United Party founder and leader Alan Kyerematen says Ghana’s recent macroeconomic gains cannot yet be described as sustained economic stability, arguing that a much longer period of growth is needed to support such a conclusion.

Speaking on Monday, September 21, Mr Kyerematen said the improvements in key economic indicators were encouraging but cautioned against governments rushing to declare economic success.

He said administrations, whether led by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) or the New Patriotic Party (NPP), often celebrate improvements in economic performance without giving sufficient attention to whether those gains can be sustained.

“I think part of the challenge of governments, whether it’s NDC or NPP, they are too quick to be praising themselves about what they’ve done. But I’m saying that you can’t call, you can’t describe two years of macro performance as stability. You need a longer period of sustained growth,” he said in a Channel One TV interview.

Ghana needs sustained growth

Mr Kyerematen acknowledged that Ghana’s current economic growth rate was positive but argued that the country needed a more prolonged period of strong expansion to establish lasting macroeconomic stability.

He said achieving annual growth of between 8% and 10% over a decade would provide a more meaningful basis for assessing the economy’s performance.

“So 6%, it’s good, but I’m saying that it’s a trend, but you cannot… So we need 10 years of at least 8% to 10% growth,” he said.

Stabilisation and growth must go together

The United Party leader also argued that economic stabilisation and growth should not be treated as competing priorities.

He said government must pursue both simultaneously to achieve sustainable economic progress.

“They are two sides of the same coin,” he added.