Leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party, Gabby Otchere-Darko, has replied Prof. Steve Hanke’s “incessant” commentary on the weakening state of Ghana’s economy.
According to him, the professor from John Hopkins University was sitting behind his computer and typing doom for Ghana.
He mentioned that, ‘I see, I feel how tough things are, especially for the average Ghanaian. I see how tough it is for Govt and the constant struggle to keep bills paid, kids in school, our lights on, etc.
Prof. Steve Hanke had suggested in a tweet that Gabby must be living on a different planet to suggest that the government and Finance Ministry deserved praise for handling of the economy despite an economic crunch.
Gabby’s response dealt with three specific indices his location, his views about the Ghanaian economy and the living conditions of citizens as well as how he approaches the issues at hand.
In response to the ‘living on another planet’ jibe by Hanke, Gabby said in a tweet quoting Hanke’s critique: “I live on the part of this planet called Ghana.”
On the economy, he stated: “I see, I feel how tough things are, especially for the average Ghanaian. I see how tough it is for Govt and the constant struggle to keep bills paid, kids in school, our lights on etc. “I don’t sit far away behind my PC typing doom,” his post concluded.
In Prof. Steve Hanke’s critique of Gabby’s views, he posted a story of Gabby’s government deserves praise claims on Twitter and captioned it thus: “Leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Gabby Otchere-Darko says Pres. Akufo-Addo deserves praise for his handling of the economy.
He added his usual inflation measurement which he said stood at 81%, a figure that is over 100% the official inflation percentage pegged at 33.9%.
The Ghana Statistical Service, GSS, recently announced that consumer inflation for August 2022 hit 33.9% from 31.7% in July.
This is the highest rate recorded in 21 years. According to the GSS, food and transportation were the main drivers of inflation.
Professor Hanke who has taken a keen interest on economic issues in Ghana in a separate tweet said Ghana’s economy was tanking – an expression which means the economy is down and there are fears of a recession.
He has in the past blamed the Akufo-Addo-led administration for putting the economy in a dire situation.
“Ghana is in 8th place in this week’s inflation table. On Sep 8, I measured Ghana’s inflation at a stunning 81% over 2x the official inflation rate of 34.
“Ghana’s economy is tanking and to rein in inflation, Ghana must install a currency board. Today, I measure Ghana’s inflation at 81%. As a result, Ghanaians don’t know the price of anything anymore. When Ghanaians see their grocery bills soar, they can thank Pres. Akufo-Addo,” Prof Hanke added.
