CJA URGES GOVT TO COME OUT WITH TRUTH (PAGE 13)

Story: Abdul Aziz

The Committee for Joint Action (CJA) has aired its views on the government measures to mitigate the effects of commodity prices, describing them as mere “tunnel vision’’ measures.
It has, therefore, called on the government to come out with the whole truth about the economy, instead of always assuring Ghanaians that there was light at the “end of the tunnel’’.
Mr Kwasi Pratt Jnr, member of the CJA, who addressed a CJA press conference in Accra on Thursday, said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had proved that it was incapable of managing the crisis in particular and the affairs of the country in general.
Mr Pratt said this was not the first time the President had resorted to the use of the term, saying that even during the energy crisis, the President still stated that there was light at the end of the tunnel.
He said Ghanaians had also heard enough of the talk that the cedi had stabilised against the dollar, when in actual fact, both the cedi and the dollar were having a free fall against the pound sterling and the euro.
He said the contradictions between the statements made by the Minister of Finance and the President on the state of the country’s finances were significant.
He said while reading the Budget Statement, the Minister of Finance claimed that Ghana’s foreign exchange reserve could provide for three months import cover.
Mr Pratt said, however, that in the Presidents address, he claimed that the foreign exchange reserve could only provide two months import cover.
He, therefore, asked whether the change from the 90 day credit basis to the 30 day credit for the supply of crude oil from Nigeria could be an indication of a lack of confidence in the Ghanaian economy or not.
The CJA has, therefore, slated June 5 to hold a public forum to provide Ghanaians the opportunity to discuss government measures.
He explained that all was not well with the economy, because of the neo-liberal economic agenda of the government which had collapsed with dire consequences for the masses.
He said given the enormous resources that had come the way of the government, the country could have done better even in the face of the global oil and food crises.
Mr Pratt said under the NPP government, the country enjoyed record high prices for cocoa from $800 per tonne in 2001 as against $2,400 per tonne this year, and gold from $250 per ounce in 2000 to about $950 per ounce this year.
On agriculture, he said Ghanaians were expecting effective solution to the problem of food unavailability and high prices immediately, but the government was telling the farmers to wait until next year for tractors and fertilisers to arrive from overseas before they prepare land for planting.
Mr Pratt said that it was pathetic that having allowed the machinery and equipment of the abandoned Aveyime Rice project to depreciate from $12 million to $2.6 million, the government was now talking of re-launching it.