President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has met with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), as part of his broader consultation to solicit views and suggestions as regards the country’s negotiation with the IMF and the 2023 Fiscal Budget.
At separate events at the Jubilee House last Friday, President Akufo-Akufo said the country’s economy was facing a crisis and needed the inputs and suggestions to be encapsulated into the 2023 Budget which was coming later on in the month.
He said looking at the difficult situation in the country, whatever policy that comes out of the government ought to be meaningful and impactful.
A broad engagement of the people for the way forward of the government policy, according to President Akufo-Addo, was imperative and stood the chance of success of turning the economy around.
That, the President said, was the basic reason why in the last two weeks, he had engaged various stakeholders “to address their concerns and get their inputs” to be able to make policy that would address the concerns of the Ghanaian population.
His expectation from the meetings, President Akufo-Addo stated, was to hear from both the GBA and the CSOs, their particular take on where the country’s economic is and what suggestions they have for the way forward for the country.
The rapid depreciation of the Ghanaian Cedi, together with supply shortfalls had largely been responsible for the unprecedented high inflation rate–37% as of September, this year.
Ghana’s fiscal and debt levels are approaching unsustainable levels which had raised greater concerns in the investment community.
The government, among others, is negotiating with the IMF for policy credibility, amidst debt restructuring.