I am submitting this press statement on behalf of Kwaku Kwarteng.

PRESS STATEMENT 22nd April 2010

*TONY AIDOO CONTINUES THE NDC BLAME GAME*

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According to the 2010 Budget Statement (paragraphs 125 to 129) issued by the NDC government, cocoa and gold exports witnessed only marginal increases in 2009 while timber export saw significant decline (in terms of both value and volumes) in the same year. Indeed, in terms of volumes, cocoa and gold exports also declined.

Our imports also shrunk from US$10.3 billion in 2008 to US$8 billion in 2009.

Obviously, when both exports and imports are shrinking, import and export taxes would

also shrink. This is common sense. The Bank of Ghana correctly observes the following

in their February 2010 Policy Report: “All the tax types witnessed shortfalls, with petroleum tax shortfall almost 40 percent. The underperformance of petroleum tax revenue was attributed to approximately 37 percent decline in oil imports for 2009 relative to 2008, and the downward review of petroleum taxes earlier in the year.”

Therefore, for Tony Aidoo, the man in charge of the monitoring and evaluation of

government policy (including economic policy) to say that import and export revenues

underperformed in 2009 because of the corruption of CEPS officials is most unfortunate

and embarrassing. This is yet another example of the inept NDC’s penchant for blaming others for their own lack of performance. Is Tony Aidoo saying that the same CEPS officials who collected taxes in 2008 under the NPP government, when tax revenues were higher, have all of a sudden become corrupt under the NDC? Or is Mr. Aidoo now admitting that the NDC functionaries, whom they brought in to replace the previous officials as they have done everywhere else, are the corrupt ones?

By his position, Aidoo is the chief advisor to the President on the progress of government policy. This explains why the President has been saying that the economy was well-managed in 2009 but revenue did not do well because of the corruption in our revenue agencies. Mr Tony Aidoo has no training and exposure in economic policy issues and should desist from making such uniformed statements about the economy even if he is the monitoring and evaluation director at the Castle.

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*Kwaku Kwarteng*

*Communications Director*