‘Forgive us for the economic hardship’ – Finance Minister appeals to Ghanaians

Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minister of Finance, has extended an appeal to Ghanaians to forgive the Akufo-Addo-led Government for the economic hardships they had endured in recent years.He explained that the decision by government to restructure the country's debt was a necessity by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to position the economy on a stronger footing and not an intentional act to impose hardship on Ghanaians.'It is never the intention of any government to impose hardship on its people, more so the NPP Government that has demonstrated that we want to reduce the burden on the Ghanaian people,' the Minister stated.Dr Amin Adam made these remarks during the Greater Accra Regional Townhall meeting in Accra on Tuesday.The Minister highlighted the successes of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDP), which achieved a 95% participation rate.He noted that the DDP was a necessary decision at the time, saying; 'If we avoided it, the economy would not have recovered what we have recovered today .'He further emphasised the improvement in Ghana's debt-to-GDP ratio, which has decreased from 72% to 70.6%, a figure he described as 'far better than what we recorded in 2015.'The townhall meetings and exhibitions were organised by the Ministry of Information, in collaboration with the Regional Coordinating Council to showcase the government's infrastructural projects and social interventions implemented by the Government.Journalists and the public were given the opportunity to ask questions and seek clarifications from duty-bearers on their stewardship.The event featured other notable speakers, including the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, and the Minister of Information, Ms Fatimatu Abubakar.Dr Amin Adam underscored the government's economic progress prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing growth rates of 8.1% in 2017, 6.2% in 2018, and 6.5% in 2019.Despite the significant drop in growth rate to 0.5% in 2020 due to the pandemic, he credited the swift recovery in 2021 to resilient government policies and programmes.Addressing critics, the Minister stressed the importance of considering external factors like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war when assessing the economy's performance.He expressed optimism that the economy would rebound fully if the Government was given the mandate in the December 7 Election.He said the Government had reduced inflation from 54% to 22% as of June this year and could bring it further down to 15% by the close of the year.Source: Ghana News Agency