The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Yohane Amarh Ashitey, has advised former president John Dramani Mahama to uphold his stature as a statesman and refrain from spreading falsehoods and ambiguity.
In a statement shared on social media, Ashitey emphasized that the words of the former president carry significant weight, and therefore, making baseless allegations could undermine Ghana’s reputation.
“Former President John Mahama must stop shooting off his mouth anyhow at the least opportunity because not only does that undermine his own credibility, it undermines the peace and cohesion of our country,” the MCE wrote.
Ashitey’s remarks come in response to Mahama’s recent assertion that Ghana is the most indebted country globally.
Mahama purportedly made this claim while addressing the Omanhene of Wiaso, citing Ghana’s alleged USD 31 billion debt to China.
The MCE pointed out that a simple internet search would reveal that countries like the United States, Japan, and Germany have far greater debts than Ghana.
He highlighted Mahama’s tendency to make unsubstantiated claims, referencing previous instances where the former president alleged that Ghanaian students performed poorly in the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and claimed to have been denied his post-presidential benefits, both without sufficient evidence.
“Ghana indeed does owe China USD31.1 billion and is the country with the
most debt to China among indebted poor countries, but it is not true that Ghana is the country with the highest debt in the world
“All he had to do was google it, and he would know that the United States owes over 34 trillion dollars, Japan owes over 9 trillion dollars, and even Germany owes over 2.4 trillion dollars. Ghana does not even owe anywhere near 100 billion dollars, so how can we be the most indebted country in the world?” he wrote.
“This was the same John Mahama who claimed that Ghanaian children write a
substandard version of the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination
(WASSCE) without any proof, and also told the public that he had been denied his
benefits as a former president, even though this has since been debunked with hardcore documentary evidence,” he said.
“So please, Mr. former President, please stop lying to Ghanaians,” he added.