John Mahama: Former President Says Akufo-Addo's Reckless Spending Led To Employment Freeze

• Former President John Mahama has launched a scathing attack on the reckless spending of the Akufo-Addo-led government
• He said the unbridled spending has contributed to the dire straits of the Ghanaian economy
• Speaking at the Accra Business School over the weekend, he said the freeze in public employment is a result of the overspending by the President

John Dramani Mahama, the former President, has attributed the freeze in public sector employment to the unbridled spending by the Akufo-Addo-led government.

According to him, the austere measures, as announced in the 2023 budget statement and economic policy document, were due to the reckless spending and mismanagement of the Ghanaian economy by the President and his appointees.

Former President Mahama Paints Gloomy Image Of Ghanaian Economy

Speaking at the 13th Congregation of the Accra Business School on Saturday, the 2020 presidential candidate of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) painted a very gloomy image of the economy.

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He advised the graduates to pursue entrepreneurship or look for jobs in the private sector because political appointees have mismanaged the operations of state-owned firms and driven the majority of them aground, making it impossible to employ them in the public sector.

Former President Mahama Says Akufo-Addo's Reckless And Mismanagement Have Contributed To Current Economic Crisis

In order to put the discussion in a better context, Mahama stated that the estimated compensation cost for 2022 was 55.3 per cent of tax revenue, which meant that out of all the taxes collected, the nation would use 55.3 per cent of it to pay wages and salaries for the public sector alone, with the remaining tax revenue being consumed by amortization and interest payments.

He added that the "situation has compelled the government this year to announce a freeze or a ban on public-sector employment. This makes the situation rather dire for you…unfortunately due to mismanagement and reckless expenditure by the government over the last five years, the private business environment is also in a very poor state today."

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2023 Budget: Ofori-Atta Announces Ban On Public Sector Employment, Use Of V8s And Other Austere Measures

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that to manage Ghana's expenditure in the face of the ever-worsening economic crisis, the government announced some tough measures in the 2023 budget.

According to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the cabinet approved the measures geared towards expenditure rationalisation.

Notable among the austere measures include a freeze on hiring workers from January 1, 2023. That's not all; there's also a 50% slash in fuel coupons to political appointees and heads of MDAs, MMDAs and SOEs and a freeze on the use of V8s and V6s except for official cross-country trips.

Source: YEN.com.gh