NPP MP for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng, has challenged President John Mahama to take tough and unpopular economic decisions without worrying about electoral backlash.

Speaking to Citi News on Thursday, the former Deputy Finance Minister rejected claims that enforcing fiscal discipline or holding taxpayers accountable would cost the government public support.

He said the President is in a rare position to push through long-delayed reforms but has so far shown little evidence of doing so.

According to Mr Kwarteng, key expenditure areas such as the wage bill and interest payments remain largely untouched, raising concerns that the government is maintaining a “business as usual” posture.

“The suggestion that once you are tough, once you go after people who pay their taxes, once you rein in expenditure, somehow you are going to lose an election, I do not believe that,” he said.

“And I think President Mahama is in the unique position to do the reforms I am calling for.”

He said he has yet to see any clear policy shift that signals a break from past practices.

“So far, I have not seen much. I have yet to see any clear change,” he said.

“If you look at the big items in our expenditure profile, the wage bill, interest payments, what are the policy positions or the changes the government is pursuing on these lines?” he asked.

Mr Kwarteng warned that without clearly defined reforms, the country risks repeating old mistakes.

“If we cannot discuss clear changes, then it is very much business as usual,” he said.

He ended with a direct appeal to the President to act boldly.

“I take this opportunity to speak to the President and to say, you are not coming back, please deploy the hard decisions that this country has been needing for so long,” he added.