Ghana to benefit from EU Compact - Osafo Maafo

Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo has revealed that Ghana is to benefit from a European Union (EU) Compact.

According to him, the compact was introduced in 2016 for African countries of which Ghana was excluded. However, a National Economic Forum in South Africa provided an opportunity for Ghana to justify its inclusion.

“I was in South Africa on behalf of the Vice President and decided to make a case why Ghana should be there. At the end of the economic forum they decided to change the number from four to five by adding Ghana,” he noted during his concluding remarks on the second day of the National Policy Summit in Accra on Tuesday May 16.

He however noted that “they have expressed a certain doubt about us”.

According to him, it emerged that the international community and Bretton Woods institutions are worried about the “reversibility of Ghana’s economy”.

They cannot fathom how Ghana’s economy performed so well and literally saw a downward trend.

“They could not understand why at a point without oil, the growth of the economy was 9.2 per cent but with oil 3.6 per cent,” Mr Maafo explained.

He indicated that despite all the assurances given, the leaders of the international community were doubtful the managers of the country’s economy would be able to prevent such occurrences.

Mr Maafo therefore pointed out that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government would need to institute strong institutions “to make that kind of reversibility impossible or difficult”.

“You can’t have a situation where you change certain personnel then the whole thing flattens and this can be done through strong institutions,” he admonished.

He stressed that the Nana Akufo-Addo-led government must leave such a legacy that will “make certain things impossible to reverse because those things are good for the country”.