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Release
NPP, October 9,
2012
GOVERNMENT OF PROPAGANDA AND LIES CONTINUES
The NDC party and government is continuing to live up to its
reputation as government of lies and propaganda. The NDC is
the only political Party with propaganda executives.
Propaganda is an official mode of operation.
A deputy Information Minister in the NDC government is on
record urging civil servants to lie and distort information in
the course of their work, to make the government look good.
Propaganda, distortion, outright lies are so ingrained in the
governance culture of the NDC that the government seems now
not to take account of reality. The latest press conference by
Mr. Fiifi Kwetey, former propaganda Secretary of the NDC, and
now a Deputy Minister of Finance, is just the latest example
of the pursuit of propaganda, distortion and lies as a policy
of government and party.
ENERGY
Fiifi Kwetey claims the NDC government in 3 years added 376mw
energy generation capacity. After this declaration had been
first made by President Mills (2012 sessional address to
Parliament), a deputy Minister for Energy, was on Joy FM
claiming the NDC had added 150 mw to energy capacity.
When the contradiction with the President’s figure was pointed
out to the deputy Minister, he said, oh, he had forgotten to
add the generation of energy by Asogli Company. As comical as
this is, it must be pointed out that the Asogli plant was set
up during the NPP government and it utilises gas from the West
Africa Gas Pipeline paid for by the NPP government.
It is so sad to note that at the time President Mills and his
deputy Minister were making claims and counter claims, the
nation was suffering under electricity load shedding! Even
today, with Fiifi Kwetey repeating these claims, the country
is still suffering under a debilitating load shedding
programme even though Akosombo dam is full to its maximum
capacity. This rampant loading shedding is destroying
Ghanaians Businesses and Ghanaian Industries and greatly
disrupting the welfare and social life of millions of
Ghanaians. It is very sad that in this terrible situation, the
government of the day is rubbing salt into the wounds of
Ghanaians by boasting of unprecedented feats in energy
production.
Lets note that the additional energy being claimed were mostly
initiatives during the NPP government, such as Asogli plant,
Osono plant, Tema Thermal plant 1, the Mines Reserve, Siemens
Atholl plant etc.
750 million Dollar Eurobond
Fiifi Kwetey asked Ghanaians what the NPP used the $750m
Eurobond loan for. He is telling Ghanaians the money was just
wasted. But the same NDC government with Fiifi Kwetey as
Deputy Finance Minister, wrote to the World Bank and IMF, way
back in 2009, providing details of how the $750m was used. Let
us listen to what the government wrote………
“Out of the $750 million borrowed in 2007, in the form of
Eurobonds, $595 million had been disbursed by January 2009.
The proceeds were allocated primarily to support public
investments in the energy sector according to the following
distribution : $286 million for investments by the Volta River
Authority (VRA); $134m for investments by the Electricity
Company of Ghana (ECG); $54m for investment in the Bui Dam;
$31m for the government’s equity investment in the West Africa
Gas Pipeline (WAGP); and $90m for public investments in road
infrastructure” (Source : Economic Governance and Poverty
Reduction Loan document, paragraph 32. 15 June 2009)
In effect, ladies and gentlemen, the government tells the
truth to the World Bank and the IMF, but turns back to lie to
Ghanaians, whose taxes pay their salaries.
Note: the NPP had disbursed $595m, not $750m. For even more
mischief, Fiifi Kwetey quotes “nearly $1 billion.” The
immediate question to ask Fiifi Kwetey is this “Have you
accounted to the Ghanaian people how the NDC government has
disbursed the balance of $155million left?” Ladies and
Gentlemen, when this letter, signed byFiifi Kwetey’s boss, was
brought to the attention of Fiifi Kwetey, the campaign of lies
became even more blatant. The new lie was that the $595m
disbursed was not invested in infrastructure. Yet, clearly,
the NDC’s letter stated $90m for road infrastructure, 54m for
Bui Dam, and $31m for the WAGP!
Fiifi Kwetey claimed further that some of the money was used
to pay salaries and to procure prepaid meters by ECG, and to
buy additional equity, for government in Ashanti Goldfields
Company.
Ladies and Gents, the enormous benefit of pre paid meters to
ECG as against the old system, is known by every school boy.
Yet the Deputy Finance Minister of Ghana does not know this.
Fiifi Kwetey also forgot to mention that the additional equity
in Ashanti Goldfields has been sold at great profit by the NDC
government .
Totally confused now, in the face of the truths pointed out to
him, Fiifi Kwetey makes the incredible pronouncement that the
government in the said letter actually lied to the World Bank,
IMF. For those of you who doubted Baba Jamal, there you have
your answer. It is most extraordinarily that a deputy minister
of finance in pursuit of propaganda, openly states that the
government of Ghana lied to international finance
institutions. This is most unprecedented. And just yesterday,
we heard that this same man is leading a Ghanaian delegation
to the world bank. Ladies and Gents, it is indeed a very sad
day for governance in this country and every self respecting
Ghanaian must indeed be feeling very sad.
More lies, more deceit, more propaganda
Beyond the $750m, the lies, deceit and propaganda, continues
unabated!
Fiifi Kwatey claims the NDC government embarks on projects
supported by “robust feasibility”. Ladies and Gents, let’s
take just two recent projects: 1. the Bus Rapid Transit
Project (BRT) is over 2 years behind schedule. More sadly, the
project risks being abandoned as the World Bank threatens to
stop funding. The reason? The NDC government has not managed
to set up a Project Implementation Unit!! (Source: Daily
Graphic, June 5 2012). 2. Another recent example is that the
government commissioned a sheanut processing factory in Buipe
in May 2012. As at the end of August, four months after the
commissioning of the factory, the factory was still not
operating. The unofficial reason is that the wrong machinery
was ordered.
Fiifi Kwetey piles more propaganda on Ghanaians. He claims the
NDC’S record in “boosting the nation’s productive sectors” is
unprecedented!!
PROPAGANDA: he claims the NDC had improved rice production by
30%. Mind you, they have made this claim since 2009. So it
seems that the 30 percent since 2009 has remained stagnant.
Thus in the last three tears, no improvement has been made?
TRUTH : the price of rice (olonka) has gone from GHC 2.50 to
over GHC 8; i.e. by over 300% in 3 years.
PROPAGANDA : on fishing NDC “has procured four patrol vessels”
and plans to build fishing harbours and landing sites”
TRUTH : In 2011, fishing grew less than it did in 2008.(Source
2012 Budget statement,)
PROPAGANDA the NDC “put in place far reaching policies that
have arrested the rapid depreciation and brought about a
situation where the cedi is once again seeing appreciation
against the dollar.”
TRUTH : the cedi has lost over 80% of its value in just 3
years of the NDC, the worst performance in 20 years! Now even
Ghanaians with dollar accounts cannot withdrew their own
money!! Compare to less than 50% loss in value over 8 years of
the NPP!
PROPAGANDA : “as a result of successful measures, the global
confidence in the Ghanaian economy has once again sky rocketed
as evidenced in the recent massive oversubscription in the 5
years bond floated by the government.
TRUTH : the BoG has just reported ( BOG monetary policy
committee press release, September 2012, paragraph 10)that
business confidence as well as consumer confidence in Ghana is
declining. Even though the NDC claim inflation is 9%, the NDC
government put the interest on the bond at 24%. Who would not
buy bonds at a yield of 24% when inflation is supposed to be
9%?
PROPAGANDA : “the NDC has not only attained single digit
inflation but has been able to maintain it now for about 26
long months, an unprecedented feat.”
TRUTH : by far the biggest complaint of Ghanaians today is the
incredible cost of living. According to the latest Afro
barometer Survey, 65% of Ghanaians conclude the economy is
“Too Bad”compared to 45% in 2008. On welfare ( wasitsena mu)
56% reported their welfare is “Too Bad” compared with 30% in
2008. If the NDC government believes its own inflation claims,
why is treasury bill rate at 22%, and the yield on government
bond at 24%? And why has the cedi lost 80% in value, the worst
in 20 years? The NDC left the NPP an inflation rate of 40% in
2000, while the NPP left the NDC an inflation rate of 18% in
2008!
MOTHER PROPAGANDA “Between 1993 and year 2000, the NDC grew
the economy of Ghana 12 times, an incredible 1169% NPP in 8
years achieved an insignificant 300%.”
TRUTH : in 1993, Ghana’s GDP was $5 billion. In 2000, it was
$4 billion. In these 8 years, GDP fell by $1 billion.
In 2001-2008, same 8 years, the GDP went from the abysmal $4
billion to t$16.3billion. (Same old series). Every school
child in Ghana today must wonder how a fall from $5billion to
$4 billion, becomes a growth of 1169%.
Or is Fiifi Kwetey
using a new arithmetic? And this is the Deputy Finance
Minister of Ghana?
PROPAGANDA “Dr. Bawumia is “the same person who not once but
twice was key in leading the NPP to pursue phantom loans, the
IFC and CNTCI 419 loans.”
TRUTH the sovereign Guarantee of Ghana was never issued in the
cases of CNTCI & IFC, unlike the STX phantom project where the
sovereign guarantee was issued against all reason, and it
became a common document on the streets in neighboring West
African Countries!
By the way, Dr, Bawumia only became to deputy governor the BOG
in 2006, way after the CNTCI &IFC episodes. Fiifi Kwetey could
not get even this simple fact, right!
PROPAGANDA “On railways, the NPP “actually presided over its
further collapse to the extent that some of the lines were
sold as scrap!”
TRUTH when the NPP assumed power in 2001, the national railway
was actually on divestiture. It was the NPP who took it off
divestiture and rehabilitated the 17km Accra-Tema (Aso pro
chona) link.
SOME MORE FACTS
Ladies and Gentlemen, the great issue of today, is that most
aspects of our national life are declining, since 2009. I have
mentioned agric, fishing, crops, manufacturing etc. In
education, for example BECE results show :
BECE 2001 - 60.40
2002 - 60.48
2003 - 60.99
2004 - 61.18
2005 - 61.59
2006 - 61.91
2007 - 61.28
2008 - 62.16
2009 - 50.23
2010 - 49.12
2011 - 46.93
To avoid further embarrassment, the NDC government by some
manipulation of the passing aggregates has managed to achieve
pass rate of 99.5%! Unemployment is the biggest problem
affecting young people in Ghana. The Ghana. The Ghana TUC has
stated that every year over 200,000 young Ghanaians come onto
the job market. The world Bank estimates 65% youth
unemployment in Ghana.
Yet the NDC government in 4 years has no Policy and Action
Plan on Employment nor even an Action Plan for Youth
development! As we speak, cost of living is rising up on a
weekly basis, electricity is being rationed, gas shortages
etc. In the words of a friend of mine, “gas shortage dey bi
keke, electricity dey bi keke, cost of living dey bi keke.” If
Fiifi Kwetey and the NDC want to set records straight, they
should do so on STX, set the records straight on Woyome, set
the records straight on gas shortage, set the records straight
on water rationing, on electricity rationing, on youth
employment, on embraer jet, on the training of Ghanaian
doctors in Cuba and on the incredible cost of living. The list
can go on and on.
All of these deterioration is taking place when under the NDC
government, Ghana’s debt in just 3 and a half years has
ballooned from $8.1 billion to over $15 billion, nearly 100%.
In just one day in Parliament, (Friday 28 September, 2012) the
NDC government brought a total of $510m loan agreement request
to Parliament! The government of Ghana seems to be surviving
on the back of loans, loans and more loans.
Where goes Ghana under the NDC?
NPP
Communications Directorate
NPP Headquarters, Asylum Down. Accra.
Dep. Director: Curtis Perry K. Okudzeto
(024-9679008)
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