Gabby Otchere-Darko, Opare Addo 'clash' over management of economy

The National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo and a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, have renewed exchanges over better managers of the economy. While Mr Addo claims that the NPP cannot match the NDC in the development agenda of the country, Mr Otchere-Darko admonished members of the NPP to stop comparing the achievements of the party with that of the NDC because it was not prudent in the current economic circumstances. Communicators of the two parties have been making spirited arguments about which of the two parties have been the better manager of the economy and the comparisons have been triggered by the depreciation of the local currency and other challenges facing the economy. Mr Otchere-Darko urged members of his party to stop comparing NPP’s achievements with NDC over ‘politics of equalisation’ as it was not prudent amidst the economic hardships being experienced by the citizenry. He stressed that there was a need for the party to focus more on highlighting the government’s policies, programmes and social interventions instead of bantering with NDC which should not be the posture of the party in the wake of economic difficulties. “NPP should not play the politics of equalisation with the NDC on inflation, interest rates and depreciation of the cedi since the world is facing an economic crisis like never before in a time of peace and Ghana has been hit hard because our economic recovery is being delicately managed in a pre-COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr Otchere-Darko postulated. The country is currently reeling under intense economic pressure due to consistent increments in the rate of inflation, depreciation of the cedi, increasing debt stock, unemployment and high cost of living still rising by the day compelling the Ghana Union of Traders to close down their shops over hardships. The government is on the verge of concluding negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on interventions that can transform the country’s economic fortunes. Reacting, Mr Addo insisted that the NPP had performed poorly and could not win the ‘equalisation game’ against the NDC regime because the NPP’s penchant for ‘reckless spending’ and ‘Ponzi-like borrowing’ was the cause of economic woes. He indicated that NPP could not win the equalisation game because Ghana was not the only country hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine but reckless borrowing had accounted for the worst economic performance ever recorded. “These engagements do not augur well for the NPP, hence the need for the party to draw the attention of citizens to what the government is doing to alleviate their plight,” Mr Addo noted.