Ghana is in economic crisis, admits President Akufo-Addo

By Enoch Fiifi Forson

ACCRA, Ghana (AA) – Ghana is facing an economic crisis, the West African country's president has admitted.

"We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time," Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said in Sunday's address to the nation on the economic challenge Ghana is going through.

The Ghanaian cedi has depreciated astronomically against major trading currencies, especially the US dollars, since the beginning of the year.

Fuel prices continue to escalate with no hope of stability any time soon, and inflation also keeps soaring with no end in sight.

The economic challenges have led the government to seek support from the International Monetary Fund.

The president, however, assured that measures are being taken to resolve the problems, and Ghana will bounce back from its economic predicament.

"As we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedeviled our economy," he added.

Ghana, he said, applied to the IMF to repair and restore its balance of payments in the short term, while it continues to work on structural changes in the medium and long-term to construct "a resilient, robust economy," the president said.

"The following actions have been taken thus far: enhanced supervisory action by the Bank of Ghana in the forex bureau markets and the black market to flush out illegal operators, as well as ensuring that those permitted to operate legally abide by the market rules."

"Already some forex bureaus have had their licenses revoked, and this exercise will continue until complete order is restored in the sector," he said.

The other measures, Akufo-Addo said, are that fresh inflows of dollars are providing liquidity to the foreign exchange market and addressing the pipeline demand, the Bank of Ghana is committed to provide commercial banks with liquidity for the economy to run smoothly until the IMF program starts.

"The government is working with the Bank of Ghana and the oil producing and mining companies to introduce a new legal and regulatory framework to ensure that all foreign exchange earned from operations in Ghana are, initially, paid to banks domiciled in Ghana," he also said, adding the central bank will enhance its gold purchase program.