Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen has watered down fears of further economic paralysis with a detailed explanation of government’s transformation and recovery programme.
The seasoned politician, who is a specialist in the Trade and Industry sector, detailed the road map to recovery ahead of an imminent bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In a hugely educative chat on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana (GEG) programme, Kyerematen chronicled government’s recovery programme until uncontrollable external forces sent the economy crumbling.
Describing the causal factors as force majeure, the Trade and Industry Minister pointed to positive growth of the economy between 2017 and 2019 as enough reason to trust leadership of the government to sail through the latest bailout.
Kyerematen explained that the factors which took the current government to the IMF and those of the erstwhile NDC are completely different, and said the already existing programme tabled by government will lessen the burden on Ghanaians.
According to the minister, the IMF is there to assist member-states that need technical and/or financial aid to help then stand on their feet again.
In his opening speech on the programme hosted by Metro TV, the minister said: “There is a need to discuss this issue (Ghana’s negotiations with the IMF) dispassionately and with real facts”.
He then highlighted the economy’s tangential growth that saw the economy shore-up reserves at the central bank – taming inflation, reducing debt to sustainable levels and creating a trade surplus which resulted in more exports over imports in the first 18 months of this government.
To confirm causal factors of the sudden crumbling in the economy, the Trade and Industry Minister said external forces should be blamed for the sudden crashing down of an economy that as recently as such as May 2021 was showing signs of upward growth and resilience.
When asked what could be the main cause of Ghana’s return to the IMF despite initial claims by members within government that the country was not again heading to the IMF, Kyerematen cited the impact of COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its effects on economies throughout the world.
The minister did not mince words in describing the causal agents of Ghana’s slow economic growth as exogenous, but was quick to explain government’s proactive plans to curb it.
The Trade and Industry Minister raised the hopes of Ghanaians with a detailed economic transformation plan led by Industrial and Agricultural emancipation.
With some government flagship programmes aimed at expanding the Industrial ecosystem, the minister remained optimistic Ghana will sail through the IMF scheme with ease.
Referring to such innovative programmes as the 1D1F, the minister said a total of 296 companies are at various stages of completion while 125 are operational.
He alluded to the fact that both NDC and NPP needed the IMF at various points to manage to the economy, but explained that the systematic decline in economic indicators took the NDC to the IMF while exogenous factors dragged this current government before the donor body.
Ghana has already started the process of getting a two billion dollar package from the IMF to help complete an economic revival package put together by the Economic Management Team (EMT).
When pushed to the wall on his presidential ambitions, the Trade and Industry Minister opted to relegate that for now in the supreme interest of getting Ghana through these turbulent times.
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