John Mahama, a former president, has lamented the government’s failure to present any convincing corrective proposals to revive the economy.
To reverse the situation, the former president advised the government to quickly arrange several forums on the economy for the best minds in the nation, adding that “a national dialogue on the economy, bringing some of our best brains together will serve us well, even as we prepare for debt restructuring and negotiation of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.”
He emphasized the need to rapidly organize forums for the brightest minds in the nation to stop the situation. “Unfortunately, no realistic corrective plans have been put up by the administration to salvage the economy,” he said.
Standard and Poor (S&P) Global Ratings stated in a statement that the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have exacerbated Ghana’s fiscal and external imbalances. On August 5, 2022, it downgraded Ghana’s foreign and local credit ratings from B-B’ to CCC+C with a negative economic outlook that was caused by escalating financing and external pressures on the economy.
Despite the government’s efforts to reduce the budget deficit, including the recently passed Exemptions Bill, it was highlighted that it was challenging to lower the debt to gross domestic product (GDP) due to high borrowing costs and weakening growth.
After a detailed analysis of the economy, which revealed Ghana’s restrictive commercial financing alternatives and external and fiscal buffers, the statement also rated the country’s economic prognosis as poor.
The mid-year budget review’s failure to accomplish its stated goal, investors’ continued lack of confidence in the economy, and the economy’s further downgrading, according to former president Mahama, were all evidenced by the Cedi’s ongoing devaluation.
The latest reduction to CCC+/C Junk status and severe depreciation of the Cedi, he noted, plainly demonstrated that the mid-year review of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy had failed to restore the confidence of the investor community and Ghanaians.
The government, according to former president Mahama, had no notion of how to handle the crisis for the benefit of the populace.
