The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has said sacking Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta “might not be the panacea” to solving Ghana’s current economic challenges.
Some members of the Majority Caucus in Parliament have mounted pressure on President Nana Akufo-Addo to sack Ofori-Atta and the minister of state at the Ministry of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen, to restore public confidence in the Ghanaian economy.
However, speaking at a meeting with Ofori-Atta on Thursday (3 November), the AGI boss Dr Humphrey Ayim-Darke pledged the association’s support to tackle the economic turmoil that has been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We believe that the exit of a minister might not be the panacea to all our woes of what we have gathered here to share. The performance and ability to circumvent the position we find ourselves in, should be the trump card,” Ayim Darke said.
“As challenging as it would be, our support to our government must be paramount… you have our pledge, you have our support that together we shall navigate this course,” he added.
“Don’t blame Ofori-Atta”
Meanwhile, the development economist George Domfe has said Ofori-Atta cannot be blamed for the economic woes.
According to him, the minister has discharged his duties excellently well and cannot be blamed for the country’s current economic struggles, which he sees as fueled by external factors.
“When you look at Ghana’s growth trajectory prior to 2020, it is clear that the Finance Minister did an excellent job in managing the economy. However, the influx of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war has eroded the gains,” Domfe said.
“Cast your mind back to 2017 when he took over as Finance Minister,” he told the Accra-based Peace FM. “He managed to stabilise the dollar for a very long time. The dollar until this year was selling at GHC6. This shows the kind of work he did to stabilise it.
“Unfortunately, the US decided to hike their prime rates, which is forcing our cedi to fall rapidly. So, I don’t understand the call for his dismissal,” Domfe said.
Fred Dzakpata
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