<<Print>>

The Majority Chief whip of Parliament, Hon. Sampson Ahi has bemoaned that it is sheer wickedness for anyone to draw conclusion that President Mahama has failed to deliver when indeed he has not even finished appointing his ministers to form his government. The Member of Parliament for Bodi Constituency on the ticket of the NDC explained that it is wrong for the opposition NPP to say that the President has failed, because he (President Mahama) has not been given his consolidated fund to start his initiatives. Speaking on �Ade Akye Abia� program on Okay FM, Sampson Ahi said that President Mahama understands there are problems in the country. Recounting the cause of the budget deficit, he said that the office of government machinery has so many components which constitute of forty (40) institutions and so the Ghc312m budget allocation to them were in right place. He added that the government planned to pay all arrears on the single spine this year (2013) but unfortunately most workers went on strike to force the government to pay their arrears; in that this action of the workers compelled the government to go for extra money against the allocated budget for the year. He stressed that the government did not bargain for this unforeseen strike. Surprisingly, he revealed that a similar thing happened during the NPPs 2008 budget which it incurred 14% deficit; reiterating that it is wrong for the New Patriotic Party to use the budget deficit as a measure to ascertain President Mahama�s government as a failure. He reminded that it was during the erstwhile Kufour�s administration that the use of �Kufour Gallon� was introduced into the country; urging that there is a problem with the economic indicators and to the member of the majority caucus in Parliament, both NDC and NPP should sit and find a lasting solution to the problems. He stated that the President has to come out with emergency solutions to the strike actions; adding that the teachers are threatening to go on strike while SHS students prepare for their final examination. Hon. Sampson Ahi however said that in a situation such as this government would be propelled to go for a loan to pay for the arrears; reiterating that �if your revenue is below your expenditure then you will run into deficit and this is what happened during the NPP era of which it run into 14% deficit in its 2008 budget.