Restoring economic stability dominates government’s fruitful discussions with groups – Oppong Nkrumah

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has stated that President Akufo-Addo’s engagement with identifiable economic groups and institutions in the country has been fruitful and smooth and the deliberations has largely focused on the need to restore economic stability.

He said this when he addressed the press at the Jubilee House on 26 October 2022, at the end of two days of broad consultations between the President and multiple groups and stakeholders in the country’s economic space.

Amongst the groups the President held meetings with are; Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Ghana Association of Bankers, Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and Transport Operators.

The rest are Forex Bureau Association of Ghana, Forex Bureau, Market Women, Ghana Employers Association, Private Enterprise Federation, and the leaders of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

In his interaction with the identifiable bodies, President Akufo-Addo, according to Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, briefed them on the state of negotiations between his government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the implications of a possible programme with the fund on the country’s economy in the coming weeks and in the long term.

“Cost of living has been big on the agenda, the currency is being big on the agenda but item number one has been stability, restoring economic stability and then on the back of that, looking to how we can bring back so growth and expansion on the Ghana economy. These discussions have gone very smoothly” Oppong Nkrumah said.

“Our expectation is that all of these will form a part of what the President and cabinet will be considering over the weekend prior to making some decision and then on Sunday, he [President Akufo-Addo] will have the opportunity to address the nation and we take the steps from there” he added.

President Akufo-Addo’s engagement with economic groupings in the country and the upcoming Cabinet retreat follows the challenging state of the country’s economy as a result of the hit it has suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the geo-political war ongoing between Russia and Ukraine.

The entire global economy according to financial expects is slipping into recession as the World Bank warns that it will take all the countries of the world several decades to pay off the debts they have accumulated over COVID-19 spending in the last two years alone.