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The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been afflicted by a cognitive condition which we proceed to label Post-Budget Traumatic Syndrome (PBTS).

We arrived at this observation after studying the effects of battle experience on soldiers in the great wars of the world. Veterans of these wars show conditions which are manifested by strange behaviors such as hallucinations, screaming and the shouting of battle orders when there are no duels.

The NDC might not be posting similar symptoms but they are behaving bizarrely in the aftermath of the electoral battle with the NPP; the embarrassing defeat affecting them badly – their cognitive faculty especially warped. With the mantle of leadership now firmly in the hands of their political arch-rivals, their expectation is for the NPP to commit blunders which under the circumstances they can use against them.

Things have not gone according to expectation as the NPP administration continues to make inroads on the political plane through the gradual implementation of their manifesto promises.

Even when they questioned the ability of the NPP to make good their promise of implementing a free SHS programme, it turned out that no sooner than they assumed the leadership of the country than the project was operationalised to their chagrin.

The symptoms of the condition they are suffering currently is characterized by a medley of questions ranging from how government is going to make up for what, in their estimation, is the shortfall in the electricity revenue to how the free SHS is going to be sustained.

They would demand from government factors which led to its decision to review downward taxes pertaining to petroleum products. Much as some of the posers do not make sense they are suggestive of a party afflicted by a condition.

It sounds strange for an opposition party to express opprobrium when the cost of utilities are reduced in consonance with the promises made by government before assuming leadership of the country.

In his budget statement, the Finance Minister did not issue a fiat to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to adhere to immediately yet the NDC are pointing at the contrary.

Although there is no reason to doubt that the PURC would carry out the recommendation of government, the latter nonetheless must conduct its relationship with the agency according to law. Herein therefore lies the reason government only recommended to it to consider a downward review.

The double standard the NDC continues to exhibit is appalling: when they were in government they could direct the PURC to adjust upward costs of utilities. Today they are using a different brush for the painting work. That is a mark of an opposition in disarray.

We have learnt that in working on the details of the budget as they did with the implementation of the free SHS, government considered many factors and scenarios before taking the stride. The sustainability of the reduction and its possible long term impact on the services were definitely considered before the announcement to the good of this country.

For the NDC to be posing such silly questions is to suggest that the economic management team of the country do not know what they are about. They are better managers of the economy and it is showing glaringly. Close the loopholes and stop the open thievery from the state coffers by government appointees and you can easily reduce the cost of utilities among others and launch a free SHS programme across the country. That is the difference between good governance a bad one.