Opinions of Friday, 16 December 2022

Columnist: Joel Savage

Ken Agyapong's warning on high customs duties but no one listened

Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong

I've written a few articles about Ken Agyapong, and to be completely honest, I would have given him the backing he requires to be a leader if he hadn't gotten involved in activities that have questioned his abilities and marred his reputation. Ken Agyapong is smarter than the bulk of NPP politicians, despite what critics may say about him and the bad things he has done in the past. Kennedy Agyapong alerted the NPP administration to impending events, but no one heeded his warnings.

Ken Agyapong claimed that "the World Bank and the IMF are two entities undermining the Akufo Addo's government to collapse, “prompting to write: Corrupt IMF and World Bank? - Ken Agyapong confirms the truth of an article I wrote." Because I had already written on how corrupt multinational corporations take resources from developing countries with the assistance of the World Bank and the IMF before he made this claim.

Osafo Maafo as Senior Presidential Advisor to Akufo Addo seems to me to have been detrimental to the president because, since the president's appointment, he hasn't been successful, even though the corrupt media he is funding keep promoting his false agenda. The majority of Ghanaians saw terrible decisions, a surge in the high rate of corruption, waste of resources, unprecedented hardships, and a significant national debt without responsibility despite all of his struggles.

While the majority of dishonest NPP politicians want Ghanaians to believe that COVID and the Russia-Ukraine war are to blame for the country's economic calamity, many others, including the writer and Ken Agyapong, are not persuaded of this. Why President Akufo Addo would choose to rely on the IMF rather than take the proper action to free himself from hardships and improve life for the suffering masses is beyond me.

I recently proved once more why Ghana's economy crashed in my article, "The NPP's Years of Crisis: A Chronology Of The Collapse Of The Banking, Economic, Businesses, And Financial Systems," notwithstanding the NPP's claims that COVID and the Russia-Ukraine war are to blame. More significantly, the Russian government stood up for itself and provided evidence of such, but a government that refuses to acknowledge failure will always rely on its own misunderstanding.

When the local banking institutions collapsed, the economy of the nation started to have issues. The vice president, Bawumia, who is reputed to be an economist, and the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, could have encouraged investment during that time by establishing a flexible import and export trade to entice investors. Unfortunately, that was also the moment when the already-existing corruption began to spread. The president, Nana Akufo Addo, has given Ghana Revenue Authority to raise GHC 39 billion.

Kennedy Agyapong had made vehement complaints about the exorbitant cost of customs taxes at the ports. By then, I had already published three articles that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ghana's economic collapse was caused by widespread corruption at the ports, discouraging domestic and foreign investments. Angry Ken Agyapong exposed it as well, stating that "If the president has given GRA the order, doesn't mean they have to hike rates with their CTN," I wasn't at all surprised.

According to the Assin Central Member of Parliament for the New Patriotic Party, "things are very tough in Ghana because of high duties and as a result, the problem will erode the fortunes of the NPP." I wrote this in the article "The Lamentation Of Ken Agyapong Reveals Akufo Addo Is Behind The Corruption At The Ports." In that specific piece, I backed it up with a video of Ken Agyapong's interview, which revealed that President Akufo Addo is responsible for the corruption occurring at the ports, just as he has been involved in illegal mining around the nation.

It was shocking to discover that the video in which Ken Agyapong implicated the president in corrupt practices at the ports, had been deleted when I referred to the article I wrote for ModernGhana. In reality, several of my articles that have been supported by videos of Akufo Addo's corruption and unfilled promises, have been removed from public view. What are they trying to conceal, then?

There is a reason why Ken Agyapong said, "Read my lips, NPP politicians are not at all clever; what is called intellect, none has one." This is accurate since I share his perspective that the IMF would not be Ghana's savior. Even after the NPP government had earlier said it would seek financial assistance from the organization, Ken Agyapong opposed the idea of going to the IMF.

It's really terrible that some ignorant NPP members, like the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and Gabby Otchere-Darko, are giving desperate Ghanaians false assurances that the help from the International Monetary Fund will allow milk and honey to flow on the country's streets. The best way to quickly restore Ghana's collapsing economy is to stimulate and promote both domestic and international investment by addressing corruption issues and decreasing tariffs.

However, considering Akufo Addo is the one who is responsible for the corruption at the ports, I don't believe this is conceivable. Ken Agyapong has proven it, and I have also confirmed it in earlier columns. As a result, ignorant NPP politicians, especially Richard Ahiagba, the national director of communications, should quit pleading with Ghanaians for assistance in reviving the economy.