The Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has revealed that Unilever Ghana has decided to relocate its tea production operations to Nigeria due to the ongoing economic challenges in Ghana.
During his response to President Akufo-Addo’s 2024 State of the Nation address, Dr. Ato Forson expressed concern that other companies might also relocate due to the country’s current economic downturn, emphasizing the need for Ghanaians to be worried about this trend.
“Again, Mr Speaker, Unilever Ghana, which has for a very long time been producing its famous Lipton tea in Ghana, has stopped its tea production here. Unilever has relocated its tea production to Nigeria.”
“We have lost jobs by exporting the Lipton tea production to Nigeria. This is bad news for Ghanaian employees!.”
“Again, Mr Speaker, Unilever Ghana has not been able to commence its Pepsodent production in Ghana after President Akufo-Addo commissioned the plant, five years ago. This is as a result of the worsening business environment.”
As a former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. Ato Forson’s remarks highlight the growing apprehension about Ghana’s economic stability and its impact on local businesses.
Dr. Ato Forson expressed disappointment with the government’s performance and predicted that it would be remembered as the least successful in Ghana’s history.
“Never in the history of Ghana was a government so hyped up, with massive goodwill and huge fiscal space enough to transform our country as this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. Yet, this government and the NPP have gone down as the worst-performing government in the history of Ghana!
“Mr Speaker, I can say without any doubt that President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia who promised to transform Ghana within 18 months have been a monumental failure. They promised heaven but delivered hell! Mr Speaker, deep down in the hearts of members of the NPP, including my colleagues on the opposite side, they accept that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has been an unmitigated disaster!”
He criticized the government for the chaos it has caused, highlighting that the nation’s economic situation is vastly different from the positive image portrayed by the President during the SONA.
“Each time President Akufo-Addo gets the opportunity to tell the people of Ghana about how he and his government got us into this mess, he chooses to bury his head in the sand, like the proverbial ostrich. President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia pretend not to see the mess that they have created. They still live in a bubble of denial over the true state of Ghana today.
“Hon. Speaker, Parliament remains a House of record, and the record must reflect nothing but the true state of our nation. Our reality today stands in sharp contrast with the glossy picture the President depicted to the people of Ghana.”