HE President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo affirmed that his country had reached economic stability and the orientation towards growth prior to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which had a catastrophic impact on Ghana’s economy. He revealed that many steps and measures were taken to confront this crisis, which necessitated turning to the International Monetary Fund to confront the repercussions of economic problems that led to high inflation and the return of currency depreciation.
During the second day of the Qatar Economic Forum 2023, His Excellency said that in 2017, his country recorded a growth rate of 3.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), the slowest figure over the past 20 years, which generated indicators going in the wrong direction according to high inflation and interest rates, which led to launching comprehensive reform programs to re-advance the economy.
He pointed out that he positively corrected the paths during his assumption of the presidency in 2017 so that the growth rate increased to 7 percent, the currency stabilized, and interest and inflation rates declined, however, the recent crises have led to a regression of matters due to the catastrophic repercussions that they had on Ghana’s economy.
He noted that the package of reforms recently undertaken by his country will contribute to repositioning the economy and restoring its overall stability, hoping to restore Ghana’s economy to be a sector capable of facing shocks during the coming stages.
He added that his country will do everything it can to provide what is required to prepare successful programs, impose systematic controls on public spending, and provide incentives for the development of investments in the private sector.
Regarding the guarantees provided to the IMF, His Excellency stated that guarantees were provided to the IMF, represented by rationalizing government spending and developing models for domestic income, in addition to enacting a financial law imposed on the state to return rates to what is acceptable in the economy.
He pointed out that financial crises and difficult economic conditions have negatively affected most countries, stressing that Ghana has enough time to adopt a disciplined approach that achieves economic positioning, achieves growth, and eases burdens on the people.
In this regard, he added that Ghana’s politics and economy are open to everyone in the spirit of friendship for anyone who wants to build positive relations with it to achieve real advancement, noting that there are many investors in the private sector looking forward to the possibilities available for the production of chocolate in Ghana, which leaves positive things.
He also noted that Ghana is making great efforts to introduce cocoa into the market, as it does not depend on a single market, as there is a major company in Ghana that has established a production facility in the United States to manufacture chocolate there. He stressed the need to redouble efforts to introduce cocoa, which plays an important role in the chocolate industry, in Asian markets, including India and China.
At the end of his speech, HE President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo affirmed that there are attempts to find support and search for infrastructure to expand the agricultural sector, especially many important crops and plants such as cassava and mango.
Source: Qatar News Agency