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| President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana (Photo Credit: @GhanaPresidency) |
As Ghana, a nation in West Africa continues to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on an economic recovery programme, President Nana Akufo-Addo has referred to the economic crisis as one that is being fueled by wicked forces.
“We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so,” Mr Akufo-Addo tweeted on Sunday. “I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.”
On Sunday, Mr Akufo-Addo spoke to Ghanaians about the economic difficulties the nation was facing and the steps his administration was taking to solve the problem.
He and other senior government figures started a three-day retreat last week to talk about ways to address the economic issues, finalise the $3 billion loan agreement with the IMF, and review the government's 2023 budget and financial strategy.
Ghana's annual inflation rate increased to 37.2% in September from the 33.9 per cent it had in August 2022, breaking a 21-year record high.
In his speech, Mr Akufo-Addo reaffirmed his complete trust in the capacity of his administration to "work our way out of our current difficulties."
Mr Akufo-Addo added that “We are not afraid of hard work. We will triumph, as we have triumphed many times before. Let us unite, and rally around our Republic, its institutions and its democratic values, and insist that, under God, we will emerge victorious from our current difficulties. For this too shall pass, as the Battle is the Lord’s.”
Mr Akufo-Addo had promised that the country’s total public debt would be reduced to 55 per cent of GDP by 2028. He also promised that the cost of servicing the country’s external debt will not exceed 18 per cent of annual revenue by 2028.
The cedi has depreciated by 56 per cent since the beginning of the year as Ghana struggles to check skyrocketing prices caused partly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
To control price growth and bolster the currency, the central bank raised its benchmark lending rate this year by ten points to 24.5 per cent.