Mahama gov't has mortgage our future: Akufo-Addo

Nana Akufo-Addo has slammed the Mahama-led administration, accusing it of failing to investigate "open accusations of corruption" and mortgaging Ghanas future through heavy borrowing.

The New Patriotic Party presidential nominee in an article published in the Newsweek magazine on why change is coming to Ghana said, "the NDC government has borrowed heavily against our future to increase spending, but none of it has strengthened our economy, our well-being, or our regional or global standing."

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Quoting the International Monetary Fund's managing director Christine Lagarde, Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s large borrowing was not generally used for investments, but was instead used to finance large recurrent spending.

"The Mahama government has abandoned all transparency in procurement and big national projects are contracted out without any competitive bidding," he said.

Also, the NPP presidential nominee accused President John Mahama of failing to investigate open accusations of corruption in his government.

"The 2016 Mo Ibrahim Index on African Governance cited Ghana as one of the two worst deteriorations in governance in the last decade among African countries," he said.

On the economy, Akufo-Addo said economic growth has collapsed under President John Mahama driven by The 2016 Mo Ibrahim Index on African Governance cited Ghana as one of the two worst deteriorations in governance in the last decade among African countries.

He said: "The best way to describe the current economic situation in Ghana is one of wasted opportunities. The IMF predicts that our GDP growth in 2016 will be 3.3 percent, the lowest since 1994. Our GDP growth this year will be the lowest it has been since 1994.

"National borrowing and spending are so out of control that lenders no longer consider us a good risk. As oil output increased, Ghana slid back into becoming a highly distressed indebted country. We are again dependent on payouts from the IMF, and negotiating national policies and reforms with foreign institutions. Foreign investors have been discouraged by the unstable economic conditions, and by the electricity crisis that has left Ghana with shortages and outages.

--Election 2016--

Akfufo-Addo said when he is power into office, he will do things differently to be able to give our country a solid and sustainable change for the better.

After 60 years, we have run out of excuses for our poverty and slow rate of development. My party is committed to the establishment of the office of a public prosecutor to reassure Ghanaians that decisions about prosecutions are removed from political considerations.

How Ghana manages its oil wealth will determine how we are viewed by the world. But more importantly, it will determine what our people think of our nation. On December 7, Ghana has the opportunity to restore hope and set the country on the path of prosperity.