Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has expressed concern about Ghana’s fiscal and debt position, saying, addressing them will be a daunting task.

However, he stressed that the government would embark on several strategies to find solutions to the current economic challenges facing the country.

Speaking at the Standard Chartered Bank's Digital Banking Innovation and Fintech Festival in Accra, Dr. Bawumia said there is the need for a change in production to reduce import dependency.

According to him, the impact of various digitalisation initiatives, including the efficient public service delivery at all Ministries, Departments and Agencies is critical in transforming the country..

"The first and most important thing, which affects the confidence that we have in economic systems is to make sure that we have fiscal and debt sustainability. This has been one of the areas where we are having discussions with the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund about restoring fiscal sustainability…no doubt is not going to be easy."

"It will require very bold, difficult, but fair decisions. And I think these are the kind of discussions that we have had with the IMF”, he indicated.

He added that “I'm sure once the negotiations are concluded, it will be clear that it will not be and it should not be business as usual. Because we have to adjust to the new global and domestic realities”, he pointed out.

He stressed on the need for Ghanaians to change their pattern of behavior and consume more of local products, a situation he believes will reduce imports.

"We must change our production pattern which will lead to lower dependency on import”, he opined.

Deputy Governor at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, speaking at the same programme reassured players in the digital financial service ecosystem that the Bank of Ghana remains resolute in their commitment to the cash-lite agenda.

"We entreat all institutions to join the digital Financial ecosystem as the Bank of Ghana is committed to saving the country's economy", he maintained

Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Mansa Nettey said the festival goes to the core of the company’s strategy of meeting the changing needs of consumers across the markets.

The 2022 Fintech Festival will feature a series of plenary sessions that will explore the opportunities for co-creation by industry players to embrace digitisation and the extent to which platforms and payments are currently creating value and helping industry players to be agile amidst the disruption.