President Akufo-Addo is expected to, within this week, address Ghanaians on measures taken to address the current economic challenges.

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah disclosed this in an interview with Accra-based Okay FM.

According to the Information Minister, the address would cover the outcome of the crunch cabinet meeting held over the weekend to find solutions to the raging economic challenges.

He said the government has also decided to open the land borders, thus the President will indicate what must be done before the final decision is taken.

“I believe that before the week ends the President himself will address Ghanaians. The government is also taking decisions on what the Finance Ministry and Bank of Ghana should do to relieve Ghanaians of the current economic hardships.

“The President has decided, there has been a Monetary Policy Committee meeting and the outcome of the meeting will be made known to the public and also later in this week, the Finance Minister would also tell Ghanaians what the government is doing to help the Bank of Ghana, the government has also taken steps to address the cedi depreciation and that would also be made public,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has said that government has decided to cut its expenditure by 20% and is looking forward to also reducing its budget by some extra points to help deal with the economic challenges.

The President assured that the policies being implemented by government, in the wake of the difficulties occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic, will help the economy rebound faster than anticipated.

Speaking at the 92nd Speech and Prize-Giving Day of St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast on Saturday, March 19, he indicated that the economy grew at a provisional 5.2% in the first three quarters of 2021, with GDP growth for 2021 projected at 5.6%, as against the 0.4% of 2020.

“Nonetheless, Government continues to work hard to address these issues, and I am certain that, sooner, rather than later, our economy, through the implementation of Government’s one hundred-billion-cedi (GH¢100 billion) Ghana CARES Obaatanpa Programme, will rebound from the ravages of the pandemic, bringing in its wake stability, development, progress and prosperity for all Ghanaians.

“We need to undertake the difficult but necessary fiscal and other measures that will enable us to maintain the 2021 and higher rates of growth in the immediate years ahead of us, to develop and strengthen our economy, and help improve the living standards of us all,” he noted.