The governing New Patriotic Party(NPP) has urged Ghanaians to applaud President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government for putting in place measures to deal with the challenges facing the economy.
The country’s economy has been struggling for the past six months with inflation hitting a high of 50.3% coupled with a depreciating cedi making life difficult for a lot of Ghanaians
The cedi which was struggling against the major currencies, especially the dollar(about GH¢15 to $1 ) nearly a month ago, is now appreciating bringing it close to GH¢10 to $1.
The General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Frimpong Kodua addressing a press conference on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, expressed confidence that the measures being implemented by the government will continue to be effective and bring relief to Ghanaians.
“So we ask, if the government can be blamed for the cedi depreciation, why can’t this same government be credited for the appreciation of the cedi? We leave that to the judgment of discerning Ghanaians. We also find it gratifying that owing to the massive appreciation of the cedi, prices of petroleum products at the pump have reduced resulting in a 15.3 reduction in transport fares as announced by transport unions.
“Although these developments may not entirely address the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the country, we do believe strongly that they may offer a sigh of relief for Ghanaians as we approach the festive season.”
He on the behalf of the NPP also appealed to traders and persons in the industrial sector to reduce the prices of their goods to alleviate the suffering of the citizens.
“We appeal to all manufacturers and traders to also reduce prices of commodities to conform to this reality.”
Government last week announced that it has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on economic policies and reforms to be supported by a new three-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) of about US$3 billion.
The authorities’ strong reform program aims at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability while protecting the vulnerable, preserving financial stability, and laying the foundation for strong and inclusive recovery.
To support the objective of restoring public debt sustainability, the authorities have launched a comprehensive debt operation.
“In addition to a frontloaded fiscal consolidation and measures to reduce inflation and rebuild external buffers, the program envisages wide-ranging reforms to address structural weaknesses and enhance resilience to shocks,” the IMF said in a post on its website.