Ernest Owusu Bempah, a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has disclosed that the government cannot be blamed for the current economic hardships.
He said the situation is completely out of the hands of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his government.
Owusu Bempah, who is also a convener of ‘Fixing the Country’ said the increased prices of food is due to the current war between Russia and Ukraine.
According to him, the war has led to a shortage in the supply of fertilizer for the planting of maize in Ghana causing a rise in the cost of maize. This, he argued, has consequently affected the price of kenkey.
“You are a journalist and so if you ask those questions, you have to ask the circumstances within which the world is situated… We need fertilizer to grow corn and we don’t manufacture the fertilizer in Ghana, we import it. So if you wake up one day and everything has come to a halt with borders closed, the first cardinal principle to know is that global circumstances have changed.”
“Majority of our economy relies on the importation of goods and services, right or wrong? Therefore, you have to know that things will change. Secondly, we know that globally crude oil which we import is from Russia and Ukraine. Because of the war going on in Ukraine, if anyone says we can’t argue that the break in supply and the resulting increase in oil prices has no effect, I don’t agree,” he argued.
“We import about 60% of our crude oil from Ukraine and Russia so if the prices have increased, obviously, that should tell you something. How much oil do we produce in Ghana? We have to import, and when we do that, there are heavy taxes imposed on it which will go on to affect everything. So if kenkey used to be GHC1 and it is now GHC5, why should you be worried?” he questioned.
“Did Akufo-Addo bring the war? Did Akufo-Addo bring the Corona? Don’t you know that Ukraine is the food basket of the world? Go and do your research. Even when the Iraq and Iran war started in the early 90s, the minute even the global economists hear there is a war, you know it automatically affects everything in the world. You don’t need a rocket scientist to tell you this,” he blurted out.
Owusu Bempah emphasized that it has become incumbent for people to appreciate the state of the global economy and its effect on the Ghanaian economy instead of blaming the government for the rise in the cost of living.
D day this man said he lied to save Akuffo Addo from d attacks on d Cathedral was d last straw that broke d camel’s back.Since when did we have to wait for fertilizers before our maize will yield?So does our sister countries like Ivory Coast with a very good economy have to wait for fertilizers from Ukraine before their crops will yield?What about other African countries? This man is a damn liar indeed n must be taken for granted.