Mark Simons, Former United Kingdom (UK) Minister for Africa
A former United Kingdom (UK) Minister for Africa, Mark Simons, has lauded Ghana for demonstrating strong economic gains, despite the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ghana, he said, displayed a remarkable resilience to the economic effect of the pandemic, showing strong economic gains through last year.
“Ghana has displayed a remarkable resilience to the economic effect of the pandemic, showing strong economic gains through last year. Given its relative strength, Ghana is exactly the sort of African market Britain should be looking to partner with… This growth with economic activity is something the UK could benefit,” he was reported to have said.
Debt management
According to the Minister of Finance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has noted that Ghana is in the right direction in terms of managing the country’s debt.
“…the question then becomes whether the Fund (IMF) has the resources that we require to really inoculate a programme for the debt and that’s a question that is hanging… but we have committed to not going back to the Fund because in terms of policy, we are right there and the Fund notes that we are completely in the right direction,” he said yesterday in a press briefing.
“And so the issue is validating the programme that we have put in place and then in my view supporting us to find alternative ways of refinancing our debt, reprofiling it without needing to be with the Fund. I think there’s a general acknowledgement that, that should be the first point of call and we are doing it,” he added.
Mr Ofori-Atta also emphasised the government’s resolve not return to the IMF for support in order to deal with the challenges that the economy is going through.
Infrastructural concerns
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has charged African leaders to collaborate to articulate a new way of addressing infrastructural concerns on the continent.
Speaking at an Infrastructure Solution summit organised by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in Abuja, President Akufo-Addo encouraged leadership on the continent to demand an equal playing field on the global finance market.
That, he indicated, would go a long way enable Africa adequately enhance efficient infrastructural development.
The President emphasised the need to address global constraints in the global capital market by expanding the influence of the institutions like AFC, ADB among others.
“ADB has recently gone for recapitalisation to enable it to be able to do more. As governments of the continent, we need to put our weight behind this attempt but we also equally need to address structural constraints in the global capital market in the world,” he said.
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