Minister of State-designate at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu-Boahen has said that government's stellar management of the Covid-19 pandemic has made it a victim of its own success.

According to him, “under the exceptional leadership of [Akufo-Addo], we managed to really tackle the pandemic, so well that people do not realise how devastating it was and what the potential ramifications could have been.”

He was answering a question posed by the Member of Parliament for Techiman North, Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare, during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, June 2. The question had to do with the disconnect between Ghana’s increasing foreign exchange reserve and the harsh economic reality of Ghanaians.

In response, Charles Adu Boahen said, "I think that hardship is a result of the dark situation that we went through last year. In fact, it could have been a lot worse. If you go to some other countries and you listen to some of the stories, not in the loss of lives, but businesses and livelihoods, so it will take us a while to recover and I think that we are actually on the right path."

He is, however, hopeful that things are going to get better for Ghanaians in the near future as the economy slowly recovers following several interventions being executed by the Akufo-Addo led government.

“I think the introduction of the vaccines and the speed with which we brought the vaccines in, will help us get back to normal quicker, which will then allow businesses to resume work, the borders to be open fully, and for economic activity to resume.

“And I believe once that happens, the hardships will be relieved and people will feel better off,” he said.

He further explained that the Country’s ballooning foreign exchange reserve is a result of reduced imports into the country at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“So we didn’t have to use a lot more dollars to buy goods to bring in, and it also reflected in the currency being more stable which was helpful. But that does not really translate into better living conditions especially given the devastating effect of the pandemic,” he said.