Ghana’s economy not strong; we need to do more – Mahama

Former President John Dramani Mahama has observed that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the Ghanaian economy.

He said the local economy, just as in other countries, is still fragile and more needed to be done to deal with the weaknesses.

Mr Mahama in a statement said : “It is predicted that this pandemic and the disruption of global trade and economic activity will adversely affect the economies of developing countries. Ghana is no exception. The fast track approval by the IMF of the highly concessional Rapid Credit Facility is therefore timely and very welcome. This will help cushion the economy from the dangers of recession.

“Our economy has revealed from this Covid stress test that it is still fragile and we need to be prudent in how we manage going forward. We must also be diligent in how we apply the $1 billion facility as the various tranches are released.

“We face significant pressure on our local currency, declining domestic revenues, a slowdown in GDP growth, increase in deficit to GDP of between 8% to 9%, ballooning debt which is projected to hit almost 70% by end year.

“This scenario requires that we exercise strict prioritization in our borrowing and expenditures and this might be the right time for the President to consider trimming down the bloated size of his government.”

He added : “At this crucial time, the most critical need of our health workers is the supply of PPEs. When I donated PPEs to health facilities in the various regions, I advocated the need for government to urgently supply adequate PPEs to protect our health workers. I further requested that our national strategic medical stock ensures items such as PPEs and other vital logistics are in place well in advance of outbreaks.

“ The initiative to have local manufacturing companies produce PPEs is welcome and must be speeded up. This can be done, and we must kickstart the efforts.”