(3 minutes read)
Ghana’s finance minister expressed his concern for the economic hardship of the country. At the same time, he defended himself against accusations that he was unfit for the job
Ghana’s finance minister expressed his concern for the economic hardship of the country. At the same time, he defended himself against accusations that he was unfit for the job. as the government came under increasing pressure and President Nana Akufo-Addo faced growing criticism for what has become Ghana’s worst economic crisis. The finance minister is facing an inquiry from lawmakers for his inept financial management,
The government has been negotiating up to US$3bn in credit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help shore up public finances. Defending his work, the finance minister said that the present turbulent trajectory being faced by the country was due to fallout from the global pandemic and the Ukraine war.
Ghana is a top cocoa and gold producer, besides having oil and gas reserves. The country’s debt mounted increasing the need for debt servicing, which leads to higher outgo of its revenues.
The Ghanaian cedi has plummeted more than 40% this year. That strained importers of both raw and processed materials, forcing them to cough up more resources to procure them. Consumer inflation in Ghana hit a 21-year high of 40.4% in October on the back of soaring import costs.
Against this backdrop, lawmakers from both major political parties called for the removal of the finance minister. Last week, parliament set up a committee to investigate opposition allegations that he has been benefitting from Ghana’s economic woes through illegal payments and unethical contracts. However, the minister said he was concerned about the West African country’s woes, adding that the accusations were false.
The finance minister denied claims that he had misreported economic data to parliament and that his policies were to blame for the cedi’s steep decline. He also said that the depreciation of the cedi was a result of financial risk and recklessness was not supported by the available facts.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/ghana-announces-a-slew-of-measures-to-revive-economy/
The parliamentary committee will probe the allegations against the minister. The parliament is equally split between the governing NPP and the opposition NDC party. The final word about dismissing the finance minister will have to come from the president. But the pressure is mounting on him. It may be recalled that earlier, the president had fired junior finance minister, Charles Adu Boahen, over corruption allegations. As reported by www.trendsnafrica.com, protesters also called for the resignation of the president over spiralling fuel prices and food crises.
