some
  respite to the people of Ghana.
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  We are in crisis. This is not the time for arrogant and insulting posturing. This is the time for
  listening. A time for utmost humility and a time for honest contemplation. A time to admit and
  accept where we have gone wrong. A time to bring our suffering people together. A time to
  promote unity and seal the cracks. A time to demonstrate leadership and sacrifice. I mean
  genuine sacrifice in the interest of our people, our country, and our future.
  Scripture tells us that, although we may fall, we can rise again. It is however imperative that
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  government accepts publicly – with a contrite heart – that they have gone wrong and earnestly
  seek workable solutions. Our very lives as a people are at stake. And we must boldly, even if
  for the first time, discard the arrogance of power and don the cloak of humility, come together,
  confront our reality, face the truth, accept our faults and act.
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  We must not throw our hands up in despair. No matter how uncomfortable we may feel about
  confronting the truth, we owe it a duty to our people to look at what brought us to this point.
  To the people of Ghana, I say, the NDC and I fully understand and appreciate how serious
  today’s situation is. This is because we are a part of the Ghanaian community. We live together
  and we feel the suffering together.
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  We know mothers and fathers are worried about the future of their children. Families with
  mortgages are deeply troubled and contemplating the future of their children’s education, just
  as families who must pay rents in due course. We know farmers and the elders of our
  communities are struggling to survive. We know businessmen are mostly running at a loss with
  only a few barely making ends meet.
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  You are not alone, and you will never be alone. Together, we can save Ghana and build the
  Ghana we want. Regardless of how bad the situation is right now; I still have hope that we can
  turn things around. I wholeheartedly believe in the resilience of our people and the lengths we
  can go to secure a prosperous future for our families. I have had the privilege to work with
  some of the most brilliant Ghanaians and I have personally seen how dedicated they are to our
  country and its future.
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  My brothers and sisters, throughout our history, Ghana’s darkest days have always been
  followed by its finest hours. We always mobilize when all hope seems lost. We always come
  together when nobody gives us a chance anymore. We always turn things around for the
  better; regardless of how grim the situation is.
  This fighting spirit that we all share as Ghanaians will never leave us, despite the numerous
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  attempts employed by many to break it. This is our land, this is our destiny, and we are ready
  to move mountains to protect and build the Ghana we want.
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  Let us rise!
  Let us hold each other’s hands!
  Let us put our shoulders and minds to the wheel!
  Let us protect and defend our democracy!
  And let us build the Ghana we want!
  As I conclude let me state that I agree with the President and wish to add my voice to his call
  on our Armed Forces and security services to remain loyal to the State and the Constitution.
  The current economic circumstances though dire, do not give excuse for any acts that are
  unconstitutional.
  Working together as one people and using the levers of the constitution, we can turn this
  situation around.
  God bless our homeland Ghana!
  I thank you for your kind attention.