Ofori-Atta fears for Ghana’s economy if. . .
Minister of Finance Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta has rallied support from all stakeholders to sustain the gains made over the past few days in recovering the country’s economy from collapse.
He said the launch of the debt exchange programme coupled with the signing of the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is what has led to a rebound of the Cedi the past week.
“While accommodating the input of stakeholders, we must do all we can to sustain the gains made from these initiatives, keeping in sight the urgency of obtaining IMF board approval in Q1 2023,” Mr Ofori-Atta said on Monday, December 19 in a broadcast to update Ghanaians on the state of the economy.
“The cost of this not succeeding will be too huge for our economy.”
Mr Ofori-Atta was speaking on the back of the marginal appreciation of the local currency.
Though there has been controversy over the recently launched Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the Finance Minister said te launch of that policy has also contributed significantly to the rebound of the Cedi.
He, therefore, called on Parliament to support the government in getting the Appropriations Bill passed to cement government efforts to saving the economy from deterioration.
For him, the mistakes of 2022 must not be repeated.
Mr Ofori-Atta’s address on Monday comes a day after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo indicated that the recent appreciation of the local currency is not by chance.
President Akufo-Addo stressed that the Cedi appreciation is as a result of strategic efforts by government with the help of the Bank of Ghana.
“The strengthening of the Cedi has not happened by chance but through the implementation of deliberate policies by government in collaboration with the Bank of Ghana,” he said during the centenary celebration of the Ga Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in Accra on Sunday, December 18.
“These include Cedi liquidity tightening measures resulting in the offloading of forex as stalled value by speculators, the improvement of forex inflows from remittances and the mining sector and the reaching of the staff level agreement with the IMF for a 3 billion US Dollar package.
“All these have combined to bring the Cedi to this position and I can assure you that government will continue to work hard to maintain and sustain the gains made.”
Leave A Comment