[L-R] Former President Mahama and President Akufo-Addo[/caption]Former President John Mahama has asked President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government to admit they do not have the answers to the challenges facing the economy, which has caused a rapid depreciation of the cedi against major international trading currencies.
“The recent free fall of the cedi against all major foreign currencies, may be exposing a deeper malaise in the ‘fundamentals of the economy,’” Mahama argued in a Facebook post Thursday.
He said the time has come for the Akufo-Addo to come clean on his shortcomings in managing the economy to save it from deterioration, indicating that will not take away his “dignity, but adds to your credibility”.
The former president who received serious backlash from vice president Mahamudu Bawumia for his management of the economy said it was about time the Akufo-Adddo government and its economic management team adopts a consultative approach in saving the cedi from further fall.
Mahama said when he was faced with such economic challenges during his tenure in 2014, he opened up for ideas from Ghanaians through a three-day economic forum at Senchi in May 2014.
Though he said the New Patriotic Party at the time boycotted the forum, “it achieved its objective of producing the famous Senchi Report which contributed to the Homegrown Fiscal Consolidation Programme”.
The programme led to the extended credit facility Ghana signed with the International Monetary Fund, which Mahama observed, resulted in one of the most stable periods in Ghana’s economic history in 2016, with the cedi being one of the best performing African currencies.
“This [Akufo-Addo] administration is probably at such a decision point,” Mahama said, adding “It may serve Akufo-Addo/Bawumia and their economic team well to own up to their shortcomings and call a Senchi type stakeholder forum on the economy.
Meanwhile Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta said Wednesday that government was working to ensure the cedi appreciates against the major trading currencies in the next two weeks, saying “The reversal will occur and it is going to be pretty stable”.
4.6 billion dollars, he said, would be pumped into the economy by the second quarter of this year, noting government was expecting about 900 million dollars funding for the COCOBOD and an additional 750 dollars million bridge financing intended to cover the government’s short-term expenses.
“Today as we speak, we launched our Eurobond, which would officially be close to $3 billion,” he stated.
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