Govt would sustain good management of the economy - JAK

Accra, April 4, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday re-affirmed the Government's determination to stay the course of the prudent economic policies, which have helped to put the economy on the platform of stability.

"We pledge ourselves to sustain the good management," he told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in Ghana, Madam Alphecca Muttardy, when she called on him at the Castle, Osu, to bid him farewell.

She is leaving for the Fund's Headquarters after a two-year duty tour of the country.

President Kufuor said the Government was appreciative of the understanding and co-operation of IMF particularly at the time hard decisions such as joining the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and the petroleum pricing were taken.

"You stood by us and encouraged us to pull through the HIPC completion point, which subsequently earned us, substantial debts write off."

The out-going IMF Resident Representative commissioned some work to be done to determine the country's actual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as there were doubts about the 5.8 per cent. The work is still ongoing.

She is on record to have stated that Ghana was doing better than the estimated growth rate.

President Kufuor said this showed that she was really concerned about the proper handling of things on the economic front. Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, the Senior Minister, said the Fund had helped in guiding "our policy in a way that has been successful", adding that, a solid based had been created that must be built on. Madam Muttardy expressed satisfaction with the macro-economic stability achieved by the Government and said Ghana was on the threshold of real development.

The Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu and Dr Paul Acquah, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, were present.