The economic challenges of Ghana and Africa at large have been longtime compounding issues largely due to unfair and bias Breton Woods economic policies
“The Western World, international organizations such as World Bank, IMF and global credit ratings with the sole purpose of controlling the resources and undermining the economic and financial freedom of Ghana and the African Countries have been contributory.
“The policies and economic solutions of World Bank and IMF always turn Ghana, African Countries and Third World into borrowers. Any attempt to get out of their trap will attract negative ratings and unfair comments from their officials”, Kojo Razak Opoku, a member of the New Patriotic Party, said this in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday.
The statement said President Akufo-Addo’s Government inherited poor economic indicators coupled with galamsey, energy crisis, exchange rate crisis, unemployment due to IMF conditionalities.
It said between 2017 and 2019, before the global COVID-19 pandemic, President Akufo-Addo’s Government had effectively and efficiently managed the Ghanaian economy by improving the indicators of the economy such as bringing down policy rate from 26 per cent to around 13 per cent, 15 per cent inflation rate to around 9-10 per cent.
It said a lot of resources were invested by Akufo-Addo’s Government to minimize the spread of Galamsey and saved the banking/financial sector.
“Akufo-Addo’s Government successfully solved the energy crisis and took Ghana out of IMF Programme thereby opening up employment in the public sector.
“Alongside solving those problems, Government also successfully rolled out programmes such as NEIP, 1D1F, Planting for food and jobs, 1 Constituency 1 Ambulance, roads/infrastructure across the country, Free SHS Policy, restoration of allowances for teachers and nursing trainees.
“All these were successfully ongoing simultaneously until the economy came under stress largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated protocols and restrictions including lockdown and closing of all the borders of the country.”
It said during this period of COVID-19, free food, free electricity and free water were provided by Akufo-Addo’s Government to Ghanaians for several months, a novelty that even Europe, UK, China, USA and other countries couldn’t provide for their citizens.
“This strategy by Akufo-Addo’s Government helped to save life of millions of Ghanaians including children and pregnant women.
“Even before COVID-19 pandemic, the USA, UK, China and other developed countries were struggling with the management of their respective economies. However, the COVID-19 made matters worst than before affecting the economy of every country including the developed countries.”
It said Government’s decision to preach and adopt “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda posed serious threat to the World Bank and IMF usual influences and hijacking of the economic sovereignty of Ghana since independence, and this has pushed the representatives of World Bank and IMF to Ghana to join the noise and bandwagon of the NDC to criticize Akufo-Addo’s Government simply because President Akufo-Addo has made a conscious determination to rely on homegrown strategy and policies to address the concerns of Ghana’s economy instead of going to the World Bank and IMF for economic bailout.
“Under Akufo-Addo’s Presidency, Ghana shall certainly overcome the current challenges, restore macro-stability and reduce the hardships of Ghanaians without seeking financial resources from the World Bank or IMF,” it added.