IMF bailout a short-term measure for balance of payment support – Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta says going to the International Monetary Fund again for a bailout despite what government had earlier determined is a short-term measure for balance of support for the government.
His comment is based on Ghana’s return to the International Monetary Fund after he earlier claimed that the country had bright economic prospects.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Monday while presenting the mid-year budget, he stated that in the long term what Ghana “really need is a major structural shift in our economy.”
He explained that the structure of the economy is still largely primary despite the numerous attempts to structurally transform it through various industrialisation programmes.
“We are heavily reliant on primary commodities, extractive industry and are price takers on the market. Our capacity and productivity remain low both in the public and private sectors. There are huge inefficiencies as well as limited skills to foster our development and improve the standards of living,” he pointed out.
According to him, as a result of the heavy reliance on primary commodities, “any adverse global development impacts us negatively no matter how efficient we manage the economy.”
This, in his view, is a reason President Akufo-Addo’s “vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid is critical.”
He said the vision is “to reduce our vulnerability to global shocks.”
“Over the last few years the implementation of our flagships including the 1D1F, the Planting for Food and Jobs, the Road and Railway development programme and our recovery programme the GhanaCARES “Obaatan Pa”, will add value to our products,” he noted.
He proposed that to increase productivity in the private and public sectors of the economy, government will implement “implement programmes such as the YouStart as well as the Training and Retraining programme to enhance the skills of Ghanaians, especially the youth.”
Source: Ghana News
