General News of Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Source: tv3network.com

Fiifi Kwetey replies NPP: Mahama has done far better

Minister of Food and Agriculture Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey has rubbished claims by the Minority in Parliament that President John Dramani Mahama painted a rosy picture of the state of the nation to Ghanaians on February 26, when he appeared before Parliament.

He said even with the austere economic conditions in 2014, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has done far better in managing Ghana’s economy.

The Minority led by its leader, Osei-Kyei Mensa-Bonsu, on Monday delivered what it described as the "true" state of the nation at a press conference in Accra.

Speaking on TV3’s News@10 on Monday, March 9, Mr Kwetey said the New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament’s press conference was a desperate attempt to win the love of Ghanaians.

He said the NPP MPs only expressed shallow-mindedness of the current state of the nation at the press conference.

According to him, debt stock of the country rose to 16 percent under the NPP in 2008 when they had projected to keep it at 4 percent.

He also mentioned that inflation rose to as high as 18 percent under the NPP, indicating that even with the economic challenges, the NDC has kept the figure down, having kept it single for over one year.

Mr Kwetey dismissed allegations by the Minority that agriculture is contributing zilch to the gross domestic product, pointing out that inflation was kept at a single value as a result of agriculture’s contribution to the economy.

The former NDC Propaganda Secretary called on Ghanaians to treat the press conference with the contempt it deserves.