Even before President Akufo-Addo publicly declared that Russia’s invasion in Ukraine was having a toll effect on Ghana’s economy, Chairman Wontumi had already expressed the same sentiments.
Chairman Wontumi had been advising Mr. John Mahama and Franklin Cudjoe to desist from making baseless claims about the economy of Ghana without factoring in the war in Ukraine and the emergence of COVID-19.
On 1st March, 2022, Chairman Wontumi in an interview with Movementtvonline.com, stated that the hardships being experienced across the world, was not the creation of the NPP government but rather, a natural occurrence that has been fueled by the outbreak of COVID and recently, the war in Europe.
“I pointed it out last time to Franklin Cudjoe that he is blockheaded when it comes to economics. COVID, the Russia and Ukraine war has created devastating effect for the world and I expect Franklin Cudjoe to say we should opt for E-levy, it would really help the economy of Ghana”, Chairman Wontumi said.
During his State of the Nation Address on 30th March 2022, at Parliament House in Accra, President Akufo-Addo stated that “The economic devastation of COVID has, since the beginning of this year, been further aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has worsened the economic outlook of the entire world.”
“We, in Ghana, have not escaped this development, and the consequences are being felt in rising living costs at our markets and at fuel stations. The terrible events in Ukraine have a direct impact on our lives here in Ghana. Mr Speaker, thirty percent (30%) of our wheat flour and fertilizer imports come from Russia. Sixty percent (60%) of iron rods and other metal sheets are imported from Ukraine, and almost twenty percent (20%) of Ghana’s manganese is shipped to Ukraine. The bombs might be dropping on cities half a world away but they are hitting our pockets here in Ghana. Even so, we have managed to ensure that fuel supplies have not been disrupted, unlike in several other parts of the world.”
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