Ghana president Akufo-Addo says in a hurry to transform economy

President Nana Akufo-Addo sent signals here on Tuesday that he is in a hurry to transform the economy of Ghana.

Delivering his Maiden State of the Nation Address in front of Parliament, the president attributed the urgency to the reality of Ghana's finances which are stark as a result of policy choices where Ghana's total revenue is consumed by three main budgetary lines of wages and salaries, interest and payments and amortization and statutory payments which account for 99.6 percent of the country's total revenue.

"I have heard it said that I am behaving like a man in a hurry. Mr. Speaker, I am, indeed, in a hurry, I am in a great hurry. The times, in which we live, demand that we, all, be in a hurry to deal with the problems we face," the president stated.

Lamenting that his government has only 0.4 percent of revenue line left with which to deliver on its campaign promises, Akufo-Addo pledged to ensure that the economy doesn't collapse under his watch, in spite of the difficulties he inherited in the economy.

He recounted the fact that compared to a target of 5.3 percent under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, the fiscal deficit for 2016 grew to 9.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on a cash basis and 10.2 percent of GDP on a commitment basis and a debt stock of 74 percent to GDP.

"But, I was not elected by the overwhelming majority of the Ghanaian people to complain. I was elected to get things done. I was elected to fix what is broken and my government and I are determined to do just that," the president pledged.

He promised that the budget to be read by the Minister for Finance next month will lay out the details of the economic policy and the clear roadmap that have been developed for taking the country out of its current predicament and onto a sustainable path of recovery, jobs creation and prosperity.

"We are going to have to implement some tough, prudent and innovative policies to get out of this financial cul-de sac and rescue this economy, restore fiscal discipline and debt sustainability as well as increase economic growth," the president indicated.

Counting on the competence of his team and the goodwill of Ghanaians to be able to bring a turn-around in the affairs of the nation, Akufo-Addo promised to initiate in the near term targeted legislative policy and institutional reforms to unleash "the suppressed potential of the economy and allow Ghanaian entrepreneurship to rise and thrive, domestically and internationally."

Source: Xinhua