The worth of the local currency, according to award-winning investigative journalist Manasseh Azure, is more significant than President Akufo-speech Addo’s to Ghanaians on Sunday.
In a reactionary tweet after the address on Sunday evening, he said, “CONCLUSION: The value of the Cedi is far higher than the value of the president’s address”.
President Akufo-Addo acknowledged Ghana’s economic issue in a speech to the country on Sunday night, calling it a “historic” development.
He acknowledged the nation’s soaring debt load, growing inflation, the free fall of the local currency, and the depletion of macroeconomic variables in his speech.
He claims that a number of “malevolent forces” that are at play are to blame for the current state of affairs.
However, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to addressing the current economic downturn.
“We are in a crisis, I do not exaggerate when I say so. I cannot find an example in history when so many malevolent forces have come together at the same time.
But, as we have shown in other circumstances, we shall turn this crisis into an opportunity to resolve not just the short-term, urgent problems, but the long-term structural problems that have bedeviled our economy”, the President said.
The President added, “For us, in Ghana, our reality is that our economy is in great difficulty. The budget drawn for the 2022 fiscal year has been thrown out of gear, disrupting our balance of payments and debt sustainability, and further exposing the structural weaknesses of our economy”.
President Akufo-Addo mentioned initiatives to revive the faltering economy and revealed that all government employees, including the President and the Vice President, will continue to receive a 30% wage cut.
He further stated that the Bank of Ghana is assiduously working with other pertinent state entities to prevent the local currency from further declining in value relative to other significant trading currencies across the world.
He also emphasised that those who make erroneous predictions regarding the demise of the Cedi will face consequences in relation to the local currency.
The President concluded by promising to keep Ghanaians informed about the steps his administration is taking to strengthen the country’s economy.
Manasseh Azure, a renowned journalist, however, thinks the President’s speech was “hollow.“
Some Ghanaians have also criticised the President’s speech on social media, calling it “hollow.”
Others, however, have complimented his speech and the actions taken to boost the economy.
