The Member of Parliament for Buem, Kofi Adams, has commended Kweku Kwarteng, Chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, for his candid critique of the government’s management of Ghana’s economy.

Speaking on Morning Starr with Lantam Papanko, Mr. Adams indicated that Kwarteng was right when he said the government is managing the economy like a Ponzi scheme.

After initially criticizing a tax as a nuisance while in opposition, he outlined how the government decided to float bonds to clear debts more quickly once in power.

“They floated the bonds, took the money, and chopped the money. So today, the debt has more than quadrupled. If this is not a Ponzi scheme, what is it? That you raise bonds in the name of ESRA, which has existed. You have the money. The debt was not cleared,” he said.

Mr. Kofi Adams also criticized the administration’s tax exemption policies, pointing out instances where companies sought exemptions exceeding their actual investment amounts.

“One company came for tax exemption. The amount of money it was asking to be exempted is more than the money it is even investing in the project,” he added.

Mr. Adams also noted the significant increase in national debt and the lack of tangible benefits from such borrowing.

“They have increased our debt from just 120 billion to 712 billion Ghana cedis in a short period. There’s nothing to show for it apart from a 58-million-dollar hole for a cathedral,” he said.

The Buem lawmaker said that despite being part of the ruling party, Kweku Kwarteng has openly addressed the financial issues within the government.

“Kweku Kwarteng is right. I respect him for his position on such matters,” he said.

Kofi Adams, therefore, urged Ghanaians to vote for a new government that makes practical and meaningful promises.

“We are making realistic promises. Promises that will lift Ghana out of its current challenges to a level where everyone benefits," he said.

Background:

A former Deputy Minister for Finance, Kwaku Kwatey, has said Ghana’s economic challenges for years now are the result of economic mismanagement by successive governments.

According to him, “we have been running our country’s economy like a Ponzi scheme.”

“The economic problems Ghana is facing today, at both the national level and in households, are also the cumulative effects of many decades, spanning different governments, of the bad politics and economic mismanagement that have characterized the governance of our country."

“Since independence, we have survived by constantly overspending our means and borrowing to finance the overspending. And many of these expenditures are just bad priorities."

“We always offer higher interest to lenders, borrow more, use a part to repay previous debts, and use the rest to pay for the current year’s overspending. So, we have been running our country’s economy like a Ponzi scheme. The economy is struggling today because lenders are now refusing to lend to us. It is just like a Ponzi scheme going into crisis once people stop depositing their money with them," the Obuasi West lawmaker disclosed in a statement.