A Deputy Communications Officer for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Ako Gunn has expressed disappointment in the 2022 State of the Nation’s Address (SONA) delivered on Wednesday, March 30.
According to him, the NDC together with most Ghanaians were not too expectant of anything from the President because the presidency had already postponed the SONA three times.
In his view, the postponement discouraged him and gave him the impression that the president was ill-prepared and had nothing positive to tell Ghanaians about the country’s socio-economic state.
“We were not expecting a lot from him [the president] and truly he lived up to expectation. When we say State of the Nation’s Address, we don’t mean come and give us the future State of the Nation. It is not in the SONA that you come to tell us what you will do in 2022”, he criticized on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofoↄ Morning Show.
Meanwhile, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu has also said the SONA did not reflect the true conditions of Ghanaians.
Reacting further to the president Akufo-Addo’s address, Mr. Ako Gunn said blaming Ghana’s economic woes on the Russia – Ukraine war which began barely 45 days ago was a message of despair.
“The president blamed economic hardship on Covid and the Russian-Ukraine war…Government is saying that due to the tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Ukraine is not buying our manganese which is denying the economy some funds…These are things that is not giving anybody any hope”, he said in Twi.
He therefore declared that he finds it difficult to agree with the president when he tells Ghanaians to tighten their belt regarding the hardship hitting meanwhile, he and his government are probably not even wearing any belt.
A Fiscal Policy Analyst, Dr. Alex Ampaabeng also believes that the hardships being faced by Ghanaians were not tackled in the president’s address.
