“Almost everybody is feeling the brunt of the current economic hardship driven mainly by food inflation, high fuel prices, callous taxes among others. It goes without saying that parents and households are suffering, public sector workers are suffering, teachers are suffering and teacher trainees are suffering. Nurses are suffering and nursing trainees are suffering. Lecturers are suffering and students are suffering. Market women are suffering and drivers are suffering. NABCO trainees whose fate is unknown are suffering. Police officers are suffering. Even you journalists are suffering and all Ghanaians are suffering- all because of the bad leadership of the Bawumia-led Economic Management Team”. The National Communications Officer of the biggest opposition party, Mr Sammy Gyamfi, said at a press conference on Wednesday, 3 August 2022 in Accra. Read Full Details: A PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE NDC ON WEDNESDAY, 3RD AUGUST, 2022. THE AKUFO-ADDO/BAWUMIA GOVERNMENT MUST ADDRESS WORSENING ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY NOW! Good afternoon, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen of the press. We graciously welcome you once again to the Headquarters of the National Democratic Congress, as we consider it another privileged opportunity to engage with you on issues of concern to our nation. As always, we are grateful for the continuous collaboration we enjoy from you in the fourth estate of the realm and we consider you very valuable partners in our collective quest for accountability and good governance. Our engagement with you today will focus on the ever-worsening living conditions of the Ghanaian people and the insensitive handling of same by the duty bearers of our country. Friends from the media, you would all agree with me that we are not in normal times in Ghana and that all of us assembled here today, including you in the media are finding it difficult to live your normal lives. Indeed, it is more difficult to hew water out of a rock or perhaps for the camel to pass through the eye of the needle, than for one to make ends meet in Ghana today. However hard you try, or have mastered the art of living, the economic realities of Ghana today will certainly overwhelm you. Cost of living today is unbearable, leading to many individuals and households going hungry, broken marriages and many falling further below the poverty line. Cost of doing business has gone off the roof, leading to the suffocation of many businesses. The point has to be made here ladies and gentlemen, that general hardships per se are not a new phenomenon in our country. However, the current economic hardships Ghanaians are experiencing today are unprecedented in their scale, and unbearable in their impact. Today, the Consumer Price Index which is the barometer for measuring inflation or changes in the prices of goods and services, and all other known economic indicators point to the fact that we are not in normal times. Yet, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumiah government, is not minded to provide relief for the suffering masses. Government has neither demonstrated any sensitivity towards the Ghanaian people who are at the receiving end of this intolerable hardship, nor shown any acumen or ability to ameliorate the untold economic hardships. Alas, to borrow the words of one of Africa’s famous novelists, Chinua Achebe, the center cannot hold, things continue to fall apart, as continuous economic hardship is unleashed on the Ghanaian people on a daily basis. Distinguished friends from the media, at this juncture, it bears painting a picture of the current state of our economy in order to put the issues into their proper perspective. I therefore invite you to come with me on a journey of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia economic reality of today. HIGH INFLATIONFriends from the media, the most reliable indicator of the average change in prices of goods and services over a period of time is the rate of inflation. As we speak, inflation rate which stood at 15.4% in December 2016, has galloped to a whopping 30% as at June 2022. This inflation rate is the worst in the sub-region and in fact the worst inflation rate Ghana has recorded in the last nineteen (19) years. One would have thought that this mid-year period would have at least presented Government with an opportunity to take steps towards arresting the ever-rising inflation rate we are currently experiencing. Sadly, however, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta only last week presented the 2022 Mid-year budget Review Statement to the august House of Parliament in which he projected an end of year inflation rate of 28.5%. What this means is that, President Akufo-Addo and his vice Alhaji Bawumia, ably supported by their Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, have given up on arresting the current trend of inflationary pressures and have instead thrown their hands up in despair. Simply put, the suffering and excruciating economic hardships we are reeling under will continue to persist for the rest of the year with no end in sight. To be projecting an end of year inflation rate of 28.5% under the current rebased economic regime underlines the crass incompetence, cluelessness and uselessness of the Economic Management Team chaired by the Vice President, Alhaji Bawumia. Sadly, while the Akufo-Addo government continues to pay lip service to this problem of rising inflation, it is at the same time offering very little in terms of leadership, vision and proactive steps to address the push factors of inflation. Friends from the media, it is trite knowledge, even to the uninitiated, that the main factors pushing up inflation and to a large extent, the economic hardships we are experiencing today, are the exchange rate, fuel prices, payments, among others. A government’s handling of these three (3) things largely influences its ability to stabilize inflation, improve general economic wellbeing, among others. And so, to these factors, we now turn attention. FUEL PRICESDistinguished men and women of the inky fraternity, fuel price hikes today have become a frequent occurrence, with prices going up at the pumps