He questioned how the country would generate the necessary funds through the IMF, emphasising the importance of finding alternative solutions.

Speaking on JoyNNews AM Show, on December 12, he said, “Ghana has records, so the government should go in and extract review.”

Earlier, President-elect Mahama had expressed his intention to renegotiate the terms of an IMF bailout if he wins the December elections.

He also outlined plans to increase local ownership of future oil and mining projects in an effort to strengthen Ghana’s economy.

President-elect Mahama attributed the country’s fiscal difficulties to a combination of factors, including years of excessive borrowing, the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the war in Ukraine, and rising global interest rates.

Ghana’s external debt, which stood at $30 billion in 2022, led to the country defaulting on a significant portion of its obligations. In response, the IMF has already disbursed $1.56 billion to Ghana, with an additional $360 million scheduled for release by December.

However, Mahama stated, “I will seek further IMF assistance to help Ghana resume debt repayments and stabilize the national economy.

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According to him, such a large number of parliamentarians is unnecessary for effective governance.

He argued that despite the presence of 275 MPs, they have failed to perform their duties, which, he believes, reflects a lack of mental capacity among the legislators.

“They don’t have the mental capacity. Maybe they will hear and listen, but they won’t be able to do anything,” he said.

“It makes it worse because there are 275 of them. You could bring in Alibaba, Mark Zuckerberg, or any of these guys, and they could run the whole of Ghana. Yet, you have 275 MPs, and they are still twiddling their fingers, biting their fingernails, and wanting to split this country up by bringing in more people (MPs) because they think more MPs will mean more progress,” he quipped.

Mr. Koranteng was speaking on Joy News’ AM Show on Wednesday, 13th November 2024.

The candidate argued that, in the 21st century, there is no need for so many representatives in the country’s parliament; instead, he believes technology should be prioritized in managing the nation’s affairs.

“In this world of humanoids, robotics, and quantum computing, you don’t need more to get more,” he said.

Mr. Koranteng, who is seeking to be elected president, did not accept that his statement was unacceptable. “The problem is we don’t want to accept the truth,” he said when the host, Benjamin Akakpo, described his comment as a “low blow” to the legislators.

He claimed that if he is elected in the December polls, he will transform the nation into a prosperous one.

In a previous engagement on Joy News, Mr. Koranteng also argued that President Nana Addo and his ministers should be arrested for not doing enough to combat the illegal mining issues plaguing the country.

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Speaking on JoyNews’ News Desk Mr Koranteng expressed frustration with the government’s inability to regulate the influx of earth-moving equipment and control the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining operations.

In a passionate critique, Mr Koranteng questioned the government’s negligence, saying, “Illegal mining is rampant in Ghana. How is it done? Massive machines are tearing up the earth. Who owns these machines? How do they get here? They don’t fly in. They come through the ports. And who controls the ports? The government.”

He continued, “When these machines were entering the country, why didn’t they stop them and ask, ‘What are these machines for?’ A simple tracking system could’ve been put in place to ensure they weren’t used for galamsey. But they didn’t, and that’s gross incompetence.”

Koranteng called for accountability, stating, “The people who should be arrested and jailed are the president and his ministers. They’ve allowed this destruction and violated the rights of the people by letting it continue.”

His comments follow the recent arrest of 44 demonstrators from the #StopGalamseyNow protest by Democracy Hub, which turned violent at the 37 Intersection in Accra on September 22, 2024.

When asked whether he supports a complete ban on all mining activities, Koranteng was unequivocal: “Yes, we need to shut down the entire industry.

“Stop, reset, and shut it down because it’s killing us. These governments have no control, and they’ve proven it.”

Mr Koranteng concluded by asserting that the government’s failure to manage the illegal mining crisis demonstrates a lack of leadership, calling for a new approach that prioritises environmental protection and the well-being of Ghanaians.

His comments come as illegal mining continues to devastate parts of the country, with rising demands for stricter regulations and more effective enforcement.

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He said this on the Joy News Desk on October 2, while outlining how his government would deal with the menace if he is voted into power on December, 7.

On the show, Mr. Koranteng described the NPP government as incompetent and as a result incapable of managing and controlling the mining sector.

He promised that should he become President of Ghana, illegal mining and all activities related to it would be banned completely.

He said, “This government is so ridiculously incompetent and we cannot forgive them. When somebody goes out to protest too, you have the audacity to arrest them. Hey! Do you understand? The people who should be arrested are the president and his ministers…

He expressed his disapproval of the arrest of protesters who joined the #StopGalamseyNow protest organised by the Democracy Hub, describing it as unfair.

“What is the most valuable item on earth? Not the human being? And you are injecting lethal synthetic pharmaceuticals and they respond because they can’t take it anymore and you arrest them. The nerve you have to arrest them. Release them immediately because you are irresponsible and incompetent. You must be in jail,” he roared, “This is ridiculous. You’re killing us, they respond and you arrest them. Are you out of your mind? This is so upsetting.”

Having expressed his disappointment in the government’s inability to curb the menace, backing calls for a total ban on galamsey by the government.

He said, “We need to without doubt shut down the whole industry, stop, and reset. We need to shut it down because it is killing us. Immediate ban on everything related to galamsey because obviously, this government does not have control. Do they have control?”

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According to him, the root issue is not galamsey itself, but rather a failure in leadership.

He argued that both major political parties have worsened the problem rather than resolving it.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on September 7, he said, “We have never had a galamsey problem. We don’t have a galamsey problem. It is leadership that has failed. It is not galamsey that is bad.”

Mr Kwarteng highlighted that the problem has persisted through both the NPP and NDC administrations and has only intensified over time.

“This government or the NDC government will not solve the galamsey problem. They cannot, they will not. They will talk and kiss and hug the problem but they will not solve it. These are two criminal entities who have taken over Ghana.”

“People are dying from the levels of toxicity in our foods and water. The tubers absorb the acid and the mercury and all the other heavy metals.”

According to the presidential candidate, all attempts to address galamsey, including protests, is ineffective.

“We are at the point where the cancer has metricized.  It is full blown cancer beyond the fourth stage. Its terminal and at this point, no amount of chemotherapy will help, no amount of radiation will help. Maybe we could go in and take out the tumor. Our only solution is the right leadership,” he said.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

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According to him, many individuals live in adverse poverty despite the nation being rich in natural resources.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, he explained that government’s inability to establish industries to process the country’s resources has contributed to Ghana’s indebtedness.

“We are in a crisis. GH₵740 billion of debt, we have no industries. I know that Ghana Statistical Service gave us a little pat on the back that we had a trade surplus of about GH₵ 5.3 billion in 2023 but it is a deceptive trade surplus,” he said on August 24.

He explained that this was deceptive because there were no industries, 43% of households were classified as multidimensionally poor. Thus, these individuals could not afford the basic necessities of life; housing, clothing, healthcare, good food and water.

Mr Koranteng said it is worrying that despite Ghana exporting huge quantities of gold and cocoa, there is nothing to show for it.

Again, in the area of food security, he said rather than heavily investing in farm aces to grow food for the nation, Ghana still buys food stuff from Burkina and Niger.

This, he argued proves that government’s policies including Planting for Food and Jobs have failed.

However, he assured that when offered the political mandate, these issues would be a thing of the past.

Source: Myjoyonline.com

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Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, he stated that the allegations levelled against him by the EC were only used to kick him out of the system during the elections.

“The system is not credible. It’s the same system that got me disqualified when I hadn’t done anything. It pushed me to the bottom and said, hey, listen, you forged signatures. I didn’t forge any signatures,” he insisted.

“They said ‘you were a criminal’, yet they gave me back my GHS100,000. If I’m a criminal, why give me back my money? If I’m a criminal, why don’t you file a claim at the CID, that Kofi Koranteng is a criminal for forging documents?” he quizzed.

Mr Koranteg said that at the time he reported himself to the CID following the EC’s assurances, however, he was informed by the police no such case had been filed.

“I went there, and they laughed at me and said, ‘Hey, this is the game they play.’ So just to validate that, I did a criminal clearance report that didn’t have anything on it,” he added.

The presidential aspirant believes that the electoral system is not credible and has left many complaining.

“We are campaigning, and the people that we are pitching to are people who are disgruntled, who don’t wanna know about the system anymore because they don’t believe in the system.

“This system that we’re working with is not totally democratic. It’s littered with problems. So this is the kind of gimmick with our whole system that we need to correct.”

The disqualification

Mr Koranteng was among five presidential aspirants who were disqualified by the EC.

Their cases bordered on allegations of forgery of signatures and manufacturing of endorsees which the EC assured will be forwarded to the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further probe.

Following his disqualification, Mr Koranteng filed a suit to challenge the EC’s decision, alleging that his administrative rights under Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution have been violated.

According to him, the Electoral Commission gave him a window of opportunity to re-submit the defective portions of his nomination forms; which he took and re-submitted on October 14, 2020.

He, therefore, expected that the Commission would have given him fair and reasonable treatment as mandated by Article 23 of the 1992 Constitution.

Meanwhile, the Commission’s legal team denied the claim in court. The EC, while responding to the allegation said Mr Koranteng admitting that he resubmitted his form on October 14 puts him out of time.

Subsequently, Kofi Koranteng’s case was dismissed.

The case which was heard at the Human Rights Division 1 of the Accra High Court was dismissed on grounds that the aspirant failed to meet the set deadline for submission of documents to the EC.

However, the disqualified candidate who is obviously not happy about the ruling blamed the outcome on the ruling NPP and opposition NDC.

At the time, Mr Koranteng had said he had been sabotaged by both parties who fear he will amass a majority of the votes cast in the upcoming elections.

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He has described the move by the former Trade Minister as huge and stout to strip himself of all the benefits he enjoys as an NPP stalwart and a founding member.

Alan Kyerematen on Monday 25, September, for the second time, announced his withdrawal from NPP and declared his intention to run as an independent candidate in the 2024 general elections.

His decision follows alleged brutalities and ill-treatments meted out to his agents and supporters at NPP’s recent super delegate conference.

Kofi Koranteng, reacting to this in an interview on Onua TV, praised Mr. Kyerematen, ascribing him as the next gem to think into the future.

”Honestly I didn’t think he was going to be brave enough to make a decision like this to strip himself off of all the benefits he enjoys as an NPP stalwart. As a founding member of NPP to break away is a huge and bold decision. I hope he is equally the next gem to think into the future and I am hoping to have a conversation with him” he said.

In his view, Alan’s breakaway begins a process of disintegrating the NPP as a political party.

Kofi Koranteng who will be contesting the 2024 polls, urged all eligible voters who have Ghana at heart to come on board to enable him to wrestle power and break the duopoly of NDC and NPP.

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According to him, former President John Dramani Mahama was a non-performer, hence cannot be the way forward if the electorate were to vote the NPP out of power.

“If in voting the NPP government out of power we do not find a functional person, we are only creating a vacuum to be occupied by the likes of John Mahama and the NDC.

“John Mahama was a non-performer. He was an abysmal performer at best who did not know what he was doing,” he said.

According to Kofi Koranteng, neither the NPP nor the NDC can save Ghana, as their intentions and actions are the same.

He observed the difference between NDC’s John Mahama and Bawumia or whoever the NPP elects as fragbearer will amount to signing ‘a death warrant’.

“Their track record shows that they are not an option for Ghana. If you leave the frying pan to jump into the fire, you fry still,” he stated.

He further explains that former President Mahama and his policies will only lead the people backward if elected to power.

“From legalizing Okada to selling poultry, is that the future you are leading Ghanaians into? When Dubai has installed air-conditioning systems outdoors and in the streets?” he quizzed.

Mr Koranteng is an entrepreneur who first declared his intention to join the Presidential race in December 2019.

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An independent presidential candidate, Kofi Koranteng, says the appointment of 110 ministers and deputies by President Nana Akufo-Addo is a total waste of state resources.

Mr Koranteng, who made the comment on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Monday, said Ghana only needs just 10 Ministries and 20 ministers.

The Ministries, he noted, include Ministry of Agriculture, Education, Energy, Employment and Entrepreneurial Development, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Justice.

The rest, the presidential hopeful explained, will be downgraded to agencies and departments under the ministries.

Should he win the December polls, the presidential hopeful said he will appoint 20 ministers and their deputies and the civil and public servants will occupy the agencies and departments.

“I will not sack anyone appointed by the erstwhile government rather I will demand they sign performance contract and I will hold them to it,” Mr Koranteng added.

The presidential hopeful said in spite of the many ministries created by successive presidents, Ghana has retrogressed.

This, he stated, is enough attestation that creating more ministries is not the panacea for development in the country.

“I will save a lot of money if we cut down the size of ministers and ministries in the country,” Mr Koranteng stressed.

He was confident Ghana, under his presidency, will see massive growth in all sectors of the economy.

Independent presidential candidate, Kofi Koranteng, has said he will hit the ground running should he win the December general election.

According to him, in his first 100 days in office, he will abolish ex-gratia and amend the 1992 Constitution aimed at fighting corruption and establishing 20, 30, and 50-year National Development Plans.

“Payment of ex-gratia is a drain on state coffers so I will abolish it and review the 1992 Constitution to make my development plan binding on successive governments,” Mr Koranteng stated in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Monday.

His vision is to rebuild Ghana, rejuvenate the flame of independence and nourish the ideas, hopes and dreams of the youth who look forward to the same sustainable standard of living.

To ensure justice for all, the presidential hopeful said the Attorney General’s office will be decentralised for every region to get a Director of Public Prosecution in his first 100 days.

Mr Koranteng said though the task of seeking the high office of the land is challenging, it is achievable.

“Within four years I will change Ghana’s fortunes; there is no magic to this. Just give me the chance,” he said.