Economic challenges are short-term – Prez Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has described the seeming economic decline as “short-term”.

He said his government is counting on all development partners “to help us overcome the short-term challenges”.

President Mahama made these known on Tuesday, February 11, 2014 in an interaction with the United Kingdom’s International Development Minister, Lynne Featherstone.

According to the president, help from the development partners will help “maintain the balance in terms of investment and in terms of pro-poor interventions”.

“Because often when the squeeze comes, resources for pro-poor interventions are sacrificed for the more statutory payments like wages and salaries and so on,” he explained.

The current economic crisis has seen a sharp depreciation of the country’s currency, the Cedi.

In promising aid from the UK, Ms Featherstone asked for more gender-prone policies.

“I am also looking at gender equality – which will not surprise you – to see what more we might do to help girls achieve their potential and to deal with violence against women,” she said.

Accompanying the International Development Minister were British High Commissioner to Ghana Peter Jones and Private Secretary Tara Soomro.

Present during the interaction at the Flagstaff House were the Executive Secretary to the President, Dr Raymond Atuguba, Senior Policy Coordinator at the Office of the President, Dr Sulley Gariba and both presidential staffers Dr Clement Apaak and Dr Kpessa Whyte.