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Economy stronger now than ever – Adu Boahen

Economy stronger now than ever – Adu Boahen

The Ghanaian economy has become stronger under the Akufo-Addo government than under previous administrations.

This claim was made by a Deputy Minister of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday.

“The question here is, has the fundamentals changed? The answer is that the fundamentals are very strong. We haven’t had a stronger economy than what we see today in a long time,” he said.

Whereas government believes the economy is doing very well and is in good shape, the opposition National Democratic Congress thinks otherwise.

The Minority in Parliament on Wednesday called on the government to draft a new budget to save the economy from further shocks following the depreciation of the cedi.

But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Adu Boahen shot down the call saying “I really believe that it is a bit premature to start talking about redoing the budget.”

Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson argued that “the rapid decline in the value of the cedi has thrown the economy in disarray and the projections surrounding it as contained in 2019 budget.”

He insisted that the current situation has undermined the confidence in the economy and thus “sending wrong signals to the investor community.”

“This calls for urgent steps to be taken by government to restore the economy. The starting point is that we should be considering a new budget which considers all the distortions and serious problems occasioned by the fall of the value of the cedi,” Ato Forson added.

Adu Boahen has already put measures in place to rescue the cedi.

“Already we’ve seen in the last week recovery of the currency by over ten per cent so most of the losses have been regained. And I believe that my Minister was being a prophet when he prophesized that in two weeks [time] the currency will be back to normal. And we have already started seeing the recovery,” he added.

Cedi’s woes

There’s been widespread concern amongst the general public and the business community, about the recent depreciation of the cedi and its impact on livelihoods.

The local currency since January 2019 has witnessed some depreciation, reducing in value against the dollar from 4 cedis 90 pesewas to over 5 cedis in recent times.

Traders and importers had complained that the decline in the value of the cedi has had an adverse impact on their businesses.

Economy: Bawumia to brief Ghanaians on April 3

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will brief Ghanaians on the state of the economy at a town hall meeting on April 3, 2019.

The lecture will be on the theme: “Our progress, our status, our future,” and will be held at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

 

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey | citinewsroom.com | Ghana

Source: citifmonline.com

Original Story on: Citi Newsroom
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