Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta, has urged all residents to maintain unflinching optimism over the state of the nation’s economy.
Mr. Ofori-Atta claims that the cost of rejecting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan will be too great to bear.
Despite the requirement of including stakeholders, the minister insisted that “we must do everything we can to sustain the gains of these measures while keeping in mind the urgency of the IMF board approval in quarter-one 2023.”
He made these comments while giving a report on the evolution of the government’s efforts to address the current economic problems.
He expressed his profound gratitude to the Speaker, the chamber’s leadership, and all of the lawmakers for their diligent work in ensuring that the 2023 budget received policy approval on December 6, 2022.
He persisted in requesting that the House move quickly to pass the budget’s budgetary measures for the upcoming year.
“We are therefore calling on the Parliament to favourably consider the fiscal measures of the 2023 budget as they are an integral part of the package for addressing the economic challenges facing the country and will facilitate the approval of an IMF program by its board,” Ken Ofori-Atta continued.
The Finance Minister stated that the administration has maintained significant communication with stakeholders to discuss the justification and receive their opinion regarding the debt swap program’s implementation.
“Ultimately, confidence and the active participation of all stakeholders are the essential elements for the success of this debt exchange program. As such government is committed to laying out a path towards attaining debt sustainability informed by sound technical analysis and broad stakeholder engagement,” the Minister said.
In an effort to guarantee complete participation from all parties, the government has also moved the debt swap program’s expiration date from December 19, 2022, to December 30, 2022. The key concerns facing stakeholders can be solved thanks to this action.
Ken Ofori-Atta urged all Ghanaians to participate by supporting the multiple interventions being made to jump-start Ghana’s recovery in a decisive, bold, and daring manner because 2023 must be the “comeback year.”
He concluded by greeting a joyous holiday season and a Merry Christmas to all Ghanaians.
