The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has assured Ghanaians that the Akufo-Addo administration is working hard to ameliorate the hardships they are going through.
The Director of Communications of the NPP, Mr Richard Ahiagbah says the government is taking difficult decision to restore the economy in order to benefit all Ghanaians.
“Misinformation of economic data, & consistently drum it, is the NDC’s strategy. Unfortunately, it does not cover for their lack of policy ideas. The NPP is making the difficult decisions to restore this economy for the benefit of all Ghanaians,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta has said that Ghana is making progress in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate.
This progress, he said, gives the government a solid foundation to confront the challenges ahead.
Addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday September 28, Mr Ofori-Atta indicated that overall, Ghana’s growth outturn of 3.4% and 4.8% in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 respectively, coupled with modest improvements in our fiscal position, suggests the economy is gradually on the upswing despite the numerous shocks that the country has faced over the past two years.
“These figures demonstrate that in spite of recent challenges, there has been economic growth, modest as the gains so far may be.
“This progress gives us a solid foundation to confront the challenges ahead. Undoubtedly, global risks remain on the horizon, including a strengthening US dollar. and higher interest rates which negatively affect external borrowing.
“This development is exerting enormous pressure on our Balance of Payment position, and thus the need for us to expedite our engagement with the IMF.”
He added “Within this context, Government is finalizing its Post-COVID-19 economic programme as the domestic blueprint to engage the IMF.
This document has already benefitted from input from key stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), social partners (Labour unions, employers, and FBOs), academia, industry professionals, and the leadership of Parliament.
“Additional stakeholder engagements will be held to solicit further inputs for the programme.”
Mr Ofori-Atta further explained that since 2020, Ghana’s economy has seen considerable economic uncertainty.
The priority for Government since the COVID-19 episode and the Russia-Ukraine war has been to address macro stability and welfare challenges that confronted the economy.
“Yet we have seen inflation spiral and significant depreciation of our domestic currency that has affected many families and businesses,” he stressed.
“Globally, this development is now being described as the worst global cost of living crisis in 50 years. Specifically, inflation remains high at 33.9% (August 2022), and the cedi has depreciated by 37.1% against the US Dollar as at 27th September 2022.
“Indeed, during the 2022 Mid-Year Budget Review, I highlighted that our present situation was a painful one to report on. We haven’t seen anything like this since August 2001 when the inflation rate hit 33.9%. We are at an important moment in our economic history; and in the context of today’s briefing, it is important to focus on the progress being made to put us firmly on a path of macroeconomic stability.”
Source: 3news.com