An Economist and New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Mr. Kwame Pianim, has accused the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta of badly managing the fiscal space in the country.
He accused the Finance Minister of excessive borrowing, an action of the Minister he indicated, is leading to the high public sector debt.
Asked about his view on whether or not Mr Ofori Atta has managed the economy better while speaking on the New Day show on TV3 Wednesday December 22, he answered “No, he hasn’t done a good job, he is over borrowing , we are not getting value for money.”
He added “Ofori Atta needs to realise that he is not just a budget and expenditure minister, he is minister of finance. Finance means growing the economy. One of the things that this government said was that they are going to move away from the Guggisberg economy.
“Guggisberg developed and expended the cocoa industry so there was a steam of income , he built the ports , he built the schools . By the time Guggisberg left we had reserves , we were not in debt . So the economy that Ken Ofori Atta is trying to build is an economy that thrives on expenditure and debt.”
Mr Painim further revealed that Ofori-Atta does not pick his calls.
“The Finance Minister doesn’t take my phone calls,” he remonstrated. “The Deputy [Finance Minister] took. I reached out. I talked to the president.”
He confirmed that about three weeks ago, he reached out to the President, whom he exonerates as picking his calls but “he is very busy”.
“Finance Minister doesn’t take my phone calls.
“Even when I reached out to his Personal Assistants to book an appointment, he doesn’t give me an appointment.
“They know what they are doing.”
By Laud Nartey|editors.3news.com|Ghana
