End of IMF programme to spur on gov’ts social & economic programmes – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the completion of the 3-year IMF-supported Extended Credit Facility Programme will spur on government to implement its own policies to improve the quality of lives of Ghanaians.

According to him, “the end of the programme means that we will have the space to design our own social and economic programmes, without jettisoning the fiscal discipline and proper economic management necessary to give entrepreneurs the predictability and stability to plan properly, invest boldly to grow their enterprises, and create jobs.”

President Akufo-Addo was speaking at the May Day celebration at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, on Tuesday, 1st May, 2017, on the back of the news that Ghana has completed its 5th and 6th reviews of the IMF programme

Charter on Ghana Beyond Aid  

Whilst welcoming the partnership of organized labour with Government and the private sector to work together to develop home-grown solutions to Ghana’s problems, President Akufo-Addo noted that this joint effort would present the country with the most effective path to realising the vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.

It is for this reason that President Akufo-Addo announced the setting up a 10-member committee, comprising 3 members each from Government (Ministries of Finance, Planning and Employment and Labour Relations), Organised Labour, and the Private Enterprise Federation, to work out, under the chairmanship of Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, the Senior Minister, in the next six months, a Charter on Ghana Beyond Aid.

“The Charter will, then, be subjected to scrutiny and debate by Parliament, and adopted as a follow up to the Co-ordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies. The nation will then know in detail how we intend to move Ghana to a situation Beyond Aid,” he added.

Structural transformation of Ghanaian economy

President Akufo-Addo stressed, again, that Ghana cannot continue to be dependent on the production and export of raw materials, and expect to be a prosperous and wealthy nation.

“We must turn our back on the old economy, and build a value-added, industrialised economy with modernised agriculture, which is neither victim nor pawn of the world economic order. Our relations with the world must be characterised by an increase in trade and investment co-operation, not aid,” he said.

The President continued, “This is the way to develop healthy relations with other countries, and put Ghanaian products at the high end of the value chain in the global market place, and create jobs for the teeming masses of Ghanaians, particularly the youth. The vision is to build a free, prosperous, independent country, a Ghana Beyond Aid.”  

Whilst we pay tribute to past labour leaders like Pobee Biney, Anthony Woode, Vidal Quist, John Tettegah and others for their outstanding contribution to the liberation of our nation from colonialism, President Akufo-Addo was hopeful that today’s generation of labour leaders will also leave their own indelible marks on the history of Ghana, “as we seek to fulfil the dreams of freedom and prosperity that animated the founders of Ghanaian nationalism.”

With this year’s May Day celebration being held on the theme “Sustainable Development Goals and Decent Work: The role of Social Partners”, President Akufo-Addo admonished organised labour to help in the realisation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

“They are an investment in our future – the future of our youth and that of our children. We are obliged to leave them with an enduring legacy of a more prosperous, more stable, more secure, more just, and more peaceful world,” he added.

Investor confidence

Meanwhile Economist, Prof. Godfred Bokpin said ending the IMF programme will also boost investor confidence in the economy.

He said, “It may not be that tangible to the ordinary Ghanaian on the street but broadly it is very good for us especially as we are in the market trying to raise long term capital with the issuance of the $2.5billion Eurobond.

“Overall it may also boost investor confidence in the economy and donor support may also be quite swift,” he said in an exclusive interview with JoyBusiness.

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