THE NPP RESPONSE TO THE 2016 BUDGET STATEMENT, THE 7 YEAR

RECORD OF THE NDC & THE ALTERNATIVE VISION UNDER AN NPP

GOVERNMENTDecember 2nd , 2015
Fellow Ghanaians, on Friday November 13 2015, the Minister of Finance,
presented to Parliament the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the
Government of Ghana for the 2016 Financial Year. The 2016 budget is the last
budget of the second four year term of the NDC government. After two terms in
office, one would expect that major gains would be made by this government in
tackling the major problems the Ghanaian economy. These are problems of
inclusive economic growth to address unemployment, decline in the
agriculture sector, rising cost of living, collapsing businesses, the energy crisis
(dumsor) unsustainable debt, poor infrastructure, rising interest rates
exchange rate depreciation, rising fiscal and balance of payments deficits, and
corruption.
If one factors supplementary budgets since 2009, this 2016 budget is the eighth
main budget in 7 years that the NDC has delivered. All of them promised a
Better Ghana yet the outcomes, consistently, have been very abysmal. The
eight main budgets over the last seven years have promised to address these
challenges with various policies and the 2016 budget is no different. Today, the
promise is to change lives and transform the economy. One really wonders if
this government is in touch with reality. The reality for most Ghanaians is that
the economic policies of this government have destroyed many lives as young
graduates are unable to find jobs, people are unable to pay school fees for their
wards, people cannot pay for hospital fees, businesses are collapsing, etc. Many

lives have been destroyed and the economy, as we would show shortly has
rather been deformed and not transformed. We have kept warning the
government that you cannot use propaganda to manage an economy. The
reality is that the people are suffering under this government and there is no
transformation. Propaganda cannot change this reality.
Ghanaians were promised a Better Ghana in 2008 but going into the 8th year
of government in 2016, this government has delivered one of the worst
economic performances of any government in Ghanas history. The record after
the last seven budgets of the NDC is definitely not one of a Better Ghana than
the one this government inherited in 2009. Rather, it is a record of a
monumental waste of an historic opportunity to transform the economy of
Ghana and improve the lives of Ghanaians.
While budgets are a statement of intent for the year ahead, there is no
substitute for a seven year record of performance. We have an opportunity
today to compare the record of performance of the NPP government of 20012008 under President J.A. Kufuor and the NDC administrations of Presidents
Mills and Mahama (2009-2015), comment on the 2016 budget and present an
alternative vision for the NPP that will guide future NPP budgets under a Nana
Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo government.
GDP GROWTH
The GDP growth rate which was inherited by the NPP under the stellar
leadership of President Kufuor in 2000, was 3.7%. In 2001 the GDP grew at

4.2%; in 2002 it grew at 4.5% rising to 5.2% in 2003 and to 5.6% in 2004. It
rose to 5.9% in 2005, 6.4% in 2006; 6.3% in 2007 and to 8.4% in 2008. This
indeed is steady growth and it occurred without revenues from crude oil
exports and in periods where the world was seeing the worst economic crisis
in decades.
In the process, the size of Ghanas economy increased from some $5.1 billion to
$28.5 billion, a 500% increase!!!. Even in the face of a global economic and
financial crisis in 2007/8 (with oil prices reaching a record high of
$147/barrel) economic growth in 2008 rose to 8.4%. Ghana was transformed
during the period of the NPPs tenure (2001-2008) from a low income HIPC
economy to a lower middle income economy on the frontiers of emerging
market status.
The NPPs record on economic growth compares with the uneven and recently
declining growth rates achieved by the NDC Mills-Mahama, Mahama
administrations. In 2009 growth rate swung down to 4.0%; in 2010 it grew at
8.0% and upped to 14.0 per cent with the onset of oil production. For 2012 the
GDP growth registered 8.8%, climbing down to 7.6 in 2013 and plummeting to
4.1% in 2014. The provisional 2015 GDP growth rate is 4.1% and for the first
time since the inclusion of oil revenues beginning from 2011 the non-oil
component of the GDP growth of 4.2% is higher than the overall real GDP
growth rate of 4.1%. In 2014 the revised figures indicate that GDP growth rate
was 4.0% same as the non-oil GDP growth. In the eight years of the NDC
government, the size of the economy would have increased from $28.5 billion

in 2008 to a projected $39.4 billion in 2016 (with oil), a 52% increase compared
to the 500% increase witnessed under the NPP (without oil).

DECLINING AGRICULTURAL SECTOR GROWTH

In critiquing the 2015 budget we stated that even though we were happy with
governments declaration of intent to promote export-led growth via
identifying and promoting agricultural produces it was not clear by which
method government wanted to achieve its object. At the time we stated that
government had mentioned only one agricultural produce, cotton, for
stimulation. We stressed the fact that there was a disconnect between the
declaration and practical promotion since there was nothing in the budget to
pursue that otherwise noble objective.
The provisional Agricultural growth of 5.3% in 2014, we noted, was on account
of logging which had registered a growth of 16.5% and cautioned government
to show greater commitment to agricultural growth.
One of the reasons why agriculture is not doing well is because of the paltry
budgetary allocation to the sector. In 2009, 3% of the entire budget was
allocated to Agriculture. It climbed down to 1.9% in 2012 and 1.03% in 2013.
In 2014 only 1.07% of total budgeted allocation went to Agriculture, out of the
total of GH44 billion budget figure. For 2015 only GH484.3 million equivalent
to 1.1% is allocated to the two ministries of Food and Agriculture, and Fisheries
and Aquaculture Development. In 2016 the total budget figure is GH50 billion

and the allocations to the two ministries of Food and Agriculture, and Fish and
Aquaculture sums up to GH554,208,420 which is equivalent to 1.1% of the
entire budget. All these paltry allocations have been made against the
background of the Maputo declaration, which provides that governments in
Africa must invest at least 6% of their annual budgets in Agriculture.
Agriculture is stagnating and has since 2008 underperformed. Real growth in
Agriculture tumbled from 7.4% in 2008 to 7.2 in 2009 through 5.3% in 2010;
0.8 in 2011; 2.3% in 2012; 5% in 2013; 4.6 in 2014 and now the rock-bottom
figure of 0.04% for 2015. Indeed the crops sub-sector, the dominant factor in
agriculture, experienced a negative growth rate, i.e. -1.7%.
The stagnation in Agriculture found expression in the importation of $1.5
billion of food stuff into the country in 2014 against a food import bill of $600
million in 2008. The import of fish, poultry, tomatoes, cooking oil, have all
doubled between 2008 and 2015.
The production of basic food staples (cereals, legumes, roots and tubers) have
all been stagnating. The huge yearly vacillations in outputs and the rising
imports of rice from 395,400 metric tons in 2008 to 543,465 metric tons in
2011 and over 600,000 tonnes in 2013 for which alone the nation spent $374
million (Ref. Pg. 11 of 2014 State of the Nation Address) testify to the escalating
food insecurity in the country. Today, the country is on the brink of serious
shortages in the supply of maize a major staple in the country. In 2012, crops
grew at 0.8%. In 2015 crop was projected to grow at 5.8%, later reviewed to

4.1%, it grew at -1.7% which was 141.5% short of what was anticipated to be
produced!
Production of meat and fish has not seen much growth. Fish production grew
by 5.7% in 2013 but experienced negative growth of -5.6% in 2014, that is
almost 200% short of what was anticipated and that is why in 2015 the target
growth was set at a modest 1.9%. There has been a steady increase in the
importation of livestock and poultry products: from 128,000 metric tonnes in
2008, to 139,000 tonnes in 2011, $170 million in 2013 and $283 million on
imported fish.
LOCAL PREMIX
In 2009 the NDC administration established Local Premix Committee (LPCs) to
ensure what they considered a fairer distribution of premix fuel to fisheries.
Today there are numerous reports of perennial shortages of premix fuel in
almost all the fishing communities. The distribution system has also become
very much politicized. This is quite aside the fact that the price of premix fuel,
fishing nets, outboard motors and wooden canoes have all gone up steeply. The
combined effect is deepening poverty in the fishing communities.
IRRIGATION OF ACCRA AND AFRAM PLAINS
The Accra Plains and Afram Plains irrigation projects which have the potential
of positively impacting food security for the nation and providing jobs for the
teeming youth have remained on the books. The 2009 2012 budget

statements all mentioned these two projects. (ref. par. 347 of 2015 Budget). In
2016 the two projects are not mentioned in the budget perhaps to emphasize
the point that it was all a ruse.
In 2009 government promised to commence with 5000 hectares. This same
figure of 5000 hectares was promised again in 2010. In 2011, government
pledged to irrigate 10,000 hectares. This figure grew to 11,000 hectares in
2012. In 2013 and 2014 the Afram Plains and Accra Plains irrigation were
dropped only to surface in the 2015 budget only for mention. In 2016 they have
again been dropped.
All this is against the background that the NPP before its exit left behind
detailed plans for immediate implementation in respect of the Accra Plains
irrigation project.
COCOA
Ladies and gentlemen, under the NDC administration the management of the
all important cocoa industry has been nothing short of a disaster. The country
attained a historical peak production of just over one million metric tonnes of
cocoa production in the year 2010/2011.
This achievement was a direct result of policies and projects (Mass Spraying
and Hi-tech) initiated and implemented by the NPP administration. With these
twin projects cocoa production more than doubled in just two years, from

341,000 metric tonnes in 2001/2002 to 737,000 metric tonnes by 2003/2004;

and then to one million metric tonnes in 2010/2011.
Since the attainment of the record one million tonnes, there has been a
consistent decline in output to figures of below 900,000 metric tonnes in the
following three crop seasons. At less than 700,000 metric tonnes, production in
the current 2014/2015 crop is one of the lowest in the past decade. This steady
and consistent decline in cocoa production since 2010/2011 is a reflection of
both misguided policies and poor implementation of projects pursued by the
NDC administration.
These include:
Unreliable supply of inputs to farmers;
New brands of chemical inputs released to cocoa farmers in Ghana
without adequate trials and research by designated institutions
Low producer prices paid to farmers;
The politicization of the mass spraying and fertilizer distribution
programme;
Smuggling of cocoa and its subsidized inputs into neighbouring countries
as a direct consequence of the input distribution system and product
pricing policies of government;

The refusal of government to pay annual production bonuses to farmers;

Delay in payment to farmers for their produce even after Parliament has
approved of foreign loans to Ghana Cocoa Board to purchase cocoa beans
from the farmers.
The failed promises by the NDC Government to provide cocoa farmers
with incentives like housing, a pension and feeder roads to cocoa growing
communities; and
The mass destruction of cocoa trees by illegal small-scale miners
(Galamsey) in major cocoa-producing regions, in particular Western and
Ashanti regions.
If these measures are not addressed urgently, there is a danger that annual
production could conceivably decline further in the coming years to below
500,000 metric tonnes - the levels of the late 1990s.
FAILED AGRICULTURE POLICIES OF THE NDC GOVERNMENT
Fellow citizens, in spite of the pressing needs of the farmers, the NDC
government has not adopted adequate measures to reduce the burden of
Ghanaian farmers, contrary to the rhetoric and propaganda. Lack of focus of
agricultural policy is reflected in misplaced emphasis on window-dressing
schemes such as the Youth in Agriculture, Block Farming and the infamous

Guinea Fowl and Afforestation projects of the Savannah Accelerated

Development Authority (SADA). Such programmes ostensibly designed to
address

youth

unemployment

in

the

short

term,

have

absorbed

disproportionate amounts of public resources away from the pressing needs of

the millions of small-scale farmers around the country who continue to produce
the large bulk of agricultural output. What is worrisome is the corrupt
management of these projects which has resulted in huge financial losses to the
State and the Ghanaian taxpayer.

PETROLEUM REVENUE AND AGRICULTURE

The Petroleum Revenue Management Act (ACT 815) requires the Minister of
Finance to select four economic priority areas for allocation of the Annual
Budget Funding Amount (ABFA). Since the allocation of the ABFA started in
2011, only 8.5% of the total has so far (up to 2015) been allocated to
Agriculture. This clearly indicates the level of priority government gives to the
farmers and fisherfolk of this country.
With the initial allocation of GH204 million in 2015, only GH26.2 million of
the ABFA had been released to Agriculture at the end of June 2015. This was to
settle the debt on the 2013 fertilizer subsidy programme.

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SPECIAL IMPORT LEVY

For the first time ever in the economic history of Ghana, the NDC Government
in 2013 imposed a special import levy on the import of agricultural chemicals,
farm machinery and equipment, outboard motors, fishing nets, cutlasses and
other basic farm inputs. All this in a desperate attempt to raise more taxes. The
damage to farmers and fishers was obvious.
The levy increased the cost of farming and increased food prices. Crop farmers,
fishermen, poultry farmers and other producers of staple foods were poorer as
a result of the imposition of this tax. Consumers of staple foods were also
negatively affected. Since the poor in society spend over 60% of their meagre
income on food, they were hit hardest by this insensitive levy. No wonder this
punitive tax was quietly dropped in 2014.

FERTILIZERS AND OTHER INPUTS

Millions of Ghanaian farmers and fishermen continue to suffer from low
productivity because of inadequate supply of improved inputs (seeds, fertilizer,
agro chemicals and pre-mix fuel), inaccessible market and farm credit. The
thriving black market and the mass smuggling of free fertilizer and other
chemicals meant for application on cocoa farms, are a clear testimony of the
failure of farm input policies.

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The 2014 and 2015 Budget Statements provided for the distribution of 180,000
metric tonnes of fertilizers each year to food crop farmers at subsidized prices
to promote usage. In spite of the budgetary provision, the government has
blatantly failed to supply the subsidized fertilizers to food crop farmers in the
two consecutive years of 2014 and 2015.
The fertilizer subsidy programme initiated by the NPP administration in 2007
has now been effectively buried by this government.
The fact that many cocoa farmers are also food crop farmers is lost on this
government. Thus, the discrimination in input pricing policy between these two
groups of farmers is totally illogical and doomed to failure.

AGRICULTURE EXTENSION
The link between the farmer and modern technology for the needed
transformation of Ghanaian agriculture, is the agricultural extension officer.
But the ratio of the number of farmers to an extension officer has swollen to
3,000-to-one; one of the highest in the world.
The international standard is 500-to-one. What is worse a significant number
of officers are close to the age of retirement! Yet, in the last seven years
recruitment of farm extension officers has remained frozen. Students passing
out from our agricultural colleges are dumped on the heap of the mounting
youth unemployment.

12

Apart from frozen recruitment and the retirement age, extension officers at
post lack the needed logistics to travel to meet farmers on their farms. Under
the NDC administration, extension officers have been denied fuel and field
allowances to work with farmers. The recent supply of smart phones to
extension officers in a desperate attempt to introduce ICT to extension work is
bound to fail unless their transportation difficulties are addressed.
AGRICULTURAL MECHANISATION
Ladies and gentlemen, the plan to establish Agricultural Mechanisation Service
Centres (AMSEC) in each district has been repeated in each Budget year since
2009. From 86 centres in 2009 the number of centres reported in the 2015
Budget is 89. Many of the existing centres are closing due to lack of spare parts
yet the 2015 Budget states that 41 new centres would be established in 2015.
The plan since 2010 to import 2,000 tractors remains only a promise. Given the
unfulfilled promise of establishing farm mechanisation centres in each district,
rehabilitation of existing ones would be value for money and would be of
benefit to more farmers.
YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE AND BLOCK FARMING PROGRAMMES
These two programmes typify the distraction of policy focus away from the
major operators in food and agriculture, i.e. the nearly 5 million small holder
farmers and fishermen in this country. These programmes as stated earlier are
now absorbing a disproportionate amount of our very scarce public resources.

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Average yields per acre of maize and other crops from these two programmes
have consistently been below those on small holdings. Apart from the lower
productivity, the rate of loan capital recovery is very low. Beneficiaries, most
of whom are selected on the basis of political party loyalty, literally walk away
without paying for the inputs provided in kind. These programmes have
become a huge drain on public resources with little to show for them.
BUFFER STOCK
The Buffer Stock Company Limited established in 2009 is highly undercapitalized for the task assigned to it to support the local grain market. Recent
reports of stocks of maize locked up in farming communities in the Northern
Region clearly demonstrate the failure of the Buffer Stock Programme of this
NDC Government. To make a real impact, the Buffer stock company requires to
be a major player in the over 300,000 metric tonne domestic grain market. Yet
they do not have the resources to handle 30,000 metric tonnes, which is a tenth
of that tonnage. The company has become only a token institution and a drain
on public resources rather than an instrument of real intervention in the
market to support appropriate and proper grain prices received by poor
farmers.
The question we all have to ask is - how are we going to transform the economy
if we continue to pursue policies that result in the stagnation of the agricultural
sector? There is no transformation taking place in the agricultural sector under
this NDC government. Certainly, Agriculture, the largest employer of the

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Ghanaian people, under this government has been deformed and not
transformed.
In addition to the decline in agriculture, the manufacturing sector is also in
decline. The last three years have recorded negative growth in the
manufacturing sector with growth at -0.5% in 2013, -0.8% in 2014 and -2.0%
in 2015.
If agriculture growth stands at zero and manufacturing growth is negative 2%
what exactly has this government been transforming in this economy?
WAMZ COUNTRIES
It is interesting to note that the 2013 average economic growth in countries in
the West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ) of whom, excepting Nigeria, are nonoil producing was higher than Ghanas. In 2014, just as in 2015, the average
GDP growth in these non-oil economies was stronger than Ghanas, an oilproducing country. For the third successive year Ghana could not achieve even
one of the ten convergence criteria. Even for the six (6) Rationalized Macroeconomic Convergence Criteria, Ghana scored 0 out of the six and placed us last
in the table of nations including the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and
Nigeria. That is the abysmal record that we all are living witnesses of.
For the second successive year, the Minister of Finance, knowing Ghanas
position has refused to publish the league of performance of the various
countries. The reason for this is not farfetched: the picture will present a

15

graphic reality about what somebody refers to as the smoothness level of

Ghana under this government (against countries like the Gambia, Sierra Leone,
Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria) , and hence the decision not to show it.

FISCAL DEFICIT
In the 8 years of the NPP, between 2001-2008, the average fiscal deficit as a
percentage (%) of GDP was 4.4%. In the last seven years (2009-2015) the fiscal
deficit has averaged 8.1%, with three successive years of double digit deficits
between 2012-2014 (the first time in Ghanas history we had recorded double
digit deficits in two consecutive years, not to talk of three consecutive years).
Today under the IMF bailout program Ghana is trying to get to the 2008 fiscal
deficit level of 6.5% which the NDC said was bad. Did we go or did we come?
DEBT STOCK & DEBT SUSTAINABILITY
Unbridled borrowing from the NDC government between 1992-2000 resulted
in Ghanas debt reaching 189% of GDP in 2000. The interest payments on the
debt took away critical fiscal space needed for expenditure on health, education
and infrastructure. The country therefore to opted for the HIPC initiative in
2001 since Ghanas debt had become unsustainable. By the end of 2008,
following the adoption and implementation of the HIPC initiative and the
Governments policy framework of fiscal discipline, the countrys debt to GDP
ratio had declined to 27% of GDP (GHC 9.5 billion). Indeed, from independence
in 1957 to 2008 Ghanas total debt amounted to GH9.5billion.

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However, in the last seven years alone under this NDC government Ghanas
total debt has ballooned from GH9.5billion to a projected GH99billion by the
end 0f 2015! Of this, GHC54 billion ($14 billion) is external debt and GHC45
billion is domestic debt. What is clear is that 90% (i.e. GHC89.5 billion) of
Ghanas total debt since independence has been accumulated under this NDC
government between 2009-2015.
Recently, the President, His Excellency John Mahama, stated that 41% of
Ghanas external debt of $14 billion was accumulated by the NPP government
between 2001 and 2008. This is not true, to be mild, as Table 1 shows.

TABLE 1. GHANAS EXTERNAL DEBT (1981-2015)

YEAR

DEBT ($ BILLION)

1981

1.9

2000

6.1

2008

3.8

2015

14

It can be seen that as a result of the HIPC initiative and prudent borrowing,
Ghanas external debt stock actually declined from $6.1 billion in 2000 to $3.8
billion by 2008 (the first time in history). The debt has since increased by $10.2
to $14 billion in 2015. So how is what the President said in Ho possible? The
facts therefore show that 72% of Ghanas external debt stock and 90% of
Ghanas total debt stock was accumulated during the last seven years.

17

The Presidents faulty data on the debt situation, suggests either an

unwillingness on his part to be honest (as was seen in his denial of the
possibility of Ghana heading to the IMF) to the Ghanaian people on the reckless
borrowing and where it has landed us or the possibility that his economic
advisors do not tell him the whole truth and thus, he does not appreciate the
true scale of the mess.
The more than GH91billion increase in the debt stock over seven years
represents an increase in the stock of debt by 957.9% over the seven-year
period (an average increase in the stock of debt by 136.84% a year!). This is a
frightening rate of accumulation of debt by any standard of measure and has
resulted in Ghana being classified as a country at high risk of debt distress by
the IMF.
It is also important to appreciate the quantum of borrowing that has actually
taken place in the last seven years to set the record straight. In US dollar terms,
this NDC government has borrowed the equivalent (at the time of borrowing)
of about $37 billion in seven years!! (Table 2).

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Table 2.
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

Dollar Value of Government Borrowing (2009-2015) - Billions

Total Debt (GHC) Additional Debt (GHC) Exchange Rate GHC/US Dollar Additional Debt (US$)
9.5
13.2
3.7
1.42
2.61
17.3
4.1
1.47
2.79
26.1
8.8
1.55
5.68
37.7
11.6
1.88
6.17
49.9
12.2
2.2
5.55
76.1
26.2
3.2
8.19
99
23
3.8
6.05

Total

89.6

37.03

Contrary to what the government will have us believe, exchange rate

depreciation has rather reduced the book value of Ghanas debt in dollar terms.
So that even though government has borrowed the equivalent of $37 billion in
7 years, the book value of the debt would be some $26 billion (GHC 99 billion)
by the end of 2015. It is important to understand this point because it appears
that this government does not.
Take the following example. Assume that today the exchange rate of the cedi to
the dollar is 1:1. If you borrow GHC100 today, it would mean that you have
borrowed the equivalent of $100 dollars and you should be able to do projects
worth $100. In a few years time if the exchange rate depreciates to 4 cedis to
one dollar, then the 100 cedis you borrowed a few years ago would be worth
some $25 today. This does not however mean that you did not borrow the
equivalent of a $100 dollars initially and we should expect to see a $100 worth
of projects. You cannot suddenly claim that you actually borrowed $25 a few
years ago and so you are only to account for $25 worth of projects. Using

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current exchange rates in determining the equivalent amount borrowed in the

past is misleading because it ignores the value of the debt at the time it was
borrowed. Using current exchange rates would underestimate the value of the
borrowing because of exchange rate depreciation. We are here concerned
about the value of the projects that could have been financed at the time the
money was borrowed.
In 2015, interest payment amounted to more than GH9.6 billion. That figure
was more than the total debt stock of GH9.5 billion in 2008 at the end of
President Kufuors term for which debt stock both President Mills and John
Mahama lampooned the NPP government.
To put the interest payments on the debt in context, we should note that the
entire allocations in the 2016 budget to the Ministries of Roads and Highways,
Trade and Industry, Food and Agriculture, Water Resources, Works and
Housing, Youth and Sports, and Ministry of Transport amounted to a total of
GH2.1 billion. Interest payment in 2016 (GHC10.5 billion) would be five times
what was allocated to these six key ministries combined. In 2015 the GH9.6
billion allocated to interest payment on the debt stock was about 3.4 times the
entire allocations to the six key ministries listed above. So it gets worse by the
year as interest payments go up, the space for development shrinks.
Given the precarious nature of Ghanas debt situation, one would have expected
some bold measures in the 2016 budget to fundamentally reduce the increasing
debt overhang which, if not dealt with, would push Ghana into the high
debt/low growth trap for several years. Rather, there is no sign of a slowdown

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in borrowing as the government is planning more Eurobond issues in 2016 and

2017.
The interest payments on the debt stock in 2015 was six times Ghanas oil
revenue. The oil discovery has basically been compromised over the last seven
years by the governments recklessness and incompetence. The governments
willingness to borrow $1 billion on the international capital markets at an
interest rate of 10.75% is a demonstration of recklessness. We should recall
that this is the same government that criticized the NPP government for
borrowing at 8.5% on its debut bond in 2007 when interest rates were much
higher internationally. While the 2007 Eurobond was obtained at a spread of
3.8% above US treasuries, the 2015 Eurobond was obtained at a spread of some
8.4% above US Treasuries. What the government has done in this regard can be
compared to taking a microfinance loan to refinance a bank loan. Yet instead of
bowing its head in shame, this government rather unbelievably attempted to
pass it on as some sort of achievement.
INTEREST RATES
One of the consequences of the insatiable appetite for government borrowing
to finance large fiscal deficits has been the high and rising interest rates faced
by borrowers in Ghana. Ghana today is amongst the countries with the highest
interest rates in the world. The Bank of Ghana Policy rate was recently
increased to 26%, the highest policy rate since the start of the inflation
targeting regime in 2002. 91-day Treasury bill rates are at some 24% and
mortgage loans are at some 33%! Banks and savings and loans companies are

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charging interest rates at over 30%. The days when banks used to chase
customers to come for loans are long gone. Today banks are shying away from
lending to businesses. Why risk lending to business when you can get a 25%
risk-free return from government? Banks are therefore focusing on lending to
government and crowding out the private sector in the process. This used to
also be the case when the NDC was last in government the value indeed is still
the same.
EXCHANGE RATE
The Ghana cedi has recently obtained the dubious distinction of being one of
the worst performing currencies in the world as a result of weak fundamentals
and some misguided policies by the central bank. The cedi has depreciated from
some GHc1.2 to the dollar in 2009 to GHC 3.80 to the dollar currently, having
reached GHC4.7 to the US dollar earlier this year. The cumulative depreciation
of cedi in the last seven years stands at 70% and by the end of 2016 the
cumulative cedi depreciation would likely be at least 90% in eight years. This is
in contrast to the remarkable stability of the cedi during the eight years of NPP
government, with a cumulative cedi depreciation of some 40% in eight years.
THE ENERGY CRISIS THE LOAD SHEDDING (DUMSOR) PROBLEM
Over the last four years Ghana has been experiencing severe shortages of
electricity for domestic and industrial use. This has resulted in implementation
of a regular as well as irregular load-shedding program that has been
christened dumsor by Ghanaians. It is a fact that this government inherited

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an economy without dumsor in 2009. By 2012 however dumsor was the order
of the day. In response, Government started a promising spree which with
hindsight shows either they did not quite understand the problem or they were
deliberately misleading Ghanaians. The timeline of promises are as follows:
1. September 4th 2012 -- "I have directed an Inter-ministerial
committee chaired by the minister with immediate effect.... to
ensure that your power supply are not unduly disrupted
While we are assured that there would be resumption of supply from WAGP in
next few weeks, we will redouble our efforts to make up the shortfall ourselves
by speeding up projects we have been working on. We have galvanized every
effort to increase our generating capacity, in order that the minimum demand
by our industries is met. By the end of October, we will have an additional 300
megawatts of electricity production that will come online for distribution, and
this should greatly reduce the inconvenience of load-shedding.- At the time,
Dumsor was only a few hours per every 72 hours
2. October 4 2012 -- Load shedding will soon be a thing of the pastMahama -- Launch of NDC Manifesto
Ghana has a comparative advantage when it comes to production of energy. In
the second NDC administration the issue of load shedding will be a thing of the
past. It will never happen again. I say this because we have established the
foundation to be able to achieve this promise
our vision is to hit 5000 megawatts of power production a day in Ghana by
2015. Currently, Ghana produces a little over 2000 megawatts. Between now
and the end of the year it is our hope to put in about 350 more megawatts. Early

23

next year, we expect another 700 megawatts to come into the system and this
will make Ghana a net exporter of power.
3. October 29th 2012 - Load Shedding to End by November 30 VRA (
Kweku Awotwi, CEO speaking to Joy News)
4. 30 October 2012 Dumsor Act of God to end by 1st year of next term
(2012)-- IEA Debate
A ships anchor cut off the West African Gas Pipeline and so 320 mw taken from
the system which has necessitated load shedding at peak hours. That would end
by mid November. The pipeline has been repaired, the sea water has been
pumped out, the pipeline is being dried for transmission of gas to begin. We are
putting in additional thermal plants to ensure that load shedding is a thing of
the past. And I have said as President that by the end of the first year of my next
term of office, load shedding will be a thing of the past because we are going to
add 820 megawatts of new generation into our system

5. 2nd November 2012 Off Peak Load shedding to end by 5th

November 2012 and load shedding to end by 15th November Joe
Oteng Adjei, Minister of Energy at Press Conference Organized by
Ministry of Energy
The full complement of the fuel required to fully integrate the system should
be in the country by November 15, 2012. The first batch of fuel supply is being
off-loaded now and we expect it to be ready for use by Monday 5th November

24

2012. Our target is to eliminate completely the load shedding program for offpeak from Monday 5th November and that for the peak period whenever the
full complement of fuel supply arrives in the country.
6. 8th November 2012 - Load shedding to end by December VRA
(Kweku Awortwi) at a news conference was organized in
collaboration with Ghana Grid Company (GridCo) and the Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG)
7. 20th February 2013 -- Load Shedding will end Mid-Year Mahama Swearing in of Council of State
If the West African gas pipe line comes on in April then Asogli can come back
on and that will bring another 220 megawatts immediately and that will give
us more than enough. I wish to assure the people of Ghana that we are working
very hard to reduce the load shedding.
Im as uncomfortable with it as everybody else is and Ill do everything
possible to make sure that we end the load shedding by the middle of the year.
8. March 2013 --Power crisis to end in June; consumers to pay more
VRA presentation to Parliamentary select committee on energy
9. April 8th 2013 -- Never Again Shall Ghana Experience Load Shedding
Off Peak Dumsor ended - Mahama Assures Nation

25

Government will ensure that never again shall we experience the load shedding
in the coming years, he added. President Mahama said this when at the
National Prayer and Thanksgiving Service at the Black Star Square, in Accra.
10.

April 30 2013 -- Load shedding to end first week in May

Energy Ministry statement signed by Edward Bawa

The Ministry can therefore state that based on our current peak load demand
and available generation capacity, the Load management programme should
end by the first week of May 2013 as promised earlier by the President of the
Republic.
11.

December 15, 2013--- Energy Crisis is solved Mahama (at the

inauguration of the Revival Restoration Centre of the Assemblies of

God Church in Accra)
We had the energy crises, which was popularly called Dumsor and I was
appropriately labelled the apostle of Dumsor, Dumsor and Ghanaians in
their usual humour crafted a very interesting greeting that said Yema mo
dumsor oo, then another responds Yaa Mahama.
I told them that I was working on the energy crises and we would solve it and I
said that when we did, they should remember to use the greeting Yama mo
Kania oo, with a response Yaa Mahama. However, very often in Ghana we have
a very short memory.
The energy crises is solved and we dont remember the darkness we were in.
We have put that behind us and we are looking at what the other challenges
are, said the President.

26

12.

May 2014 -- Pray for rains to end power crisis -Energy Minister

rallies Ghanaians on Good Evening Ghana

"What we have to do is to pray that this year the rains will come enough for Bui
[dam] to give us at least 200 megawatts".
13.

October 10 2014 -- Govt taking immediate steps to tackle

energy crisis; Gov't adopts 'cocktail strategy' to end power crisis

Energy Ministry, Edward Bawa speaking to Joy News
14.

27 November 2014 -- I will reduce the Impact of Dumsor ---

Mahama - Good Evening Ghana

President John Mahama says he has learnt not to make anymore promises on
when the current power crisis facing the country will end.
If anything, he said his government is working assiduously to reduce the
intensity of what has been described as the dumsor regime.
15.

27th November 2014 -- Power Crisis Over In May Energy

Ministry assures nation Jinapor told Parliament when he

represented his Minister to answer questions

16.

16th December -- I will End Dumsor -- Power Minister,

Kwabena Donkor at his vetting

27

17.

24th December 2014 -- Minister Orders VRA to End Dumsor.

Generators to be disconnected within six months ( On his maiden

visit to the Aboadze Thermal Plant )
I urge you to put measures in place to end the current power crisis within six
months, he stressed.
Dr. Donkor, indicated that he would authorise all power generators at the
various VRA bungalows and chief executive officers residences to be
disconnected if the crisis continued after the six-month period.
He noted that his intended action would make workers of VRA and TiCO
experience how it feels to sleep in darkness as being experienced by ordinary
Ghanaians.

18.

31st December 2014 -- "I will banish Dumsor Forever"- John

Mahama
Now this is the interesting part; it [2015] will be one in which we will banish
darkness from our land and put an end to dumsor forever, he said
19.

May 1 2015- Lack of money not cause of 'dumsor' Prez

Mahama at May Day Celebrations

Our current challenge is not because we dont have money to buy crude oil as
some people will want us to believe.

28

20.

"If you want Dumsor to end then you have to PAY

HIGHER ELECTRICITY BILLS".... John Mahama, October 19, 2015

Speaking on Garden City Radio in the Ashanti Region, President Mahama said
dumsor would only end if Ghanaians would become realistic and pay more for
power supply.
If we genuinely want reliable, sustainable power then the price will have to go
upthat is the realityif we dont want any more dumsor then we will have to
pay more, President Mahama said.
21.

November 14th 2015 - Dumsor will end before elections 2016

Mahama told supporters in Tamale

KARPOWER
After promising to resign if dumsor is not over by the end of the year (2015)
the Minister of Power now says he was talking about load shedding and not
dumsor. We are still trying to understand what he means. The fact remains
that four years down the road, dumsor is still present and the government has
just announced the arrival of an emergency solution for ten years by
contracting a power barge from Turkey with a reported $100 million guarantee
for fuel at the same time as VRA has shut down its plants because it cannot
purchase fuel. A 225 mw plant like the Karpower plant will cost some $225
million and we will own it with the unit cost of a megawatt plant at $1million.
Under the Karpower deal, we will pay for the power from the barge for the next

29

ten years whether we use it or not. ACEP estimates that based on the capacity
charge alone which is 5.6cents per kWh, it will cost Ghana some $1 billion for
10 years. This however excludes the fuel cost of a requirement of 35000 tonnes
per month. After 10 years the barge will sail away; when we could have built a
1,000 megawatt plant for ourselves. Power from the barge would also cost at
least twice that supplied currently from Takoradi. This really does not make
sense.
Dumsor not Technical but Financial
After several denials by Government, it should now be clear to Ghanaians that
the current energy crisis is not a result of inadequate installed capacity but
rather a lack of financial resources to utilize the installed capacity. Installed
capacity in Ghana stands at 2,923.5 mw, with peak system demand at 2,200.0
mw, leaving excess capacity over demand of 723.5 mw
Government is highly indebted to VRA and ECG. Government owes ECG some
GHC700 million and owes VRA GHC1.0 billion. VRA, owes its creditors,
including Nigeria gas and West Africa Pipeline Company, a total of $1.3 billion.
This has compromised the balance sheet of VRA and its ability to import crude
oil for the generation of power. Currently VRA has shut down a number of its
plants because it is unable to purchase fuel to run them. Ghana owes Nigeria
Gas some US$170 million which the country is struggling to pay.
Why is it that after four years of trying, the government has still not found a
solution to the problem? The simple answer is that the government has been in

30

denial and has not prioritized this issue. The government has borrowed $3
billion in the last three years from the issue of Eurobonds alone. In total
government has borrowed the equivalent at the time of borrowing of $37
billion. How much of these borrowed funds have been used to address the
dumsor problem?

If this was a priority for government, the necessary

allocation of resources would have been made to solve it.

President Mahamas latest comments in Tamale that Dumsor will end before
the 2016 Election and cannot be used for politics exposes the thinking of the
government and the President. For the President and his government, Dumsor
is not an economic issue but a political issue. They care little about the
businesses dumsor has collapsed or the jobs dumsor has collapsed in the past
4 years. Rather, their major concern is what can be used come the election year
and what cannot be used. Solving dumsor clearly has not been a priority these
past four years and may only become a priority as we get close to the election.

RESOURCE INFLOWS
It is important to re-emphasize for the records that no government since
independence has had the amount of resources in terms tax revenue, cocoa
exports, gold exports, oil revenues and loans as the NDC administrations
between 2009 and 2015.

31

In the eight years of the Kufuor administration i.e. 2001-2008, the total tax
revenue collected was GH15.2billion. Between 2009 and 2015 the MillsMahama administration has collected GH 90billion in taxes, six times more in
these 7 years.
Between 2001-2008 gold exports amounted to US$9billion; between 20092015 gold exports have grossed $28billion.
Cocoa exports between 2001-2008 yielded US$7.4 billion. In the seven years
of the Mills-Mahama regime cocoa exports have amounted to US$17billion.
The Revenue from the last year is yet to be reckoned.
During the period of the Mills-Mahama administration Ghana has become an
oil exporter. By the end of the seventh year Ghana would have exported over
US$15.5billion of oil over the past five years. The country has earned about
$4billion from oil during the 5-year period. From independence up to 2008 no
government had earned any revenues from petroleum exports.
Taxes, oil revenue, and loans alone over the past 7 years amount to some
GH200billion.
In contrast, under the 8 years of the NPP government, from 2001-2008, taxes,
loans and exports amounted to GH20billion. The Mills-Mahama governments
have had, in seven years, more than 10 times the nominal resources that the
NPP had in 8 years.

32

The tragedy is that despite all these resources at its disposal, the economy is
in deep trouble:

Government is in arrears with NHIS payments

Government is in arrears with GETFUND payments
Government is in arrears with DACF payments
Government is in arrears with payments to contractors
Government cannot pay teacher trainee allowances
Government cannot pay nursing trainee allowances
Government is in arrears for the payment of national service staff
Government is having trouble paying salaries of workers. Some workers
have gone for 18 months without salary
The government has put Ghana in a state of high indebtedness as was the
case under HIPC. Ghanas debt to GDP ratio at the end of 2015 would
stand at 74% (beyond the threshold for debt sustainability).
Economic growth has slowed down to 4.0% this year

33

Ghanas currency is the worst performing currency in Africa over the last
two years.
Dumsor is still the order of the day after four years
Businesses are collapsing
Government has already committed under the IMF program to increasing
utility tariffs. The PURCs purported consultations with the public on the
utility price increase is, simply put, a charade. They are as usual throwing
dust into the eyes of Ghanaians.
Unemployment is high and increasing Government has committed
under the IMF program to lay off workers after the 2016 election. But
they will not admit it today if you ask them. The fact, however, is that one
of the conditionalities for the IMF bailout program, was a commitment by
this NDC government to rationalize the size of the civil service. Paragraph
65 of the agreement with the IMF states as follows:

34

What is clear from this is that the government has agreed to rationalize the
SIZE of the civil service. Secondly the Plan to do this rationalization will be
ready by December 2015 (next month). Thirdly, the implementation of the plan
will begin in 2017 (i.e. after the elections).
On this issue, we demand maximum transparency from the Government and
the IMF. If the plan for the rationalization of the size of the civil service (i.e.
layoffs) would be ready in December 2015 why wait till 2017 for
implementation? Isnt this reform supposed to help this struggling economy?
Why the delay in implementing it if it is so good for the economy? The
government is not being transparent on this issue. It is only because this
government does not want workers to know the truth about what they have
agreed to do before the election in 2016. We are therefore asking that the plan
for the rationalization of the size of the civil service be made public by both the
Government and the IMF in the spirit of transparency and accountability.
What was curious about the Minister of Finances reading of the 2016 budget
was that the Minister unusually kept largely quite on tax increases. Upon a
closer examination of the 2016 budget however, it is clear that many taxes have
been imposed in the budget to further burden the already highly burdened
Ghanaian business community and tax payer. These include:
An increase in the capital gains tax from 15% to 25%
In increase in withholding tax on services from 5% to 15%
Re-imposition of excise duty rate of 17.5% on cider and beer
A new Energy levy for utilities

35

 A new Mitigation levy for utilities

The hardships being imposed on Ghanaians are therefore continuing unabated
in the 2016 budget. The increase in the capital gains tax also makes Ghana less
attractive to investors. The 2016 budget is a continuing story of more taxes,
more cuts in expenditure, more borrowing, higher utility tariffs, higher cost of
living, less growth and more unemployment.
Also, the 2016 budget is not different from the 2012 election year in the way
government has padded the allocation to office Government machinery. The
Administration sector is the only subsector to have its allocation increased by
58.4% whereas some others had negative allocation. General Government
services also had its allocations upped by 83.7% from the 2015 allocation. For
all intents and purposes, these allocations are general elections related. For this
NDC government, winning elections has always been more important than
prudently managing the economy.
USE OF RESOURCES
With the relatively small amount of resources available to the NPP in 8 years of
government (GHC20 billion fron taxes and loans), the achievements were
phenomenal. The economy was transformed from a low income HIPC economy
to a middle income economy during that period. The projects undertaken
included:

36

- National Youth Employment Programme providing opportunities

and jobs for the youth to get a start in the job market
- The School Feeding Programme to provide food to pupils in basic
schools
- Capitation Grant to make education affordable and accessible
- Free Metro Bus ride for children in basic school.
- The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to provide accessible
healthcare to the population.
- The National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP)
- Free maternal care for all pregnant women under the NHIS.
- Introduction of a Metro Mass Transit transport service for urban areas
to provide subsidized transport for commuters and a free bus ride for
basic school pupils in Ghana.
- Introduction of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP)
programme under which welfare grants are paid to the extreme poor.
WATER PROJECTS (EXAMPLES)
Cape coast
Tamale
Ada/Sege
Winneba
Barekese system expansion
Weija system expansion
Baafikrom water expansion
Akwapim. Ridge
Akim Oda Water

37

Koforidua Expansion
New Tafo Rehabilitation
Winneba Expansion
Kwanyaku Expansion
Bawjiase Water Extension
Brimsu Dredging
Sekondi Takoradi Expansion
Kumasi Expansion
East-West Accra Interconnection

EDUCATION PROJECTS (EXAMPLES)

- Basic Education redefined to include Kindergarten
- Construction of campuses for university of development studies
(UDS) at Nyanpkala, Navrongo, and Wa
- Bolgatanga Polytechnic
- Wa Polytechnic
- Established the University of Mines and Technology at Tarkwa
- University of Education Winneba granted full Autonomy

38

- Established Ghana Telecom University

- 38 Teacher training colleges upgraded to diploma awarding
institutions with massive infrastructure upgrade and 15 designated as
science colleges
- 56 model senior secondary schools started and 31 completed
- 130 classrooms for polytechnics
- 31 lecture Theatre halls built at various university campuses
- Medical school at University of Cape Coast
- Introduction of distance education
- 1,334 New JHS blocks
- 1,331 primary schools
HEALTH (EXAMPLES)
- New Hostel & Classroom Blocks for Bawku NTC
- New Classroom, Library, Staff Offices Block for Offinso MTS
- New Classroom, Library, Staff Offices Block for Kumasi NTC

39

- Rehabilitation of Hostel Block & new classroom block for KBTH

NTC/MTC
- New Classroom, Library, Staff Offices Block for Essiama NTC
- New Hostel Block for Berekum NTC/MTS
- New Classroom Block for Jirapa NTC
- New Classroom Block for Navrongo CHNTS
- New Classroom Block for Kintampo RHTS
- New Classroom Block for Sefwi-Wiawso CHNTS
- New Classroom Block for Cape Coast NTC
- New Classroom Block for Winneba CHNTS
- Rehabilitation of existing Offices and construction of new office
block for the Pharmacy Council in Accra
- Rehabilitation of Polyclinic for KATH at Kumasi
- Construction of new Kologo Health Centre
- Rehabilitation and upgrade of Twifo Praso Health Centre
- Rehabilitation of Central Medical Stores, Tema
- New Nurses block of Flats for KATH at Kumasi
- Construction of new Bawlebeselle Health Centre
- New Hostel Block for Kumasi NTC
- Construction of Doctors Block of Flats at KATH, Kumasi
- Classroom Block & Hostel Blocks for Agogo NTC
- New hostel block for Cape Coast NTC
- Remodeling of an abandoned structure into hostel, classroom,
staff offices for newly created Sunyani NTC
- New hostel for Jirapa NTC
- New classroom block for Pantang NTC, Accra

40

- New hostel block and rehabilitation of classroom block for Atibie

MTS
- New hostel block for Navrongo NTC
- Remodeling of existing structure into classroom, staff offices for
Keta CHNTS
- Remodeling of hostel block for Sekondi NTC
- New classroom block for Ho NTC & CHNTS
- New Nsawora Health Centre,
- New Abirem Health Centre
- New Asawinso Health Centre
- Rehabilitation of Medical Block at KBTH, Accra
- Completion of abandoned Doctors Flats at KBTH, Accra
- Major expansion of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital
- Completion of classroom block at Berekum NTC
- New Classroom and hostel blocks at Bolgatanga MTS
- New Classroom at Tamale NTC
- Construction of new Classroom Block at Ashanti-Mampong MTS
- Epidemiology Block for GHS at KBTH, Accra
- CHIP Compunds at various locations nationwide
- Construction of GHS Office Complex
- Const. of Classroom Blk at Akim Oda CHNTS
- Accident

and

Emergency

Centre,

new

Mortuary

and

rehabilitation of OPD at the Komfo Anokye Teaching

- Clinical Laboratory Improvement Project (CLIP)
- Completion of works at Twifu Praso Hospital

41

- Completion of works at New Abirem Hospital

- Completion of works at Shama Health Center
- Completion of works at Adabokrom Health Center
- Completion of works at Asawinso Health Center
- Completion of works at Nsawora Health Center
- Construction of Pharmacy Block at La Polyclinic
- Nationwide Dental Facilities
- New offices for the National Health Insurance head office in
Accra
- Laboratory Automation for 26 Hospitals under the Clinical
Laboratory Strengthening Project
- Rehabilitation of Sefwi Wiawso hospital
- Construction of 4 hospitals at Juabeso Bia, New Edubiase,
Bimbila, Nkwanta,
- Provision of Mobile Dental facilities
- Upgrading of Nursing Training to Diploma awarding institutions
- Setting up Twifo Praso Nursing school
- Dunkwa on Offin health and nursing training school
- 37 Military Hospital was expanded and considerably refurbished
- College of Physicians and Surgeons

42

- National Ambulance System

- Secured 54million Dutch grant for upgrade of Tamale Regional
Hospital) to Tamale Teaching Hospital
- New district hospitals initiated at Wa, Kumasi South, Manhyia,
Konongo Odumasi, Adenta/Madina, Tepa, and Salaga. Polyclinics at
Karaga, Kpandai, Tatale, Buipe, Janga and Chereponi

Road network
The nations road network stood at 37,321 km at the end of fiscal year 2000,
increased to 56,057 km at the end of 2004, moved further up to 67,291 km at
the close of year 2008, increased slightly to 68,134 km at the end of 2012 and
as at the close of December 2014 stood at 71,063 km.
YEAR
AGENCY

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2012

GHA

11,122

12,656

12,700

12,786

12,697*

13,344

DFR

23,999

32,597

38,561

40,671

42,194

42,190

DUR

2,200

4,064

4,796

TOTAL

37,321

49,317

56,057

9,764

12,400

63,221

12,600

67,291

68,134

2014
14,873
42,190
14,000
71,063

*Some trunk roads within the cities of Accra and Kumasi and other major cities ceded to
Department of Urban Roads.

The nations road network increased by 18,736 km and 29,970 km during the
four (4) and eight (8) years of NPP-led administration respectively. At the end

43

of year 2008 the network size met as at the end of December 2000 has been
increased about 80%.
ROADS AND HIGH WAYS (EXAMPLES -2001-2008)
Accra-Yamorasa
Accra-Aflao
Kadjebi-Pepesu
Manso-Asankragwa
Axim Junction- Tarkwa
Abuakwa - Bibiani
Tinga-Bole
Pantang- Mamfe
Kpando-Worawora/DambaiWenchi-Sampa
Tamale- Yendi
Malam interchange
Mallam-Tetteh Quarshie (N1)
. Jasikan-Brewenkese
. Axim Junction- Tarkwa
Pantang Mamfe 29.4 km
Tetteh Quarshie Interchange
Ashaiman Motorway Flyover
Achimota Interchange
Alajo Avenor
Asafo Interchange

44

The Accra Kumasi Highway is divided into 7 sections

Ofankor Nsawam (17.6 km)
Apedwa Bunso (22.0km)
Bunso Anyinam (11.5km)
Anyinam Konongo (89.1km)
Konongo Ejisu Kumasi (44.6km)
Achimota Ofankor (6.3 km) - uncompleted
Nsawam Apedwa (41.6 km) - uncompleted
The NPP completed 5 of these 7 sections; leaving the Achimota Ofankor and
Nsawam Apedwa sections. After eight years the government has not been able
to complete fully what it was left with.
In spite of the road projects completed by the NDC-led government on projects
such as Fufulso-Damango-Sawla, Asankragwa-Enchi, DodiPepesu-Nkwanta,
Awoshie-Pokuase, Tarkwa-Bogoso-Ayamfuri, Ayamfuri-Asawinso, Burma
Camp and Giffard Roads among others, their lengths do not add up to 2% of the
nations network as at 2014 fiscal year. In fact, the development of roads in all
the three categories, that is, Trunk, Feeder and Urban has suffered setback since
January 2009. The Mills-Mahama NDC-led government for the first four (4)
years in office tarred only 652 km of roads whilst the Kuffuor-Aliu Mahama
NPP-led government for the same length of time, that is, between 2001 and
2004 tarred 2598 km of roads. During the second term of the NPP-led
administration (2005 - 2008) 4413 km of roads were tarred, all with much less
resources.

45

ENERGY SECTOR PROJECTS (EXAMPLES)

- Oil Discovered in commercial quantities
- West African Gas Pipeline Project.
- Bui Dam
- June 2007, in response to the energy crisis, a total of 200 megawatts
of generation capacity had already been installed through the
Emergency Power as well the Mines Reserve Plants of 126 mw and 80
mw capacities respectively
- various other plants which were initiated, designed, negotiated and
contracted by the Kufuor government to be installed, and were at
various stages of implementation. These include the 126 megawatts
VRA Tema Thermal 1 Plant, the 50 megawatts Tema Thermal 2 Plant,
the 220 megawatts Kpone Thermal Plant as well as the 126 megawatts
Osono Plant.
- the construction of the 132 megawatts Plant at Aboadze called
Takoradi 1 Plant was initiated in 2007 as a 220 megawatts plant by
the Kufuor government.

46

- The 220 megawatts Sunon Asogli Plant was completed towards the
end of the Kufuor administration,
OTHER PROJECTS
- Golden Jubilee House or Flagstaff House
- World class stadia rehabilitated in Accra and Kumasi
- New stadia built in Essipong (Takoradi) and Tamale
- Accra-Tema Commuter Railway line
- Peduase Lodge renovation
- Rehabilitation of Tamale, Kumasi and Takoradi airports
- Rehabilitation and expansion works at the Kotoka International
Airport, Tema and Takoradi Harbours
- Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence for IT
FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMS

Bank of Ghana Act 2002

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) process Transparency

47

Introduction of Universal Banking

Abolishing Secondary Reserve Requirements

Banking Act 2004

Banking Amendment Act 2007 Offshore Banking

Long Term Savings Act 2004

Venture Capital Trust Fund Act 2004

Payment System Act, 2003

Foreign Exchange Act 2006

Anti-Money Laundering Act 2008

Credit Reporting Act 2008

Licensing of first Credit Reference Bureau

Establishment of a Collateral Registry

Insolvency Act, 2003

Home Finance Act 2008

Non-Bank Financial Institutions Act 2008

Central Securities Depository Act 2007

Insurance Act 2006 (Act 724)

National Pensions Act 2008

Treasury Single Account initiated

Rural Banking Reforms:

o ARB Apex Regulations 2006 (L.I. 1825)

Payment and Settlement System Reforms

o Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS)

o Central Securities Depository (CSD)
o Automated Clearing House (ACH)
o Cheque Codeline Clearing (CCC)

48

o Ezwich
Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHIPSS)
Redenomination of the Currency which has saved Ghana about $200 million in
the cost of printing currency so far.
The financial sector reforms resulted in a deepening of the financial sector and
a situation where banks were chasing customers for loans.
What is clear from the foregoing is that with much less resources at its disposal
and without oil, the investment in infrastructure under the NPP along with
social interventions was massive.
With many times more resources than the NPP, the question is what has the
NDC done with all the resources under its control over the last seven years? The
NDC has attempted to hoodwink Ghanaians by arguing that the money has been
spent on infrastructure projects.
The evidence however has exposed this propaganda. The evidence shows that
notwithstanding the massive increase in the debt stock, capital expenditure as
a percentage (%) of GDP has actually been on the decline from 9.1% of GDP in
2008 to 4.1% by 2015. Capital expenditure as a percentage of GDP averaged
11% for 2001-2008 (without oil) while that for 2009-2015 has averaged 5.7%
(with oil).
This means that contrary to all the government claims of an increase in
infrastructure expenditure on projects all over the country, the reality is that

49

Ghanas expenditure on infrastructure relative to GDP is declining. The

numbers indicate that relative to GDP, this government is investing about half
what the previous government invested in infrastructure. It is in fact a travesty
that Ghana before the discovery of oil was spending a higher proportion of its
income on infrastructure investment than after the discovery of oil and the
massive increase in the debt stock. This decline in investment in infrastructure
runs counter to what one would have expected.
Indeed, according to the Managing Director of the IMF most of Ghanas
borrowing has been used for consumption and not for investment. The
overpricing of contracts, corruption and the absence of value for money
considerations is partly responsible for this. For example, a runway
rehabilitation alone at Kumasi airport cost this country $23.8 million whereas
a proposed airport at Ho is estimated at $25 million. Was the runway in Kumasi
paved with gold? When one considers the quantum of borrowed resources
alone, one can only imagine what would have happened if each region were
allocated $3billion of the borrowed funds for infrastructure development.
COMPETENCE
After this sad catalogue of the state of our country, it is remarkable that the
President will complain about the use of the word incompetent but we
understand that His Excellency the President does not want us to use the word
incompetent to describe the performance of his government. So we set our
minds to finding out what the NDC government has been competent at doing in

50

the last seven years. Actually, we have to admit that this NDC government is
very competent at the following:
o Mismanaging the economy
o Creating looting and sharing
o Propaganda
o Perpetuating Dumsor
o Increasing Unemployment
o Collapsing the NHIS
o Cancelling teacher trainee allowances
o Cancelling nursing trainee allowances
o Not meeting statutory payments
o Not paying contractors
o Making SADA guinea fowls run to Burkina Faso
o Collapsing Industries
o Collapsing agriculture
o Causing massive exchange rate depreciation
o Massive unsustainable borrowing
o Causing high interest rates
o Failing to fulfil their promises
As a matter of record we want to reiterate that not only do we say that this NDC
government is incompetent, we also add that the Government is very corrupt .
But it looks like His Excellency, the President was only upset about the
incompetence bit and not the corruption, for reasons we have not yet been told.
But possibly, his failure to protest at this other description is an acceptance of

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the generally accepted belief that he has lost the fight against corruption.
Transparency International in a report released yesterday (December 1, 2015)
on Corruption perceptions ranks Ghana as the second most corrupt country in
Africa. The toxic mixture of incompetence and corruption has resulted in an
explosion of suffering in the country.
o Teachers are suffering
o Teacher trainees are suffering
o Nurses are suffering
o Nursing trainees are suffering
o Patients are suffering
o Students are suffering
o Traders are suffering
o Pensioners are suffering
o Drivers are suffering
o Contractors are suffering
o Civil servants are suffering
o Farmers are suffering
o Industries are suffering
o Kayayei are suffering
This NDC government has also proven over the last seven years that it lacks
credibility in the management of the economy. A few examples will suffice:
- The Government entered an agreement with Printex for school
uniforms to be manufactured in Ghana. Today, the textile industry is

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losing thousands of jobs and the government has reneged on this

agreement
- The government promised the allocation of GHC100 million a year to
SADA for 20 years. The allocation in the 2015 budget was GHC25,000,
when we complained, the allocation in the 2016 budget was a
significant zero.
- The government denied that it had defaulted on repayment of loans to
the AfDB only to be found out by the evidence
- The government denied that it had used the 2014 $1 billion Eurobond
proceeds to repay Bank of Ghana Debt until they were exposed by the
facts.
- They promised that dumsor will be a thing of the past in 2013.
- What happened to the understandings reached at Senchi as contained
in the Senchi Consensus? It turned out, as we knew, to be a
propaganda exercise.
- The government denied that the would seek an IMF bailout
- They are denying that they will lay off civil servants in 2017
- They promised to make Ghana the cleanest country in west Africa.
Today, according to UNICEF, Ghana has placed second in cholera
ranking in West Africa with 28,944 cases
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The 2016 budget that was submitted to Parliament has apparently been
replaced by another budget because the original budget submitted to
parliament was full of errors. This is not the hallmark of a serious government.

Fellow Ghanaians, it is time to change this government. It is time to build a new

globally competitive economy with the NPP under the leadership of Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo Addo. The immediate goal is to make Ghana the most people
friendly and most business friendly economy in Africa.
NPP budgets will be therefore be driven by this underlying objective.

THE ALTERNATIVE VISION AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

We recognize that economic management must move side by side with an
institutional framework of good governance. The following policies will be
critical in building this new economy in this regard.

1. Ghana must put in place an effective legal framework to make sure the
politicians on all sides are discouraged from wreaking havoc on the poor
people of Ghana for their own selfish interests. We need a legal
framework to anchor fiscal discipline. The passage and enforcement of a
Fiscal Responsibility Act that has bite will be important in this regard if it

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is supported by political will. A Fiscal Responsibility law will require

governments to declare and commit to a fiscal policy that can be
monitored. It will include fiscal rules (including rules governing election
year spending), provisions for transparency and sanctions (including
sanctions on the Executive). Such a law will be passed by an NPP
government.

2. To enhance transparency, a world class Right to Information law will be

passed

3. To enhance accountability of government for resources at the local level

a Nana Akufo-Addo government would support the election of DCEs at
the local level.

4. The Public Procurement Act will be reviewed to avoid political

interference in the award of contracts, consistent with international best
practice..

5. An independent value for money unit as exists in Chile will be established

to ensure value for money in the award of government contracts
Outside of governance reforms, an NPP alternative budget will include
the following priorities:

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6. Formalization of the Ghanaian economy will be pursued as a matter of

economic strategy to expand the tax net. The elements of this
formalization process that will be completed in within a year are:
i. National ID cards which this government has been unable to
issue in 7 years after starving the NIA of funds will be issued
through the National Identification Authority.
ii. Financial inclusion Goal is to have 70% of the bankable
population having bank accounts
iii. The movement from a cash based economy to an electronic
payments based economy.
iv. A Street address system
Practically, the national ID card should also have a debit card application that
can function in rural communities so that everyone with the National ID card
would also have a bank account (financial inclusion). This will also at the same
time help move Ghana to an electronic payments based platform.
Formalization of the economy through these processes would enhance the
collection of more revenue even with lower tax rates.

7. As expounded in our 2012 manifesto, we have very significant

differences with this NDC with regards to the tax system. In response to
the economic difficulties, government has resorted to increasing taxes,
including until recently, imposing taxes on condoms and cutlasses. These
higher taxes have served to increase the cost of doing business in Ghana
compared with neighboring countries. A Minister of State in response to

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complaints from the business community about import duties is reported

to have said that if they are not happy, they can import through Togo or
other countries! This type of approach to dealing with the business
environment is counterproductive and demonstrates a lack of
appreciation of the private sector. The fact is import duties in Ghana are
too high and discourage production.
The NPP government will focus on providing the tax incentives for
increasing production and generating employment. In the process
revenue can be raised from corporate and income taxes. What we will not
allow to happen is for the desire to generate revenue to kill businesses
and cause unemployment. In this regard, there are tax specific tax policies
that we will implement. These include:
o A reduction of the corporate tax rate from 25% to 20%
o Abolition of the VAT on Financial Services
o Abolition of the VAT on real estate sales
o Reduction of withholding taxes to the 2008 levelsi to spur
production
o Abolition of taxes on private tertiary institutions
o Eliminate the policy that requires networks to charge a minimum
of 19 cents per minute on international calls coming into Ghana
(under the Electronic Communication Amendment Act, 2009) and
allow the market to determine the price.
o Abolition of the special import levy of 1-2% on imports
o Removal of duties on the importation of raw materials i.e. zero duty

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o Removal of duties for the import of manufacturing equipment and

spare parts
o Review of taxes on the aviation sector to make the airline industry
more competitive
o Capital Gains tax will be reduced to 10%

8. An enhanced employment Tax Credit Scheme to provide incentives for

companies employing fresh graduates.
o If the percentage of fresh graduates in the workforce is between 15% the tax credit would be 40% of salaries and wages
o If the percentage of fresh graduates in the workforce is between
above 5% the tax credit would be 60% of salaries and wages

9. In the present circumstances, an NPP government would as a matter of

policy and urgency, significantly cut down on borrowing. The focus of the
Government would be to provide the incentives for the private sector to
do what the public sector is trying to do.

10.

We will restore the teacher and nursing training allowances and

are still committed to our program of free senior high school education
for all students at that level.

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11.

Infrastructure investment would focus on Water, Electricity and

Toilets (WET) It is a shame that while some countries are trying to get
to Mars, we are struggling to have access to toilets for our people.

12.

We will increase

investment in research increase grants to

researchers in our tertiary and scientific institutions.

13.

We will deepen financial sector reforms with the objective to

establishing Ghana as a leading financial sector in Africa.- Unfortunately,

this Government has taken us backwards in the area of financial sector
reform.

14.

We would put in place a macroeconomic framework underpinned

by fiscal discipline that would maintain exchange rate stability. Persistent

exchange rate depreciation is bad for the economy. In this regard there,
would be a strict enforcement of Section 40 of the Bank of Ghana Act
(2002) by keeping a strict ratio between the currency in circulation and
foreign exchange cover as exists in the context of a currency board regime
as practiced by countries such as Hong Kong, Bulgaria and to some extent
the CFA franc zone countries in Central and West Africa.

15.

Government continues to be in arrears on its obligations to

statutory funds such as the NHIS, DACF, GETFUND, Payments to the

Disabled, etc . even though government has collected the taxes that are
meant for these funds. We would implement a policy of automaticity in

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the transfer of revenues collected for these funds so that arrears to these
funds do not arise.

16.

In the real sector, the focus will be on agriculture as well as

diversification of output through value addition. Our goal is to make

agriculture a money making business and in the process restore the pride
and prestige of our farmers. The strategy will be built around:
i. Access of farmers to fertilizers and seedlings
ii. Access of farmers to Dams and irrigation facilities
iii. Access of farmers to Credit
iv. Access of farmers to modern technology and machinery
v. An Afram Plains Agricultural Development Authority will be
established along with the Northern Development Authority
to drive agriculture in those regions and make them Ghanas
bread basket. The goal is to make Ghana a net exporter of
food crops in four years.
vi. A policy of bringing an additional 500,000 tonnes of cocoa to
the market in 10 years will be initiated by the planting of new
trees.
vii. Accra Plains irrigation project

17.

Studies have shown that the Northern regions of Ghana have a huge

potential for mineral and oil deposits. An NPP government would

prioritize the exploration of untapped minerals and potential oil deposits
in the northern regions of Ghana.

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18.

Tema Oil Refinery has an important role to play in the

establishment of a petrochemical industry in Ghana and would not be

allowed to collapse or reduced to a storage facility for BDCs under an NPP
government.

19.

We will establish a Zongo Development Fund to support

development activity in the Zongo communities.

20.

We will establish a Fund to support the Arts and Entertainment

industry to grow local talent and create jobs.

21.

Eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy. There are too many

bureaucratic obstacles that Ghanaians encounter in many endeavors.

Becoming a doctor or a lawyer in Ghana is more difficult than in the USA.
Someone with 7 As and one B in English is refused admission to Medical
school. Yet we are in a hurry to bring in Cuban doctors who can hardly
speak English when we need help. Even top notch doctors in America
have a hard time getting licensed to practice in Ghana. Somehow we think
we are doing people a favour by allowing you to practice.
a. We have to make Ghana a land of opportunities rather than a land
of obstacles. The system as it is, is a Pull Him Down System. We
have to dismantle it. We have to crush it. The governments first job
is to create an enabling environment for every hardworking
Ghanaian to succeed. We will therefore undertake a review of

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obstacles to progress across different sectors and take steps to

remove them.

22.

As a matter of policy, Ghana should move away from aid

dependency. For how long are we going to be beggars? Beggars have no

respect. If we manage our resources properly, we would not have to rely
on foreign aid. We will depend on ourselves through sound policies, fiscal
discipline, trade and investment promotion. With sound economic
policies, we can do it ourselves. The current IMF program should be
Ghanas last.
These are just a few elements of the policy framework that would
underpin our budgets Insha Allah from 2017. More comprehensive
policies will be captured in the 2016 NPP Manifesto and in subsequent
interactions with the Ghanaian people and various subsets of the
population in the coming weeks and months.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Ghanaians,

IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE AND YOU MUST OWN THE CHANGE
CHANGE IS COMING
HOPE IS COMING
NPP IS COMING
NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO ADDO IS COMING
A NEW GHANAIAN ECONOMY IS COMING

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 TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD THE GHANA WE WILL ALL BE

PROUD OF.
GOD BLESS YOU
GOD BLESS OUR HOMELAND GHANA.

Dividends (8%), Management and Technical services (15%), Rent (8%),

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