Ghana is headed toward the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and that has become the biggest shock to many economic watchers because of what preceded this major government decision.
It is no longer a secret that the government, led by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, clearly stated in several public engagements that the country is not in so much of an economic crisis to be seeking a bailout.
However, not long after all these bold assurances, the government has already initiated steps for the hitherto unattractive IMF program.
Tracking the way things have been happening in Ghana, the BBC has shared a short clip of what President Akufo-Addo told its reporter, Peter Okwoche, when he spoke to the media in May 2022.
Here are portions of what they said in their interactions:
Okwoche: If I look at the Ghanaian economy at the moment, it doing, let’s just be honest, terribly
Akufo-Addo: Not terribly. I don’t know an economy in the world that is doing well, tell me? Where you are, here, the highest inflation…
Okwoche: Well, 15.7% of the Ghanaian cedi has fallen 20% on the dollar. The worst after Russia which has a lot of sanctions against it.
Akufo-Addo: It has begun to firm up. It’s begun to firm up where we’re seeing the cedi systematically appreciating against the dollar
Okwoche: People still can’t employ… it doesn’t look like a place I want to go and put my money in.
Akufo-Addo: Where would you put your money in today? In Britain, which is suffering the worst standard of living statistics for over 30 years? Is that where? Let’s situate ourselves correctly. The world is going through very difficult times. Ghana is no exception. Nigeria is no exception. There’s no country in the world that is escaping the ravages of both COVID-19 and also the impact of the Ukraine… but what you need to look at, where are the elements being put on the ground that look beyond the Covid and beyond the Russian-Ukraine war?
Watch the full clip below:
In May, Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo insisted the country's economy was not doing 'terribly' in an interview with Peter @okwoche.
With news that the country is now asking the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, was that view short-sighted? pic.twitter.com/Et20S3MqTJ
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 5, 2022