Why is govt massaging figures to create the erroneous impression that all is well? - Eric Opoku asks

Minority spokesperson on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa affairs, Eric Opoku, has advised the Akufo-Addo led government to desist from manipulating figures to impress Ghanaians.

Eric Opoku said the figures presented in the 2020 budget do not tally with previous data.

“In the 2020 budget, government decided to account for the number of people who have participated in the planting for food and jobs program and then when you look at the 2018 budget the number was given as 201,000 farmers participated in the 2017 program and then when you go to 2019 budget we have been told that government registered 577,000 farmers to participate.

In 2020 budget the government has said that 880,000 farmers participated in the program and the question is, where from the additional 102,000 farmers. They never participated in the program. So they are ghost farmers they don’t exist.”

He called on government to be “honest with the people we lead” as it is the duty of government to account to Ghanaians on the efficiency of the investment government has made.

“Why are we massaging the figures to create that erroneous impression that all is well when in the actuality we know that things are not well?” He said.