Government spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu says some hardships Ghanaians are experiencing are the result of difficult but necessary choices made to avoid repeating the fiscal recklessness of the Akufo-Addo administration.

Speaking on PM Express on Tuesday, June 10, the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese MP said the current government inherited serious economic distortions that were largely driven by unbudgeted expenditures under the previous administration, many of which were politically motivated.

“One of the reasons why hardships became pervasive in this country was fiscal slippages,” he said. “They arose out of mostly unbudgeted expenditure.”

He pointed to the nurses and midwives’ strike as a case in point.

Government has come under fire for requesting a postponement of the implementation of new conditions of service that were approved before the NDC took over in January 2025.

That decision has led to a nationwide walkout by the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), with negotiations deadlocked after an emergency meeting with the Ministry of Health on Monday.

But Mr. Kwakye Ofosu defended the government’s position, insisting that continuing with commitments inherited from the previous regime, especially those not captured in the current budget, would wreck the economy again.

“We don’t want to find ourselves back to square one. We all know the effects of unbudgeted expenditure,” he said.

“We can’t put that quantum of unbudgeted expenditure on ourselves. You are likely going to record a deficit.”

According to him, the Finance Ministry reviewed the nurses’ conditions of service and determined that the country simply could not afford to implement them fully in 2025.

“The Deputy Finance Minister pegged the resources needed to implement the nurses’ conditions of service at ¢2 billion annually. I have seen estimates even higher than that,” he revealed.

He dismissed suggestions that the government could have absorbed the cost through better planning. “You don’t put something in a budget just because it exists,” he argued.

“There are many things the previous government started that we have not continued, because they are more deleterious than beneficial.”

When asked why the agreement wasn’t captured in the 2025 budget despite it being part of the previous government’s commitments, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu responded:

“The point I’m making is that given that discussions had not been concluded, and we had not arrived at a place where we could comfortably add it to the budget, it was necessary to hold further deliberations.”

He emphasised that while government accepts that it has a responsibility to meet the needs of health workers, it must also consider broader fiscal sustainability.

“You need a head before you can chew corn,” he said, quoting former MP Alhaji ABA Fuseini. “We need a functioning economy that can meet demands sustainably.”

Mr. Kwakye Ofosu described the nurses and midwives as essential to the country’s healthcare system and expressed regret over the strike.

“It is deeply regrettable that they have had to call this industrial action,” he said. “We were hoping they would be willing to come to the negotiation table.”

He added that backroom engagements are still ongoing and appealed for calm. “We retain hope that they will return to negotiations.”

He also disclosed that government has taken steps to mitigate the impact of the strike by directing patients to certain private and public facilities that are not affected.

“We’re doing this so that the strike does not imperil them or put them in harm’s way,” he said.

Ultimately, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu insisted that the administration must prioritise responsible governance over political convenience.

“Governments may change, but governance must be responsible. That is why we are doing this.”