Member of the Finance Committee in Parliament and MP for Nhyiaeso constituency, Dr. Stephen Amoah says successive governments under the fourth republic are to be blamed for the cause of the depreciating cedi, Purefmonline.com reports.
Dr. Amoah who is affectionately called ‘Stica’ by his peers made this assertion in an exclusive interview with Kwame Adinkrah on Kumasi-based Pure FM’s ‘Pure Morning Drive’ program.
He advised that a pragmatic long term approach like reducing the rate of imports must be adopted by government to ensure the sustainability of the Ghanaian currency and economy.
“Kwame, all successive governments under this fourth republic have not adopted any sustainable approach in stabilizing the economy and as a matter of fact, the cedi. That is why we are where we are now.
Government must adopt a long term approach like cutting down on imports especially on certain goods that can be produced locally.
For instance, wood products, fruit juice and others should not be imported when it can be locally sourced.”
Dr. Stephen Amoah further advised that Politicians should desist from the habit of using fuel and currency issues as a political tool to capture power.
“Ghanaians will continue to judge politicians on the things they say especially when we design our own marking scheme. The usual usage of common areas like ‘currency issues’ and ‘fuel prices’ by Politicians and political parties to capture power must be done away with. We should redefine our positions on issues because Ghanaians will judge us on our own scheme.” He told Kwame Adinkrah.
In a related development, President Akufo-Addo has given assurances that the Ghanaian economy will bounce back from its current challenges, indicating that the current woes of the economy are a global phenomenon and not peculiar to Ghana.
The President made the statement at the 92nd Speech and Prize Giving Day of St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast.
“Ghana is not the only country faced with extraordinary increases in global freight rates, strong inflationary pressures, dramatically rising fuel prices and unprecedented volatility of stock markets, and tighter global financing conditions. These are a global phenomenon, nonetheless, government continues to work hard to address these issues, and I am certain that sooner, rather than later, our economy through the implementation of government’s GHS100 billion Ghana CARES Obatanpa programme will rebound from the gravities of the pandemic, bring in its wake stability, development, progress and prosperity for all Ghanaians.”
Meanwhile, Cousin to the President and a senior member of the ruling NPP, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has proposed to Ghanaians to consider a national debate on whether the country should go back to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or rely on the proposed e-levy.
In a tweet last Thursday, Mr Otchere-Darko said Ghana is confronted with a tough decision to either accept the “IMF or E-Levy or both or none?”
Source: Purefmonline.com II 2022
