Vice President John Daramani Mahama has hinted of hard times for Ghanaians as government attempts to shore up what he said is a depleted economy it inherited.

Speaking on Kweku Sintim Misa’s Thank God is Friday the vice president said “Ghanaians will feel emasculated a bit this year and next year,” but promised things will get better.

He maintained the government, then in opposition, underestimated the state of the economy largely due to the lack of transparency by the erstwhile New Patriotic Party government, saying, it was only after entering the corridors of power did they know the deficit was 14 per cent of GDP.

“If we had known the true state of the economy we will probably have put our promises in a time frame” he said.

Under such strangling circumstances, worsened by the global meltdown, John Mahama said his government will try to fulfill campaign promises which are achievable in the short term.

Those that are capital intensive, the vice president reckoned his government will be transparent enough to explain the difficulties, hoping Ghanaians will appreciate the situation.

In line with that, there shall be regular address to Ghanaians on the state of the economy, he said.

Whilst counting on the competence of the ministers, he said, government will reduce the budget deficit from 14 percent to 9 percent and adopt measures that will reduce government expenditure.

With his roots firmly grounded in Nkrumah’s CPP, John Mahama hoped in future the NDC will develop working relationship with what appears to be a withering party.

“There is more that unites the CPP and NDC than divides us” he said, adding it is a “sad mistake” for some Nkrumaist to dislike the NDC because of its founder, Jerry John Rawlings.


Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana