UG economist scores 70% government

Company News of Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Source: dailyguideafrica.com

2018-11-28

The new Patriotic Party (NPP) government has received 70 percent approval from a professor of economics at the University of Ghana (UG) for its performance in managing the Ghanaian economy.

Priscilla Twumasi-Baffour, who was part of a Joy FM discussion yesterday to badess the performance of the current government, paid tribute to the NPP administration, chaired by President Akufo-Addo.

The seasoned economist has attributed 70% of the current administration's results to the management of key macroeconomic indicators such as economic growth and interest rates, the performance of different sectors of the economy. Economy and initiatives taken by the government.

She observed that non-oil growth in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) of the economy was not doing bad either.

According to her, "we are currently operating with the extended World Bank credit facility we subscribed to in 2015."

Dr Twumasi-Baffour explained that "in the program we were struggling because we needed to stabilize the macroeconomic environment, we needed credibility for politics and basically supported the significant Cedi depreciation at that time. ".

She added that "when you look at the trajectory of GDP at that time, we grew by 4% in 2014, 3.8% in 2015 and 3.7% in 2016. In the era of nuclear power plants in 2017, growth was 8.4% and projected growth for end 2018 was 6.3%. So, looking at these numbers, I will say that we are on the right track. "

She stressed, however, the need for the government to be more disciplined in terms of spending in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

She stressed that "we will have to be more disciplined to consolidate the gains that have been made so that we do not return to the IMF to bail out on behalf of Ghana, beyond the mere description of the badistance provided. by the president, taking our own destiny. in our hands and manage our affairs well »

Twumasi-Baffour urged the government to address revenue shortfalls and budget slippages, and cautioned against overly ambitious revenue targets and, hence, spending of funds.

Professor George Yaw Gyan-Baffour, Minister of Surveillance, who also participated in the discussion, explained why the 51 plants promised at the end of 2017 had not been completed.

"When the government announced that it was going to open 51 factories, it was not said that at the end of the year, we could go and that the factories would produce …" , he explained. He added that factories "do not go up overnight".

Professor Gyan-Baffour said: "You start by identifying where to set up the plant, you need to have access to the road, ensure the supply of electricity and even sometimes import raw materials."

He added that these variables may be what worries people, but the government is determined to carry out the project and will do the same.

"I'm sure in the next two years. you will see some of these factories running. I do not think this is an impossible goal, "he added.