Former Deputy Finance Minister and Member of Parliament for Obuasi West, Kwaku Kwarteng, has challenged President John Dramani Mahama to pursue tough economic reforms without worrying about electoral backlash.
Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday, January 8, and monitored by NR News, Mr Kwarteng rejected the idea that enforcing fiscal discipline or holding taxpayers accountable would erode public support for the government.
He said President Mahama is in a rare position to push through long-delayed reforms but has so far failed to signal any decisive policy shift.
According to Mr Kwarteng, major expenditure pressures, particularly the public sector wage bill and interest payments remain largely untouched, leaving the impression that government is operating on a “business as usual” path.
“The suggestion that once you are tough, once you go after people who pay their taxes, once you rein in expenditure, you are going to lose an election, I do not believe that,” he said. “President Mahama is in a unique position to do the reforms I am calling for.”
He added that there has been no clear articulation of policy changes to rein in Ghana’s biggest spending items. “If you look at the wage bill and interest payments, what are the policy positions or changes the government is pursuing? So far, I have not seen much.”
Mr Kwarteng urged the President to seize the moment and implement the difficult decisions Ghana has postponed for years.
“If we cannot discuss clear changes, then it is very much business as usual. You are not coming back, please deploy the hard decisions this country has needed for so long,” he said.
