A lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) and an economist, Professor Bokpin, has objected to the finance minister’s claim that the economy is gradually stabilizing and on the path of recovery following a positive progress.
According the renowned economist, the economy is showing little signs of recovery and is grappling to function normally.
He made these remarks on Joynews on the AM Show on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, where he stated that the funds procured from the IMF bailout have signaled relative stability but it’s too early to conclude that Ghana is out of the economic crisis.
“With the approval of the IMF -supported programme, particularly with the inflow of the $600 million, and then also some of the fiscal consolidation measures that we are implementing, we’ve seen some relative stability, but it’s too early to say that we are out of the woods.
“It’s too early because the economy actually is not in full gear. You only say you have turned the corner when the economy is in full gear and all the variables are turning in the right direction. For now, the economy is not in full gear because we are not meeting all our commitments, to all our stakeholders optimally,” Prof. Bokpin noted.
Prof. Bokpin attributed government’s arrears to its contractors including the School Feeding Program and Independent Power Producers signals that the economy has not recovered yet and more work needs to be done.
“You cannot say the numbers are turning out good because the economy is responding fully. No, your economy is not in full gear. If you have suspended certain key things, for which reason you are seeing some stability, you could not conclude that you have turned the corner.
“Of course, we can see some relative stability and all of that, but the whole architect of the economy is not in operation. So, you want to be very careful how you interpret that signal,” he remarked.
His comment comes on the back of the Finance Minister’s assertion that the economy is on course to recovery and gradually stabilizing following Ghana’s Ghana’s successful bail out of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Source: ghanaweb.com
