Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu
The debate over Ghana’s economic state continues to intensify as Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, has strongly refuted claims by Deputy Finance Minister Stephen Amoah that the current government inherited a better economy than the one left behind in 2016.
“If Stephen Amoah said the economy we inherited is better than the one we left in 2016, it is palpably untrue,” Kwakye Ofosu asserted during an appearance on JoyNews’ Newsfile.
He emphasized that Ghana’s current economic challenges, particularly the hardships faced by bondholders, are clear indicators of a worsening situation.
“1.3 million people went through excruciating hardship because the money they were expecting from the government after buying bonds was not going to come.
They had to accept drastically reduced interest rates and extended maturities,” he explained.
According to him, economic indicators will show the stark difference when the Finance Minister presents the budget on March 11.
“There are about 18 of the indicators and in due course on 11th March, when the Finance Minister presents the budget, he will go into details about the specific indicators. And if you take out the growth rate, all the rest are worse than what they inherited.”
Kwakye Ofosu also dismissed assertions that the previous administration left behind a surplus in the primary balance. “It is not true that they left a positive primary balance. They left a target of 0.5%, which was supposed to be a surplus,” he stated.
