We didn’t wish for middle income status ourselves – Terkper

Finance Minister Seth Emmanuel Terkper says Ghana’s status as a middle-income country was determined by indicators shown by the economy and not a voluntary decision by government.

“We did not wish it for ourselves,” he remarked, “and we are not going to get out of it soon.”

The country’s economic status as a lower middle income country has come under fire given the performance of the economy. The country attained a lower middle income status in 2010.

But speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Accra on Wednesday, May 20, Mr Terkper intimated that a middle-income country is weaned off several benefits.

“There is no package,” he stated, pointing out that “that is why we face some phenomena” like “facing our own debt management”.

The meeting, which had in attendance both deputies of Mr Terkper as well as Governor of the Central Bank, sought to outline the implications of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme on the Ghanaian economy.

Mr Terkper expressed satisfaction that the three-year programme reached with the Bretton Woods institution includes “for the first time things we have been doing.”

He said so far government has met its target for the first quarter of the year.