Look inward to fix economic crisis – Bright Simons to government

Vice President of Imani Centre for Policy and Education, Bright Simons has said Ghana’s economic problems are closer to home despite global headwinds – COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis “buffeting” every country globally.

He criticised government for doing very little to tackle the root cause of the country’s economic challenges and always thinking the problem is entirely imported.

Bright Simons argued that a bloated budget has triggered a debt crisis, but government seemed not bothered about cutting waste fast enough.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars have been splashed on capital projects, such as irrigation dams, that have simply been abandoned. And at the height of COVID the government was doling out millions of dollars to architects and contractors for esoteric projects, such as bible museums, without parliamentary approval as required by law,” Bright Simons bemoaned in a post.

He added: "Banking all its hopes on an IMF rescue package, the government has neglected building the massive social consensus that would enable it to structurally reform its budget.”

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo weeks ago announced authorities have reached advanced stages of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund(IMF) on a bailout programme for Ghana.

Addressing the nation on the economy, Sunday, October 30, President Akufo-Addo said the country is on a steady path to unlock an IMF-supported programme by the end of the year.

“I am able to report to you, my fellow Ghanaians, that the negotiations to secure a strong IMF Programme, which will support the implementation of our Post COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth and additional funding to support the 2023 Budget and development programme, are at advanced stages, and are going well."

“We are determined to secure these arrangements quickly to bring back confidence and relief to Ghanaians. We are working towards reaching a deal with the IMF by the end of the year. This will give further credence to the measures government is taking to stabilize and grow the economy, as well as shore up our currency."