NPP MP blames NDC for downgrade of Ghana's economic outlook

Sheila Bartels, the Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North has blamed the National Democratic Congress for the downward review of Ghana’s economic outlook by some credit agencies.

Sheila Bartels contends that the opposition party should be held accountable for the situation.

“Congratulations to the NDC. You've done a great job.

Through your excellent efforts, GHANA,

Read full articlethe country you claim to love more than all of us, has been downgraded by the credit agencies.

Well done,” she posted on Facebook.

Five years on after the Akufo-Addo government assumed leadership of the country, Sheila Bartels is accusing the Mahama administration of mismanaging the economy.

She said that the Akufo-Addo government has managed the economy better than the Mahama administration and should be credited with improving what they inherited from the Mahama government.

“Who has mismanaged the economy? My goodness! Please set aside all the propaganda you've been fed and realistically look at things. This government have been better managers of the economy than the NDC ever would!

“Even without a pandemic, did the NDC not take a country from prosperity during Kufour into a state where we had to go to the IMF? When the then President said the meat was down to the bone?

“Didn't this government take the gargantuan debt left behind, pay them, initiate several life-saving interventions and still grow the economy by over double of what we inherited?

“No wonder, JM says we have short memories! Indeed, if we should all care as much, let us not listen to the loud narratives. I'm in the centre of it so I know that if you enter the easy wide way, as the bible said it leads to DESTRUCTION!!!” he posted.

Her comment come after Ghana’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) was downgraded to ‘B-’ from an earlier ‘B’ rating.

According to the international ratings agency Fitch, this spells out a negative economic outlook for Ghana.

Fitch, in its latest report, explained the downgrade of Ghana’s IDRs and Negative Outlook reflect the sovereign’s loss of the country’s access to international capital markets in the second-half of 2021, following a pandemic-related [COVID-19] surge in government debt.

“This comes in the context of uncertainty about the government’s ability to stabilise debt and against a backdrop of tightening global financing conditions. In our view, Ghana’s ability to deliver on planned fiscal consolidation efforts could be hindered by the heavier reliance on domestic debt issuance with higher interest costs, in the context of an already exceptionally high interest expenditure to revenue ratio,” Fitch said in its report on Ghana.