Government Economic Management Team Holds First Public Meeting in Accra

General News on Thursday, April 4, 2019

Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

2019-04-04

More than 500 identifiable stakeholders and groups participated in the historic meeting with the Government Economic Management Team in Accra.

The meeting, which is the first of its kind of all the EMTs of the Fourth Republic, has not only allowed citizens to become familiar with the functioning of the EMT, but it has also updated citizens on what to do. They have done these last two years.

Nicknamed "The Town Hall Meeting of the Economic Management Team", this event marked the beginning of a series of City Hall meetings organized by the Ministry of Information for the Ministry of Finance. ;year.

The theme was "Our Goal, Our Status, Our Future" and would be held in 24 different locations, including one at the Dominion Center in North London.

The EMT is a nine-member team chaired by Vice President Alhaji, Dr. Mahammudu Bawumia. The other members are Mr. Ken Ofori Atta, Minister of Finance, Anthony Akoto Osei, Minister of Control and Evaluation, Mr. Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Peter John Amewu, Minister of Finance, Energy and Mr. John Alan Kyerematen, Minister. trade and industry.

Others are Mr. Gyan Baffour, Minister of Planning, Mr. Yaw Osarfo Maafo, Prime Minister and Professor Joe Amoako Tuffuor, Secretary of the EMT.

Addressing participants, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia said it was an opportunity to share some of the progress made so far and the way forward for the country's economy.

He said that the state of the economy that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) inherited was a difficult economy and that economic management was at the heart of the recurring economic difficulties of the country.

Mr. Bawumia, who is also at the head of the EMT, said that in 2012, the economy had a budget deficit of 12.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with 11.7% in 2011 and 9.6% in 2016.

"We recall that during this period, for the first time in Ghana's history, there was a double-digit budget deficit three years in a row and plunged into a deep fiscal chasm. Debt accumulation has started, debt service has become heavy, inflation has risen and the external trade balance has deteriorated, "he said.

Despite these difficult conditions, the competent economic management team has managed to reverse the trend over the past two years and the country has successfully emerged from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) extended facility program.

Boosting the depreciation of the currency, Bawumia blamed the IMF's conditions imposed on the country, pointing out that "the most important cause and the closest to the recent depreciation is the inconsistency". in the time of an earlier action of the IMF on the purpose of reserves. "

At the end of January 2019, as part of the seven prior actions to join the IMF's board of directors and the completion of the IMF program, Ghana was given seven conditions to complete it. .

"One of the conditions for the Bank of Ghana was to increase its net international reserves to the level of December 2018. However, increasing net international reserves meant that the Bank of Ghana could not sell any foreign exchange. market. They basically had to keep their hands on their backs and could not intervene in the market during this particular period, "he added.

According to him, this has led to a demand for foreign currency outstripping supply, as the central bank is not able to intervene by injecting more dollars.

The Vice-Chair concluded that even though the country had not yet left the wood, its management of the economy had been much better than that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and called for Ghanaians support the government in this direction. .

"We are changing the country and we have a clear plan that we follow. It can be said that the future of Ghana under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is promising. In terms of GDP growth, we have performed better than we inherited. With regard to agricultural and industrial growth, inflation and depreciation, we performed better, "he said.