Franklin Cudjoe praises Finance Minister for apology, calls for same from Bawumia

Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam has received praise from IMANI Africa’s Founding President, Franklin Cudjoe, for his apology to Ghanaians regarding the economic hardships caused by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

Mr Cudjoe noted that Dr. Amin Adam, who was appointed as Finance Minister on February 14, 2024, should have taken on the role much earlier.

In a Facebook post, Mr Cudjoe expressed his views, saying, “Thank you, Finance Minister. We really should have had you much earlier. When is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia going to own up and do the same and then provide real, believable solutions and ideas that will never ever get us into these rudderless economic storms again? Remember, the economy is what we know him for, not promising mobile phones on credit for jobless people. People need to have jobs and dignified income first so they can buy their own mobile phones. People do not need the state to babysit and feed them. Many are thinking of survival before growth. Well, if he acknowledges these things, I might put in a word for him. It is possible for him to do these.”

Mr Cudjoe’s comments followed Dr. Amin Adam’s public apology for the hardships resulting from the DDEP, a programme implemented as a requirement for Ghana’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dr. Amin Adam, who represents Karaga in Parliament, emphasized that the government did not intend to burden the people.

“We decided to restructure our debts because it was one of the requirements by the IMF. We started with the domestic debt exchange programme, which was very successful, achieving 95 percent participation. On this note, I would like to appeal to the people of this country to forgive us,” Dr. Amin Adam said.

He further explained, “It is never the intention of any government to impose hardships on its people, more so the NPP government that has demonstrated that we want to reduce the burden of the Ghanaian people. It was a necessary, important decision at the time. If we had avoided it, our development or economy would not be what it is today. All the support you gave us during the DDEP has contributed largely to the recovery our economy is seeing today. This is why I want to appeal to you to forgive us but also to thank you on behalf of the president for the sacrifices, for the efforts that you all have made to participate in the DDEP.”

Source:classfmonline.com