Investors are leaving Ghana due to bad governance – Attah Issah

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Sagnarigu has revealed that investors are leaving Ghana due to the Akufo-Addo government’s failure to prudently use revenue.

Attah Issah who bemoaned the financial wastage that is happening in the country under the auspices of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, indicated that Ghana is being managed by the IMF because of the government’s insatiable taste for borrowing.

Government is in a tight corner to meet deadlines and lower its debt stock to be able to return to the capital market, after a painful domestic debt exchange that affected the finances of pensioners and other investors.

Speaking to XYZ reporter Edward Appiah, the Financial analyst pointed to the bad policies of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta as the root cause of Ghana’s financial crisis, stressing that his cousin- President Akufo-Addo should have fired him long ago.

“We are suffering economic hardship because of a decision by the president who cannot directly into the face of his cousin (Ken Ofori-Atta) and tell him the truth that your policies aren’t working,” he noted.

He also disclosed that apart from running the economy down in the past 7 years, Ofori-Atta’s tenure has seen so much revenue run down the drain which he said has dwindled investor confidence.

He cited the renting of luxurious jets by President Akufo-Addo as one of the factors that have negatively affected the country’s economy and led the government to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout.

“When people see such wastage in the system investors lose confidence in your economy….And you realise that foreign direct investments keep declining and they [the investors] are shifting income to other countries because [they know] that once you invest into this country, they realise that the monies are being wasted,” he noted.

Issah’s comment follows Fitch Solutions’ warning that foreign Investors are cautious about uncertainty around Ghana’s debt restructuring process.

Foreign Investors and Uncertainties Around Ghana’s Debt

The UK-based rating firm indicated the rapid depreciation of the Ghanaian cedi through 2022, coupled with ongoing uncertainty around Ghana’s external debt restructuring process under the G20 Common Framework, will keep foreign investors cautious.

Fitch’s latest assessment of Ghana’s debt dubbed “Bleak Investment Outlook Dims Ghana’s Short-Term Growth Prospects”, indicated that sentiment towards the Ghanaian market remains weak.

“Indeed, yields on the country’s Eurobonds traded at an elevated 34.4% (as of July 6), indicating that sentiment towards the Ghanaian market remains weak”.

“Moreover, we project that growth in Ghana’s most salient source markets – including the EU, UK and US – will soften over 2023”, it explained.

Fitch Solutions further explained that restrictive monetary conditions and still-elevated inflation in these markets will dampen the appetite for overseas expansions.