Coronavirus will not affect our projects with China - Ghana’s Ambassador to China

Ghana’s Ambassador to China, H.E Edward Ambassador Boateng has disclosed that projects between Ghana and China will not be affected by the novel COVID-19 disease.

He made these comments in a Happy FM-led special forum dubbed ‘Sixty Years of Ghana-China Relations: The Impact and Way Forward in the New Normal’.

Some few months ago, some Ghanaians opined that the wake of COVID-19 especially with its root from China will affect economic projects such as the Sinohydro deal between the two countries.

However, H.E Edward Boateng has explained, “So far none of the projects we have with China has been cancelled. It is just going to slow down some of these projects but it will still be done. We are in discussions and the Minister of Finance has had conference calls with NDRC which is the body that oversees Chinese investments outside and it was positive. So I do not see a slow down or cancellation of projects. However, we need to engage in some of these discussions in terms of some of the financial issues”.

The Ambassador likened the world’s current situation to the resetting of a clock and as such all countries need to take advantage of the COVID-19 to do things differently. “It depends on how fast you can run so we also have to take the opportunity that has been offered by COVID-19. I see it as an opportunity to do things differently and to learn how to run faster this time because nobody has an advantage”, he added.

In relation to his illustration, he noted that the meaningful projects that Ghana has with China can go on, but might take a different approach.

“When the clock is reset, it doesn’t mean that things will stop. Things will go on but it will be done differently. We also really need to evaluate our priorities and see what is most important and bring that forward. As far as we are concerned, all the projects that we are working on, yes, some of it has slowed down, we have not met our target but eventually, they will be done”, he emphasized.

On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, announced in Parliament that 2020 was the year of roads as Government was committed to embarking on massive road construction projects.

However, some critics were of the view that the project may not be feasible as COVID-19 hit China; the country that was expected to contribute to the funding of the project through the Sinohydro deal.