Vice President John Dramani Mahama says African economies now face a greater threat of external shock and instability because global economic integration has opened up the continent’s markets to foreign influence. He said some strategies adopted by the developed countries to help them recover from the recession are also having adverse consequences on the continent’s development. Mr Mahama was speaking at the Institute of Economic Affairs, on the impact of the global financial crisis. “For us in Ghana, as result of the financial crisis, government borrowing options were limited. Our response therefore since 2009 has been to go the route of fiscal prudence, steep cuts in government expenditure to narrow the deficit. “Government, in order to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the poor has been implementing various measures including…providing pupils, public basic schools and deprived communities with school uniforms…increasing the capitation grant by 50%. Indeed current economic indicators are showing a positive response of the economy to these measures,” Mr Mahama said, citing reducing inflation. The event had in attendance participants from the private sector, ministries and other public sector institutions drawn from a number of countries. Vice President John Mahama also used the opportunity to highlight the need for increased trade among countries in Africa. “We cannot be competitive as individual countries… And so the lip service we pay in respect of economic integration must turn into practical actions,” he said. Chairman of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr. Charles Mensah, said although good policies can enhance growth, politics also matters. “In the old days, the assumption was that if countries in Africa were able to design and implement good policies, then economic growth will follow and our poverty will be reduced. [This thinking] assumed that those who managed the policies did not matter so long as the policies were right. What we have all learnt over these years is that politics matter,” he told the participants. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana