The Secret Mahama Won't Tell You

The 2012 vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, NPP Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, recently observed that Ghanaians were going through economic sufferings because the NDC government was constricting the economy. Recently speaking at the Aliu Mahamah public lecture in Accra, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia strongly accused the NDC government for failing to ensure fiscal discipline, the reason for the country's current economic woes. This accusation has not gone down well with members in the NDC government who are refusing to accept that the country's current economic woes are as a result of economic indiscipline. But some of us who are observing the situation from far can agree with Dr. Bawumia that indeed the country's economic hardship has been created by lack of discipline in economic management. Before that let all Ghanaians know that there is a secret that President John Dramani Mahamah, is keeping away from them. In fact the country is heading for the edge of fiscal cliff with a type of speed that no one can understand. It is heading for the edge where if measures are not taken to avert the collapse of the economy, government business will get to a halt and it will be very difficult for one to pick the pieces. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has been fair to the NDC government in describing the sufferings it administration has brought onto the citizenry as running a government of �indiscipline in economic management�. Plain and simple, the secret is that the country is fast approaching bankruptcy where the country's national debt will be so much that there would be no money to borrow to run government business and everything will come to a halt. Yes everything will come to a halt because there would be no money to pay salaries of workers on government payroll, the security and provide certain facilities and services that behooves the government. When the economist, at an earlier date warned that Ghana's economy could suffer some consequences if proper managerial structures were not put in place, some persons held his smock by describing him as a later day false prophet. Now with everything pointing to a fiscal cliff, it is also clear that the government will go off fiscal cliff of bankruptcy if it does not stop spending millions or billions of cedis a year more than it takes in with national debt flying out of any body's reach. The secret president Mahamah is keeping away from you is that the fiscal cliff Dr. Bawumia is warning about could be smaller if discipline actions are taken in managing the economy but the danger is that the fiscal cliff is almost here as everyone is feeling it right now. It is a complex set of ad hoc Ghanaian government tax increases which are forcing spending cuts to generate a lot of revenue from tax payers that has created tension in the civil service and calling for demonstrations everywhere in the country. An increase in pay roll tax, VAT, increases in utilities, services charged and commodities almost affecting every individual pushing for spending cuts that is bringing untold hardship unto the citizenry. Fiscal cliff refers to a series of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect at a particular time unless parliament can agree on a better way to address the country's chronic economy deficit spending problem. President Mahamah, has just placed ban on buying of government bungalows and other state properties by ministers and other officials and we should not be surprise if he comes back to place ban on buying other stuff by ordinary people. The recent abnormal tax increases were to reduce spending and raise revenue to reduce the government budget deficit which is adding more millions or billions to the country's debt. Not long ago, U.S. government got shut down due to fiscal cliff and everyone saw how it affected the country's economy. Dr. Bawumia, as a patriotic Ghanaian in his wisdom has suggested ways and means to prevent such economic crisis taking effect in Ghana. LET US TAKE HIS ADVICE FOR BETTER GHANA. End.