General News of Tuesday, 17 January 2023

Source: mynewsgh.com

Ofori-Atta can’t be the same person to save Ghana – Kwame Pianim

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of New World Renaissance Securities Limited and famed Economist, Kwame Pianim is wondering why finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta is still at post despite being the one who in his view led Ghana into a ditch.

“The driver who sent the car into a ditch is not the right person to bring back the car from the ditch”, Mr Kwame Pianim said in an interview with Kumasi-based radio Sompa FM in an interview monitored by MyNewsGH.com.

According to him, the claim by the government and its Finance Minister that, the current economic hardship the country is facing is a result of the Russian-Ukraine War and the pandemic Coronavirus is untenable.

“You can’t blame the Russia-Ukraine war for hardship in Ghana. How does Russia -Ukraine War affect us? How many Ghanaians take bread every morning before going to work?” he quizzed.

To him, the situation could have been better if the Finance Minister had released money to Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto former Agric Minister to cart in more food from the rural areas to the city centers rather than focus on bread to eat which raw material is imported mostly from Ukraine.

Mr Kwame Pianim further chided the Akufo-Addo’s government saying the current situation cannott be justifiable because Ghana has not experienced any great hurricanes, earthquake or any other serious disaster.

“It is rather the act of arrogance, wickedness that has brought us where we are now. So you say you are not going to reduce your government size, you won’t reduce number of vehicles and fuel you use.” He wondered adding that, government must cut its coat according to its size.