The World Bank Country Director, Pierre Laporte, has affirmed a statement by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the positive state of the Ghanaian economy.
According to him, the economy has reached a point where it can genuinely be acknowledged as having “turned the corner.”
“When you look at where Ghana’s economy was a year or two years ago and you look at the macro-economic numbers now, like inflation, you may come to accept that things have improved”.
He was however quick to add that a lot more still needs to be done to ensure that this marginal stability is sustained.
The World Bank Country Director was speaking on PM EXPRESS BUSINESS Edition which airs tonight on Joy News at 9pm on December 21, 2023, with host George Wiafe.
He however stressed that the government still may have to do more to ensure that the current stability is maintained, adding, “We still see the election year as one of the biggest threats to the marginal stability that we are witnessing. We have to do a lot to ensure that fiscal discipline is maintained”.
The World Bank Country Director also said “Maybe the reforms should have been early enough to deal, with the challenges with the economy then”.
Building resilience to withstand COVID-19 shocks and Russian-Ukraine war
Government had in the past argued that if it had not been the Russian-Ukraine War and the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana’s economy would not have witnessed one of its biggest economic shocks in recent times.
However, this has been rubbished by some economists and analysts, arguing that the government failed to build the required shock absorbers to insulate the economy from shocks.
But responding to the issue, the World Bank Country Director argued that, even though he believes there is some element of truth, “We didn’t do well in the area of mobilising the required revenue to support the economy”.
Mr Laporte, however, applauded the country for turning the economic situation around.
“I am responsible for other countries in the region, and I still see how they are still struggling to recover”
He added “It has been very difficult in Liberia, in Sierra Leone. Things are very tough, these economies that were hit by COVID-19 are also struggling”
Source: myjoyonline.com