Akufo-Addo takes swipe at critics of macroeconomic figures

President Akufo-Ado has dismissed assertions that macro-economic figures or data does not make much difference in the lives of Ghanaians if it does not reflect in the pockets of the citizens.

Speaking to the press for the third time since assuming the highest position of the land, the President said macroeconomic figures are a very important benchmark in measuring the performance of the economy and generally the wellbeing of the people.

“People are talking about the macroeconomic fundamentals, they are not just statistics, they are not just data for data sake, they are statistics that have significance in the lives of the people”, the President stressed, adding: “High rate of inflation are not just statistics, they reflect in what happens in your pocket, they reflect in your ability to handle issues in your daily living”.

“So, how have we fared? For instance, the rate of average inflation for this year is somewhere 8.3 8.4%... it is a significant improvement in the figure we inherited in 2016”, the President asserted.

Continuing, Mr Akufo-Addo was proud that the fiscal deficit has been brought down to 4.5% of GDP, from the 9.3% the government inherited in 2017, adding: “This year’s budget has come in the wake of legislation that is capping by law, the fiscal deficit of 5.0%. Possibly, the management of the economy is in such a way that we are able to meet that statutory mark.”

He emphasised that: “Our economy is projected to be among one of the fastest growths in the world and over the last three years, it has been in an average growth of 7.0 per cent. So, that expansion, that space, is beginning to take place”.

The President said: “We now have a current account balance which is positive, part of it is having an impact, even on interest rates. All of us know that interest rates in our country have been a prohibitive one or the major stumbling block to the growth of Ghanaian economy. The 28% per cent we inherited are now about 15.4%. They need to come down even further to make Ghanaian business competitive.”