Ranking Member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Cassiel Ato Forson doubts government's ability to achieve the revised economic growth estimate of 3.7%.

The Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam MP, reacting shortly after the presentation of the Mid-Year Budget to Parliament for approval on Monday, said Ken Ofori-Atta presented an “empty” statement.

Mr. Ato Forson intimated that the Finance Minister only presented a budget review of missed targets.

“We have a country that is in crisis economically, everything is not working yet the Minister responsible for Finance appeared before us and said nothing. He failed to address the very concerns of the ordinary Ghanaians.

“Today, he comes here once again only to tell us that he has missed all the targets he set for 2022, every one of them he could not achieve. Only for him to propose targets he is going to miss again by the end of the year 2022…Our Minister responsible for Finance informed all of us that the GDP growth for the year 2022 has been revised from 5.8% to 3.7%, I beg to say that the 3.7%, he cannot achieve it,” he said.

Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta during the presentation of the mid-year budget announced that government’s projected economic growth rate of 5.8% for 2022 has been revised to 3.7%.

The decision, he said has become necessary due to global developments such as the Russia-Ukraine war which has caused the revenue measures to underperform and the surge in inflation to 29.8% as of June 2022.

He also cited the cedi depreciation against the dollar which has resulted in high cost of living and labour agitations as the cause of the revision of the growth rate.

“In the light of the significant changes in the global environment and our own unique challenges, we have revised our economic growth estimate for 2022 to 3.7% down from 5.8% as stated in the 2022 budget,” Ken Ofori-Atta said.

But the Minority is outraged by the mid-year budget presented on Monday as Mr Forson says things have fallen apart.

He said the new targets set by the government will “drive this country further into the ditch.”

“This government, all that they know is solve every problem with debt. I call it one problem, one loan. That is what this government is practicing. Today, our public debt is in excess of 400bn cedis the Finance Minister failed to tell us we cannot pay our debts…unfortunately, what we witnessed today is nothing but incompetence,” he noted.