Professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, Steve Hanke has once again criticized President Akufo-Addo of absolving himself of any blame over the handling of the Ghanaian economy.
Government has routinely explained that recent economic headwinds are attributable largely to the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the banking sector clean-up.
But Professor Hanke believes President Akufo-Addo has often played the blame game without taking full responsibility over the challenges in the economy which is now seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF), support programme.
In a tweet sighted by, Prof. Hanke in his regular commentary referenced Akufo-Addo’s remarks at the United General Assembly where he indicated that the Russia-Ukraine war has aggravated an already difficult situation for Ghana.
“Every bullet, every bomb, every shell that hits a target in Ukraine, hits our pockets and our economies in Africa,” Akufo-Addo earlier said.
In his reaction, Professor Hanke on September 25 wrote, “When it comes to the source of #Ghana’s economic problems, Pres. Akufo-Addo plays the BLAME GAME. You know, it wasn’t me, it was the guy behind the tree. Today, I measure GHA’s inflation at 83%/year. That’s more than DOUBLE the phony official rate.”
Professor Hanke who has taken a keen interest in the economic issues of Ghana in a separate tweet said Ghana’s economy was tanking – an expression which means the economy is down and there are fears of a recession.
He has in on numerous occasions blamed the Akufo-Addo-led administration for putting the economy in a dire situation.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Statistical Service recently announced that consumer inflation for August 2022 hit 33.9 percent from 31.7% in July, making it the highest rate recorded in 21 years.
See Professor Hanke’s tweet below:
Source: Ghanaweb.com