Hoot at World Bank and IMF for lower middle income status – IEA

Board Chairman of Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr. Charles Mensa has questioned Ghana’s lower middle income status, adding that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), who conferred this status onto the country ought to be ashamed.

According Dr Mensa, a country like Ghana, with an average per capita income of $1600 which is comes down to $130 a month cannot be called a lower middle income country.

“When a country has an average income $70, 000 per head and we have $1, 600, you break it down and it is about $130 a month and we are being told we are middle income country. We should say shame to the one telling us” he stated.

Speaking at Professor Yifu Lin’s public lecture held at the IEA on Thursday November 9, 2017 on the topic ‘How To Achieve A Dynamic, Inclusive And Industrialised Economy in Ghana: A New Structure Economics Approach’, Dr. Charles Mensa said Ghanaians should be able to question the World Bank or IMF for saying that the country is a lower middle income one.

“When the World Bank tells us or the IMF or anybody for that matter says that you are lower middle income country, you should hoot at that person” he stressed.

He said Ghanaians should not be happy with the lower middle income tag but rather question the rationale and justification behind it.

“Is it because we are less human or is it because we don’t fit? Why would you tell somebody who makes $130 a month that you are middle income country?” he questions.