Today in History: Gov't has become clueless on economy - Alan Kyerematen

On June 30, 2014, Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerementan who was then a presidential hopeful for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) said the government had become bereft of ideas thus making it clueless on how to take Ghana’s economy forward.

Mr. Kyerematen said, “the government lacks creativity in its desire to raise revenue,” adding that, “revenue collection should not contribute to increased hardships on the people.”

“In the midst of the economic situation that we find ourselves today, it does not make sense to increase tariffs on water and electricity; it is not the best idea to impose new VAT on financial services and it does not make sense to talk about increasing fuel prices even if it is being denied,” he said.

Mr. John Dramani Mahama was Ghana's president, with late Amissah Arthur as the Vice President in 2014.

Read the full story originally published on June 30, 2014, on Ghanaweb.

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Presidential hopeful, Mr. Alan Kyerematen says government has become bereft of ideas and this has made it clueless on how to take Ghana’s economy forward.

In a statement in reaction to the recent tariff increase on electricity and water, as well as the new VAT on financial services, he said such revenue collection moves by the government are helping to collapse the economy.

Mr. Kyerematen said, “the government has lacked creativity in its desire to raise revenue,” adding that, “revenue collection should not contribute to increased hardships on the people.”

“In the midst of the economic situation that we find ourselves today, it does not make sense to increase tariffs on water and electricity; it is not the best idea to impose new VAT on financial services and it does not make sense to talk about increasing fuel prices even if it is being denied,” he said.

Mr. Kyerematen said without doing anything substantially to increase production in agriculture, as well as expand the country’s export base, any attempt to hike levies will be counter-productive because of its effect on the ordinary Ghanaian, “who bears the brunt of all these increased hardships because of the government’s inability to run the economy.”

“The government has totally mismanaged the economy and become highly insensitive to the needs and feelings of the people,” Mr. Kyerematen said; and urged the Ghanaians to start asking critical questions about how the economy is being run.

According to him, the country needs new ideas that would propel the economy because President John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government has proved that they have lost touch with how to manage the economy, and also lost the trust reposed in them to govern the country.

“That is the reason why the people must be listening to the new ideas that some of us on the other side are proposing to bring about the required change in the economy,” Mr. Kyerematen said.

He said, “the people of Ghana deserve to live better, and this means a new team that has what it takes to improve the economy and at every point take into consideration the needs of the people before taking decisions that affect their daily lives.”