According to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo manipulated his delivery of the State of the Nation speech to Parliament.
The largest opposition group claims that the president ignored the nation's grave situation and solely focused on glorifying himself.
Presenting what it called the "true state of the nation", the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, touched on various issues, ranging from the bad state of the economy and the oversize government to the growing spate of corruption, and described the current state of the nation as one of "hopelessness, recklessness, and corruption, with a leadership paralysis".
Attendance
The NDC rank and file, as well as members of its National Executive Committee (NEC), Functional Executive Committee (FEC), and regional executives, as well as Members of Parliament, attended the ceremony yesterday at the UPSA Auditorium (MP).
Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, John Dramani Mahama's vice president and running mate for the 2020 presidential election, Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, the minority leader in parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, Kofi Totobi Quakyi, and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a potential party flag bearer, were notable figures.
An enthusiastic audience that packed the whole auditorium intermittently applauded and clapped while the presentation was made. flamboyant speeches
Nketiah stated, "The truth about our beloved country no longer rests in flowery statements mixed with political sleaze that never took responsibility for anything but instead in facing the music head-on.
He urged President Akufo-Addo to show leadership by taking prompt action to reduce the size of his administration as a sign of a fresh start.
"We also want the government to tolerate dissent, heed requests for the Constitutional Review's recommendations to be implemented, abstain from wasteful spending, stop engaging in nepotism and corruption, punish corrupt officials, and be truthful about the actual situation of our country," he said.
Mr. Nketiah stressed that it was unacceptable that the president insisted on shrinking his administration despite repeated requests from different organizations and in the middle of the economic crisis the nation was experiencing.
He said that certain presidential appointees had no right to remain in their posts since they made no distinctive contributions to the nation's government.
Economy
Regarding assertions that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took over a weak economy, Mr. Nketiah countered that the NDC-led administration really passed over a stronger economy.
He pointed out that the economy was in a crisis due to poor leadership, needless spending, and an overburdened government.
According to the NDC chairman, the public debt surged from GH120 billion in 2016 to GH600 million in 2018, and the debt-to-gross domestic product (DtGDP) ratio also rose during that time, from GH56 billion to GH103 billion.
He reiterated that the budget deficit, which was 6.2% in 2016 but is now at 12%, has climbed along with inflation, which has risen from 15.2% in 2016 to 52%.
In addition, the exchange rate declined from 9.6% in 2016 to 23% in the first two months of 2023, he said, adding that the loan rate, which was at 25% in 2016, now ranges between 38 and 45 percent.
According to Mr. Nketiah, the country's economy was downgraded from B- to below junk status in 2016, which is sufficient evidence that it has not been honoring its financial commitments.
He claimed that, as of 2021, the unemployment rate increased from 8.4% to 14.0%, as recorded by the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC).
He claimed that in addition to the high taxes and high cost of power, the crippling economic conditions had forced enterprises to lay off employees, while some of them had gone to other African nations.
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