Government Of Propaganda And Lies Continues

The NDC party and government is continuing to live up to its reputation as government of lies and propaganda. The NDC is the only political Party with propaganda executives. Propaganda is an official mode of operation. A deputy Information Minister in the NDC government is on record urging civil servants to lie and distort information in the course of their work, to make the government look good.

Propaganda, distortion, outright lies are so ingrained in the governance culture of the NDC that the government seems now not to take account of reality. The latest press conference by Mr. Fiifi Kwetey, former propaganda Secretary of the NDC, and now a Deputy Minister of Finance, is just the latest example of the pursuit of propaganda, distortion and lies as a policy of government and party. ENERGY

Fiifi Kwetey claims the NDC government in 3 years added 376mw energy generation capacity. After this declaration had been first made by President Mills (2012 sessional address to Parliament), a deputy Minister for Energy, was on Joy FM claiming the NDC had added 150 mw to energy capacity. When the contradiction with the President’s figure was pointed out to the deputy Minister, he said, oh, he had forgotten to add the generation of energy by Asogli Company. As comical as this is, it must be pointed out that the Asogli plant was set up during the NPP government and it utilises gas from the West Africa Gas Pipeline paid for by the NPP government. It is so sad to note that at the time President Mills and his deputy Minister were making claims and counter claims, the nation was suffering under electricity load shedding! Even today, with Fiifi Kwetey repeating these claims, the country is still suffering under a debilitating load shedding programme even though Akosombo dam is full to its maximum capacity. This rampant loading shedding is destroying Ghanaians Businesses and Ghanaian Industries and greatly disrupting the welfare and social life of millions of Ghanaians. It is very sad that in this terrible situation, the government of the day is rubbing salt into the wounds of Ghanaians by boasting of unprecedented feats in energy production.

Lets note that the additional energy being claimed were mostly initiatives during the NPP government, such as Asogli plant, Osono plant, Tema Thermal plant 1, the Mines Reserve, Siemens Atholl plant etc.

750 million Dollar Eurobond. Fiifi Kwetey asked Ghanaians what the NPP used the $750m Eurobond loan for. He is telling Ghanaians the money was just wasted. But the same NDC government with Fiifi Kwetey as Deputy Finance Minister, wrote to the World Bank and IMF, way back in 2009, providing details of how the $750m was used. Let us listen to what the government wrote………

“Out of the $750 million borrowed in 2007, in the form of Eurobonds, $595 million had been disbursed by January 2009. The proceeds were allocated primarily to support public investments in the energy sector according to the following distribution : $286 million for investments by the Volta River Authority (VRA); $134m for investments by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG); $54m for investment in the Bui Dam; $31m for the government’s equity investment in the West Africa Gas Pipeline (WAGP); and $90m for public investments in road infrastructure” (Source : Economic Governance and Poverty Reduction Loan document, paragraph 32. 15 June 2009)

In effect, ladies and gentlemen, the government tells the truth to the World Bank and the IMF, but turns back to lie to Ghanaians, whose taxes pay their salaries.

Note: the NPP had disbursed $595m, not $750m. For even more mischief, Fiifi Kwetey quotes “nearly $1 billion.” The immediate question to ask Fiifi Kwetey is this “Have you accounted to the Ghanaian people how the NDC government has disbursed the balance of $155million left?” Ladies and Gentlemen, when this letter, signed byFiifi Kwetey’s boss, was brought to the attention of Fiifi Kwetey, the campaign of lies became even more blatant. The new lie was that the $595m disbursed was not invested in infrastructure. Yet, clearly, the NDC’s letter stated $90m for road infrastructure, 54m for Bui Dam, and $31m for the WAGP!

Fiifi Kwetey claimed further that some of the money was used to pay salaries and to procure prepaid meters by ECG, and to buy additional equity, for government in Ashanti Goldfields Company.

Ladies and Gents, the enormous benefit of pre paid meters to ECG as against the old system, is known by every school boy. Yet the Deputy Finance Minister of Ghana does not know this. Fiifi Kwetey also forgot to mention that the additional equity in Ashanti Goldfields has been sold at great profit by the NDC government .

Totally confused now, in the face of the truths pointed out to him, Fiifi Kwetey makes the incredible pronouncement that the government in the said letter actually lied to the World Bank, IMF. For those of you who doubted Baba Jamal, there you have your answer. It is most extraordinarily that a deputy minister of finance in pursuit of propaganda, openly states that the government of Ghana lied to international finance institutions. This is most unprecedented. And just yesterday, we heard that this same man is leading a Ghanaian delegation to the world bank. Ladies and Gents, it is indeed a very sad day for governance in this country and every self respecting Ghanaian must indeed be feeling very sad.

More lies, more deceit, more propaganda Beyond the $750m, the lies, deceit and propaganda, continues unabated! Fiifi Kwatey claims the NDC government embarks on projects supported by “robust feasibility”. Ladies and Gents, let’s take just two recent projects: 1. the Bus Rapid Transit Project (BRT) is over 2 years behind schedule. More sadly, the project risks being abandoned as the World Bank threatens to stop funding. The reason? The NDC government has not managed to set up a Project Implementation Unit!! (Source: Daily Graphic, June 5 2012). 2. Another recent example is that the government commissioned a sheanut processing factory in Buipe in May 2012. As at the end of August, four months after the commissioning of the factory, the factory was still not operating. The unofficial reason is that the wrong machinery was ordered.

Fiifi Kwetey piles more propaganda on Ghanaians. He claims the NDC’S record in “boosting the nation’s productive sectors” is unprecedented!!

PROPAGANDA: he claims the NDC had improved rice production by 30%. Mind you, they have made this claim since 2009. So it seems that the 30 percent since 2009 has remained stagnant. Thus in the last three tears, no improvement has been made? TRUTH : the price of rice (olonka) has gone from GHC 2.50 to over GHC 8; i.e. by over 300% in 3 years. PROPAGANDA : on fishing NDC “has procured four patrol vessels” and plans to build fishing harbours and landing sites” TRUTH : In 2011, fishing grew less than it did in 2008.(Source 2012 Budget statement,)

PROPAGANDA the NDC “put in place far reaching policies that have arrested the rapid depreciation and brought about a situation where the cedi is once again seeing appreciation against the dollar.” TRUTH : the cedi has lost over 80% of its value in just 3 years of the NDC, the worst performance in 20 years! Now even Ghanaians with dollar accounts cannot withdrew their own money!! Compare to less than 50% loss in value over 8 years of the NPP! PROPAGANDA : “as a result of successful measures, the global confidence in the Ghanaian economy has once again sky rocketed as evidenced in the recent massive oversubscription in the 5 years bond floated by the government. TRUTH : the BoG has just reported ( BOG monetary policy committee press release, September 2012, paragraph 10)that business confidence as well as consumer confidence in Ghana is declining. Even though the NDC claim inflation is 9%, the NDC government put the interest on the bond at 24%. Who would not buy bonds at a yield of 24% when inflation is supposed to be 9%? PROPAGANDA : “the NDC has not only attained single digit inflation but has been able to maintain it now for about 26 long months, an unprecedented feat.” TRUTH : by far the biggest complaint of Ghanaians today is the incredible cost of living. According to the latest Afro barometer Survey, 65% of Ghanaians conclude the economy is “Too Bad”compared to 45% in 2008. On welfare ( wasitsena mu) 56% reported their welfare is “Too Bad” compared with 30% in 2008. If the NDC government believes its own inflation claims, why is treasury bill rate at 22%, and the yield on government bond at 24%? And why has the cedi lost 80% in value, the worst in 20 years? The NDC left the NPP an inflation rate of 40% in 2000, while the NPP left the NDC an inflation rate of 18% in 2008! MOTHER PROPAGANDA “Between 1993 and year 2000, the NDC grew the economy of Ghana 12 times, an incredible 1169% NPP in 8 years achieved an insignificant 300%.” TRUTH : in 1993, Ghana’s GDP was $5 billion. In 2000, it was $4 billion. In these 8 years, GDP fell by $1 billion. In 2001-2008, same 8 years, the GDP went from the abysmal $4 billion to t$16.3billion. (Same old series). Every school child in Ghana today must wonder how a fall from $5billion to $4 billion, becomes a growth of 1169%. Or is Fiifi Kwetey using a new arithmetic? And this is the Deputy Finance Minister of Ghana? PROPAGANDA “Dr. Bawumia is “the same person who not once but twice was key in leading the NPP to pursue phantom loans, the IFC and CNTCI 419 loans” TRUTH the sovereign Guarantee of Ghana was never issued in the cases of CNTCI & IFC, unlike the STX phantom project where the sovereign guarantee was issued against all reason, and it became a common document on the streets in neighboring West African Countries! By the way, Dr, Bawumia only became to deputy governor the BOG in 2006, way after the CNTCI &IFC episodes. Fiifi Kwetey could not get even this simple fact, right! PROPAGANDA “On railways, the NPP “actually presided over its further collapse to the extent that some of the lines were sold as scrap!” TRUTH when the NPP assumed power in 2001, the national railway was actually on divestiture. It was the NPP who took it off divestiture and rehabilitated the 17km Accra-Tema (Aso pro chona) link.

SOME MORE FACTS

Ladies and Gentlemen, the great issue of today, is that most aspects of our national life are declining, since 2009. I have mentioned agric, fishing, crops, manufacturing etc. In education, for example BECE results show :

BECE 2001 - 60.40 2002 - 60.48 2003 - 60.99 2004 - 61.18 2005 - 61.59 2006 - 61.91 2007 - 61.28 2008 - 62.16 2009 - 50.23 2010 - 49.12 2011 - 46.93

To avoid further embarrassment, the NDC government by some manipulation of the passing aggregates has managed to achieve pass rate of 99.5%! Unemployment is the biggest problem affecting young people in Ghana. The Ghana. The Ghana TUC has stated that every year over 200,000 young Ghanaians come onto the job market. The world Bank estimates 65% youth unemployment in Ghana. Yet the NDC government in 4 years has no Policy and Action Plan on Employment nor even an Action Plan for Youth development! As we speak, cost of living is rising up on a weekly basis, electricity is being rationed, gas shortages etc. In the words of a friend of mine, “gas shortage dey bi keke, electricity dey bi keke, cost of living dey bi keke.” If Fiifi Kwetey and the NDC want to set records straight, they should do so on STX, set the records straight on Woyome, set the records straight on gas shortage, set the records straight on water rationing, on electricity rationing, on youth employment, on embraer jet, on the training of Ghanaian doctors in Cuba and on the incredible cost of living. The list can go on and on.

All of these deterioration is taking place when under the NDC government, Ghana’s debt in just 3 and a half years has ballooned from $8.1 billion to over $15 billion, nearly 100%.

In just one day in Parliament, (Friday 28 September, 2012) the NDC government brought a total of $510m loan agreement request to Parliament! The government of Ghana seems to be surviving on the back of loans, loans and more loans.

Where goes Ghana under the NDC?