Akufo-Addo upset at rating agencies because he's blocked from borrowing - Lord Mensah

Associate Professor at the Department of Finance of the University of Ghana Business School, Professor Lord Mensah has said President Akufo-Addo’s continuous swipe at credit rating agencies exposes the government.

According to him, President Akufo-Addo’s comments are because of the government’s inability to borrow from the capital market to cover up the non-performance of the economy.

President Akufo-Addo speaking to African leaders at a tribute to the AfriExim bank accused global rating agencies of recklessly downgrading Ghana’s credit rating, effectively compounding the country’s economic woes.

But speaking on Morning Starr with Francis Abban on Tuesday June 20, Professor Lord Mensa says the President and his Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta are only upset because the country has been cut off from the international capital market.

“If you look at the posture of the President and the Finance Minister, clearly it is the accessibility of the capital market that is the problem.

“The capital market deals with confidence that investors will have in your economy. But by word of mouth, say that the rating agencies are being reckless and by doing so it may affect our economic performance is different,” Prof. Lord Mensah disagreed with the President’s statement.

He continued: “We were using the capital market to shadow our non-performance of the economy, that kind of economic management where you go and borrow and come and cover up as if you have dollars meanwhile they are borrowed which you have to pay in the long run and immediately you were blocked from the international market, look are what happened to us.”