Audio By Carbonatix
President Nana Akufo-Addo says the NPP administration has been able to restore hope and confidence in the economy.
Speaking at the final State of the Nation Address (SONA) Tuesday, he said although he inherited a shattered economy from the NDC administration, government managed to pull through to ensure Ghana has a good standing in the global market.
"The basic facts of our unhappy inheritance are well-documented – 15.4% rate of inflation; a 9.3% fiscal deficit; 32% rate of interest; a 3.4% rate of GDP growth, the lowest in two decades," he noted.
According to him, a few out of the many successes chalked in the financial and banking sector during his first term of office in the economy include: "Implementation of government flagship programmes, single-digit inflation, reduced fiscal deficits with three consecutive years of primary surpluses, relatively stable exchange rate, significant improvement in the current account with three consecutive years of trade surpluses, strong foreign exchange reserve buffers, and markedly reduced lending rates."
Despite the progress made, President Akufo-Addo explained that the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country posed a negative threat to the growing economy.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2020 fell from 6.8% to 0.9%, and later to 1.9%.
This nationwide panic, he said necessitated immediate actions from the government to curtail the underlying problem.
"Government revitalised and transform the economy with the one hundred-billion-cedi Ghana CARES 'Obaatampa' Programme, one which anchors bright prospects for the medium-term."
President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance that government will continue to implement prudent fiscal measures to quicken the pace of fiscal consolidation in the country.
Come August 2021, the Minister for Finance in the next administration will provide further details on the measures taken to restore Ghana to the path of economic recovery.
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