Ghana to Take Bold Measures to Tackle Economic Hardship

The Ghanaian Government will implement bold and deliberate decisions in the coming days to deal with the country’s economic crisis.

Ghanaian Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said the ongoing changes in the world economic order, with rising inflations and disruptions in global supply chains, were meant for developing countries.

“Ghana could no longer operate in a business-as-usual mode, but should rapidly pivot and become self-reliant,” Bawumia said at the second edition of the Standard Chartered Digital Banking, Innovation and FinTech Festival in Accra.

The vice-president acknowledged that Ghana was facing an economic crisis that had to be addressed in different dimensions.

According to him, the first and most important issue, which affects confidence in the economy, is to make sure that the West African country has fiscal discipline and debt sustainability.

Ghana has been plagued by soaring inflation, currency depreciation and many other economic challenges in recent months.

In response, the Ghanaian Government embarked on talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July, for a fund-backed economic revitalisation programme.

The government’s negotiation with the IMF for a bailout requires “very bold, difficult, but firm decisions”, Bawumia said.

“I am sure once we conclude those discussions, it will no longer be business as usual because we have to adjust to the new global and domestic realities,” he said. (Xinhua/NAN)