Economic Hardship: Professor Gatsi Wades In With Four Ways Ghana Can Prevent Cyclical Economic Hardship

• Professor John Gatsi has thrown out claims by the government that the Russia-Ukraine war is one of the causes of Ghana's economic crisis
• He said the war and the other factors cited by government rather exposed poor economic decisions taken by the Nana Akufo-Addo administration
• Speaking at a forum in Accra, the Dean of the University of Cape Coast Business School outlined four ways Ghana can prevent another economic crunch

Ghanaian Accounting and Finance Professor, John Gatsi, has proposed four ways Ghana can prevent the cyclical economic crunch such as is being experienced under the current Nana Akufo-Addo administration.

Prof Gatsi said while the current economic troubles, characterised by high inflation and a tumbling cedi, among others, are the outcome of some bad calls under the current administration, the state can avoid a recurrence.

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Speaking at the 11th Leadership Dialogue Series on Ghana's Economy by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, the Dean of the University of Cape Coast Business School recommended the following solutions to Ghana's recurrent economic challenges:

1. An Inclusive National Development Plan must guide the development of political party manifestos instead of the current trend where political party manifestos are used to govern the country;

2. All administrations must embrace fiscal discipline;

3. Political leaders must see themselves as stewards and their positions as a privilege and not an unquestionable right;

4. Governments must provide a measurement for the value of debt. He said it is not enough for governments to pile up huge debts but fail to account for how the debts were used.

Prof Gatsi, who has published many articles in internationally reputable peer-reviewed journals, said the Russia-Ukraine war and the other factors that have been cited had not caused Ghana's economic crisis as the government and some IMF communications have claimed.

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"The Russia-Ukraine war is not the cause of the fiscal and economic crises of Ghana but contribute to the already existing disturbing macro fiscal development before Covid and Russia-Ukraine war," he pointed out.

Causes Of Ghana's Economic Crisis

Professor John Gatsi said the Akufo-Addo administration triggered the debilitating economic crisis by doing the following:

a. Piling up high, unsustainable public debt

b. Paying high interests on debts and dwarfing financial commitment to other sectors

c. Creating an unstable macroeconomic environment;

d. Creating a fiscal dominance situation – where the Bank of Ghana lends excessively to government above the acceptable limits.

e. Low revenue performance

f. Neglect of the potential of modernised agriculture

g. Inefficient spending

Ghanaian Citizen Writes To IMF To Refuse Giving President Nana Addo Money

YEN.com.gh reported previously that a citizen of Ghana whose identity is disclosed has written to the Facebook page of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asking the organization not to lend any amount of money to the President of Ghana.

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Meanwhile, as YEN.com.gh earlier reported, the Ghana Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that the institution has received a request from the Ghanaian government for economic support.

Albert Touna-Mama tweeted on Friday, July 1, 2022, that the IMF is ready to assist Ghana in restoring macroeconomic stability.

Source: YEN.com.gh