A barrage of questions in a one-on-one talk show before an auditorium audience at the Qatar Economic Forum revealed enormous interest in the affairs of Ghana. The economy was the main focus, and questions raced after each other at the rapidity of eye blinks toward Ghana’s Leader, Nana Akufo-Addo. He sought to calm the wind by promising pragmatic steps to a safe landing in the economic turbulence.
Asked whether his Governing Party, the New Patriotic Party has any chance in the next general elections slated for 7th December 2024, the President said, his government has 19 months to turn things around to impact living standards positively. But then, his questioner pinned him on the enormous task of extrication from currency depreciation, soaring inflation, and the weight of IMF conditions on the fretting population.
The President of Ghana said the IMF bailout is required to restore economic indicators to a good place, out of which Ghana can go back to the international capital market to seek funding for firmness. That runs counter to the position of his critics who say borrowing is no more an option, and that Ghana must look at its own potential of developing an import substitution base whilst driving exports.
Ghana’s Leader said in Qatar that his interest is to bring fiscal deficits to acceptable thresholds and speed up domestic revenue mobilization efforts, all part of the IMF benchmarks. He also spoke about expenditure rationalization which translates as curbing wastage in the system. Industry and trade sectors of the Ghanaian economy had already bared their teeth at the flurry of policies emerging out of the IMF engagement, saying they pose a high risk to business.
Ghana’s IMF appears a necessary evil, with the government seeking to tread the fine line in the carrot-and-stick situation brought about by the latest decisions on the economy. There will be a freeze on employment in the public sector whilst the private sector likely to absorb the backlog faces a new raft of taxes. He said Leadership believes the country will be able to lift up from the stilts onto firmer pillars by the time it is through with the IMF, in a scenario akin to the pain-before-gain formula.
President Akufo Addo was quizzed by Jennifer Zabasajja, a Bloomberg Television correspondent. The Ghana Report has its tabs on the economy and will continue to dilate on aspects of it for the benefit of its cherished patrons.