A former communications officer of the NPP in the Abriem constituency, George Krobea Asante, has called on Ghanaians to remain calm, and continue to have confidence in the Akufo-Addo government to engineer the necessary economic rebound.
His call follows the dissatisfaction expressed by some members of the public with President Akufo-Addo’s decision to commence formal engagements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a possible bail-out programme.
He drew attention to the fact that the prospects for the global economy, including the giant economies, had been severely undermined in recent months because of the global turmoil caused by COVID-19 and Russian-Ukraine war.
“All over the world, many countries, including giant economies, are going for one form of support or the other from the IMF. The truth of the matter is that there is global crisis, which has adversely affected the global economy, and Ghana is not an exception,” he said in a statement.
Concern
That, he explained, had had a negative impact on commodity and fuel prices, stoking food crisis and provoking financial market volatility.
“Although the bombs may be dropping on cities half a world away, they are hitting our pockets, not only in Ghana and Africa, but also much of the developing world. As Ghanaians, this is the time not to throw our hopes in despair. Don’t lose hope in the ability of the current government to turn things remarkably around to provide you with a decent standard of living,” he urged.
In his opinion, even though the citizens have the constitutional right to express their views on national matters like this, it should be done with decorum and nationalism.
“As a citizen of this Republic, it is your constitutional mandate to talk about issues that border on national development. However, it is also your civic responsibility not to mislead, misinform, deceive and misrepresent the facts on such important national issue, all in an attempt to satisfy selfish and parochial interest,” Mr Asante Krobea noted.
He said even though an IMF bailout is not a bad option, ideally, the best option is for the country to manage its own affairs, questioning, “what is accounting for this decision, and whether or not is the best decision to be considered by the managers of our economy?”
“Yes, Ghana is requesting the IMF for financial support. But, fittingly, the best option was for the country to manage its own affairs, but should it get to a point where it could no longer do so, “then going to the IMF is not a bad option. The decision must, however, be backed by data that show the current position of the country,” he stated.
National interest
The former Presiding Member for Brim North District Assembly further urged the general public to understand and treat the current issue as national agenda, stressing that “until we understand that, we will not be able to make any meaningful and objective contribution to the issue under discussion”.
“Those people who are so happy because our dear country, Ghana, is struggling and therefore seeking for financial assistance from the IMF, all in an attempt to say the NDC and the NPP are the same, please, you are getting it all wrong,” he said.
Comparatively, he noted, the mismanagement of the economy under the NDC regime caused the country into going to IMF for bailout, emphasising that the current NPP government’s decision to opt for an IMF programme cannot be attributed to fiscal indiscipline.
“Under the NPP, it is evidenced that the whole world is in economic recession due to global crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. As a proud Ghanaian, I am extremely confident that the nation will bounce back stronger than never before. Let’s trust in the managers of our economy, and with the support of us all, Ghana will win,” he said.
