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The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has responded to criticism of remarks he made during the International Ministerial Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Delivering a speech at the conference on Monday, 7th April, the Minister attributed Ghana’s economic challenges to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
In his address, he stated:
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Recent global challenges, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the unfortunate trade tensions, began as suspicions and have now become a reality. As the popular Ghanaian saying goes, ‘when two elephants fight, it is the grasshopper that suffers.
He further added:
We are fully aware of the challenges we face, and the broader effects of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be overlooked by any country—including Ghana.
The speech has since attracted mixed reactions, with some members of the public accusing the Minister—and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)—of hypocrisy.
Critics argue that the NDC had previously dismissed similar explanations made by the former NPP administration regarding Ghana’s economic difficulties.
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However, in a response posted on Facebook on Tuesday, 8th April, Mr Muhammed dismissed the accusations and criticised his detractors—many of whom he identified as supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)—for what he described as a lack of understanding and deliberate misrepresentation.
He wrote:
I hear our incompetent and corruption-infested friends in the micro minority are saying that I admitted in my speech in Geneva that COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war caused the economic challenges we faced under their watch, in an attempt to justify how grossly incompetent they were in managing the economy of Ghana.
I do not know whether to cry or laugh. Even in their attempts to lie, they demonstrate crass incompetence.
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Clarifying his position further, the Minister stated:
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For the sake of emphasis, let me be very clear: we have never claimed that these two incidents had no effect on the global economy or on Ghana. What we rejected was the attempt by the former administration to use them as a blanket excuse for their poor economic management.
As of now, Mr Muhammed’s remarks continue to fuel debate on social media.