Sarpong, Justice

Ghanaians should count the four years rule of President Mills whose eye and hearing vestigials are hampering his rule as lost years. Lost years because this administration cannot even turn a good economic news to its advantage. This administration tantivy about the single digit inflation achievement is not even bringing the desire effect of lower interest rates to spur economic growth. Naturally, a lower inflation in the economy will lead to a brisk economic activity because the central Bank, or in the case of Ghana, Bank of Ghana will lower its prime rate to the commercial Banks who in turn will do a brisk business of lending to its customers but somewhere along the line of chain of events supposed to happen, there is yaw.

Why is President Mills telling the commercial Banks to reduce the current high interest rates? Isn't that supposed to happen naturally? Banks are in the business of making money and they do that by lending to its customers and charging interest on the money they lend, that is how the Banks make most of their money, so if inflation has gone down to single digits, Bank of Ghana has reduced its prime rate to the Banks from 15% to 13.5%, why do we need the President to beg the Banks to reduce its interest rates and lend to Ghanaians? The Banks make most of their money through lending so why do we need the President to tell them to do something that should come naturally to them?

"Accra, July 20, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday, appealed to managements of the nation's banks to reduce the current high interest rates. He said now that the economy was improving, with a further decline in the Bank of Ghana base rate, the banking sector could be of more help to local industries with a reduction of the interest rates to sustain industries and help them to grow.The Central Bank, last week announced a reduction in the base rate from 15 per cent to 13.5 per cent"

Fellow citizens, let me tell you why this is an NDC propaganda to flummox and adumbrate the uninitiated minds of its sycophantic NDC factotums and peons. Bank of Ghana has no money to lend to the Commercial Banks who can turn around and lend to its customers but Ghanaians believe because the Finance Minister and the Governor of Bank of Ghana are trumpeting their lower inflation and reduction in prime rate, the commercial Banks are now fraught with cash to lend, that is not true. The reduction of prime rate has no effect on the economy if Bank of Ghana is not lending to the commercial banks and it is not doing that due to lack of funds.

Mr Amissah-Arthur, the Governor of Bank of Ghana has this to say about the economy when he met the press to enumerate the economic conditions in Ghana;

"He said the credit conditions survey conducted by BoG in June 2010 showed a general net tightening of credit to small and medium sized enterprises. "Loans to small and medium sized enterprises and households were however tightened through increases in margin for riskier loans and security and collateral requirements."

So if everything in the economy is hunky dory, why are the Banks tightening their lending policies? Are we not supposed to have an increase in money supply in the economy to spur economic growth? Why is the country's GDP going down while inflation is going down? GDP is not supposed to go down in an economy that is having lower inflation if this so called single inflation was achieved with the right economic policies but when this goverment restricts money supply by putting a freeze on hiring new employees (THANKS TO IMF SHACKLES ON THIS GOVERNMENT), failing to pay workers for long period of times, restricting oil importation, yes, you are going to have lower inflation as there is few money chasing more goods and traders are forced to reduce prices.

Our GDP that was increased from 3.8 billion to 17.3 billion in 8 years and inflation was cut from 45% to 12% in 2007, by NPP business was booming then because banks were lending to people unlike now when even people with good credit histories are being turned away by their own banks.

Within 18 months of this administration, our GDP has gone down from 17.3 billion to 14.8 billion. Our total public debt stock stood at US$9,202.94 million (61.7 percent of GDP) at the end of December 2009 up from US$7,918.1million (54.6 percent of GDP) at the end of December 2008 and breaching the prudent ceiling for the total debt stock of 60.0 percent of GDP set in the 2007 budget. Have we not been bombarded by the sanctimonious NDC team "B" ministers about how this government has been paying the debt left behind by Kuffour's NPP administratuin so how come our debt has gone up from 7.9 billion at the end of NPP administration to 9.2 billion at the end of 2009? So just one year of this NDC adminstration, more than 1.3 billion debt was added to our debt which was supposedly being paid by this government. Mills and his schoolboys ministers have been lying to us about our debt situation.

The same week that Mills and his team "B" ministers were pontificating and sermonizing their lower inflation figure, Ghana statistical services (GSS) brought out some very worrying figures which confirmed that Ghanaians have gotten poorer. Per capita income was $654.80 in 2007. It moved up impressively to $713.33 in 2008. By the end of 2009, per capita income had fallen to $659.21. Which means that every Ghanaian was on an average $54.12 worse off last year than they were in 2008. Now do you understand why our GDP has gone down from 17.3 billion to 14.8 billion? This government is like Dr Kervokian killing the economy swiftly by prescribing death medicine instead of cure medicine to the economy.

President Mills is not up to the job and should resign immediately and turn over this administration to Vice-President Mahama, who has already been tarnished by the STX boondoggle contract he and his brothers, Bagbin and Abongo signed with the Korean government after accepting cameras , watches and a slew of Asian gesha women. "GHANAFUO ATO ABA BONEE PAA".

Justice Sarpong

Houston, Texas