Outspoken Editor-in-Chief of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt says Ghana’s economy has become extremely worse to the extent that even to serve a stranger a chilled bottle of beer, the nation will have to first go for a loan.
According to Mr. Pratt, affording a beer is no more a luxury in Ghana.
To him, Ghana doesn’t have the wherewithal to buy even a bottle of beer for a visting Diplomat or Head of State.
Detailing Ghanaians on the state of the economy, Mr. Pratt was extremely worried about President Akufo-Addo’s governance stressing now, “should a Head of State visit us and is thirsty for beer, we have to borrow before we can buy one bottle of beer”.
He added; “As we talk today, if President of Togo, Faure GnassingbO visits us and wants to drink tea, we have to use loan to make the tea for him. That is the reality. No, but that is the truth. That is how graphic you can paint the picture. When he comes and even desires to eat konkonte, we have to go for loan.”
Aside giving a stranger a bottle of beer becoming a problem for Ghana, Mr. Pratt also lamented that except the country borrows, the President cannot have petrol in his vehicle to move around.
“If an incident has happened at Nima and if the President must move from Flagstaff House to Nima, we can’t buy petrol into his car if we don’t go for a loan. 128 percent of your total national revenue is expended on two-line items; public sector emoluments and debt servicing. How much is left to buy petrol into his (President) car,” he stated.
In his candid opinion, if only Ghana will progress, there must be a change of attitude and better way of managing the economy.