The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has dismissed government claims that Ghana’s economic progress is better than the countries of Kenya, Senegal, and Cote D’Ivoire.
NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi West Constituency, Kwaku Kwarteng questioned why those countries have not gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout but rather Ghana, if indeed their economic statistics are not desirable.
The government has basked in on an IMF reporting indicating Ghana has achieved some significant progress on the economic front.
In a twelve page statement issued by the Communications Ministry back with evidence from the IMF World Economic Outlook report for 2016, the government claims Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of 1, 340 is higher than that of Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Kenya.
However, it turned out the Kenya’s comparison was false. The East Africa country’s GDP per capita is 47 dollars more than Ghana’s.
Speaking on Joy News, the Communications Minister, Dr. Omane Boamah is admitted government erred in that comparison.
“I noted the challenge that you are trying to bring up that has to do with a minute note that we have made about Kenya which is about 1, 388 there about,” he said to the host of Joy FM’s Top Story, Evans Mensah.
“Kenya [GDP per capita] is higher than that of Ghana and I have noted it at the beginning,” he added.
This Mr Kwarteng found very worrying considering the “too much noise” government has been making about the alleged findings of the IMF report.
“It is this kind of propaganda way of managing an economy that has led to the kind of economic mess which we find ourselves,” he said.
Part of the statement also read that Ghana’s current per capita income “represents 5.9% increase over the 2008 figure of US$1,266.1”.
This in real terms means the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) has added 74 dollars to the per capita income in the space of eight years.
But speaking the Head of the University Of Ghana Department Of Economics has cautioned the use of such statistics especially when it is not well calculated.
Profesor Peter Kwartey said the 74 dollar increment in eight years cannot pass as a significant economic progress.
“We should be very careful otherwise we abuse statistics,” he said explaining “between 2008 and 2015 you have eight years that is basically an increase of 72 dollars.”
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