Get your data right before speaking on the economy – Atuahene to Amin Adam

Dr. Richmond Atuahene, a banking consultant, has said that anyone who wants to speak about the economy should first get the right data.

This comes on the back of the Minister for Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, speaking at a rally in Saboba in the Northern Region, where he disclosed that Ghana is firmly on the path to sustained growth.

“Ghana’s economy has come back to life following the difficulties we faced in the last three years. Macroeconomic stability is fast returning to our country. We all can see the indicators improving by the day,” Amin Adam stated.

Responding to the Minister of Finance’s comments on Morning Starr, Dr. Atuahene said that for the first time in history, Ghana is bankrupt, adding that there’s nothing to celebrate but “poverty.”

According to him, the country currently has a debt of about $55 billion.

“And the multilateral has about $9 billion, the risk factor $13 billion, the domestic debt so much, the energy sector and the rest are not even included.

“The reason being that you don’t have any resources to support your business and you can’t support your foreign exchange as well. So if anybody wants you to celebrate, ask yourself, what am I celebrating?” he said.

The consultant continued that aside from Nigeria, Ghana is the worst country with more than 20% consistent inflation.

“All that you tend to do is be taxing, taxing, and overtaxing without creating an enabling environment. I say this without fear that aside from Nigeria, we are the worst country apparently,” he added.

Dr. Atuahene said the government should be crying and asking for forgiveness instead of saying the economy has turned around “so we should celebrate.”

“If you look at the IMF definition of hyperinflation, Ghana is on that trajectory, so what do we have to celebrate?” he said.

The banking consultant further said he does not know the kind of data the Minister of Finance has that informed him to make that statement.

He advised the Minister of Finance to get his facts and figures right before making such utterances.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know which kind of data he’s having and where he’s coming from. Inflation is way above,” Dr. Atuahene stated.