Aspiring General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, has suggested that the governing New Patriotic Party should be voted out of office over their gross mismanagement of the country. According to him, the NPP since taking over from the administration of the country has ‘broken everything’ ranging from the economy to the environmental state (galamsey activities) of the country. This, he says, is in spite of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who was portrayed as an economic messiah and subsequently tagging of the NDC as ‘incompetent’ when the NPP were in opposition. In an interview with Accra-based Citi TV on October 11, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah said the country needs a “doctor” which is the NDC to administer new treatment to its patient (Ghana) in order to salvage the economy which was dying. He pointed to recent downgrades by rating agencies such as Fitch, Standards and Poor and Moody’s. “They have broken the country. They have broken the economy. They have broken everything that is worth breaking. They have broken our infrastructure; our educational system; the environment is a mess. “You can liken the state of this country under NPP to a medical doctor that has been given a patient to take care of that is Ghana and that doctor, because of the kind of treatment and medications he’s giving to the patient, the patient is bleeding from the mouth, nose, ears, eye…bleeding profusely… haemorrhage and the more they try to stabilize the patient; because they are using the wrong prescriptions and medications, the worse the situation is getting and right now it is very clear that the country is virtually in a coma. The patient is about to die. This is not me saying this,” he said. Background Ghana’s economy has fared badly in the last couple of months with economists pointing to record-high inflation rates, fuel price hikes, and the Cedi depreciation as the basis for their claim. Government has consistently blamed the situation on the ravages of Covid-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war but has assured that it is implementing measures to mitigate the impact such as seeking an IMF programme in the interim. This has been occasioned by downgrades from rating agencies such as Fitch and Standards and Poor. Recently, the International rating firm, Moody's Investors Service also downgraded Ghana’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa2 from Caa1 and placed the ratings on review for downgrade. According to Moodys, the downgrade reflects the recent macroeconomic deterioration of Ghana's economy which resulted in further heightening of the government’s liquidity, debt sustainability difficulties and posing an increased risk of debt default. “Without external support, the government’s policy levers to arrest a worsening macroeconomic backdrop and heavier debt burden are extremely limited; the government’s small revenue base, large and increasingly absorbed by interest payments, further intensifies the policy dilemma between competing objectives, including servicing debt while meeting essential social needs,” Moody's said on its official website on September 30, 2022. It however explained that the initiation of the review for downgrade is prompted by the ongoing negotiations between the government of Ghana and the IMF over a funding programme that may include a condition for debt restructuring to ensure debt sustainability. Meanwhile, the NPP is aiming to extend its tenure beyond the 8-year power cycle between itself and the NDC in what it has christened as ‘Break the 8’ while the NDC has voted to wrestle power from the ruling party in the 2024 election. You can also watch this episode of People & Places on GhanaWeb TV: DS/SARA