Akufo-Addo Holds Crucial Retreat With His Top Appointees On Raging Economic Challenges

• Nana Akufo-Addo and his top government appointees are at the Peduase Lodge for a crucial meeting on the economic challenges.
• The possibility of Ghana going back to the IMF for a bailout programme will be high on the agenda.
• The Minority has advised the president and his appointees to make sound decisions that will truly benefit every Ghanaian.

President Nana Akufo-Addo yesterday, Thursday, March 17, 2022, started a four-day retreat with his top appointees to find air-tight solutions to raging economic challenges.

The dangerous bi-weekly spikes in the price of fuel, the depreciation of the cedi against major trading currencies, inadequate revenue, the issue of the closed land borders and the many sources of huge waste in the public sector will be among the topical issues the president will be discussing with his officials.

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IMF or E-Levy? - Gabby calls for a national debate amid Ghana’s economic woes

The crucial retreat, according to a report by Joy News, is taking place at the Peduase Lodge -- located on the Aburi mountains -- and includes all New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmakers, ministers, appointees, and the leadership of the governing party.

Although the government has not issued any official statement on the retreat, there are speculations that discussions will also centre on the possibility of Ghana returning to the IMF for a bailout programme.

A confidante of the president, Gabby Otchere-Darko yesterday said Ghana’s current economic troubles call for a national debate.

He said in a tweet that the debate should weigh options for the passage of the E-Levy or going to the IMF or both or none.

“Tough decisions confront Ghana,” he admitted in the tweet.

Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament is pushing for an IMF bailout programme.

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Reduce size of your elephant-size gov't now - Prof Gyampo advises Akufo-Addo in open letter

The opposition MPs base their support for an IMF bailout programme instead of the implementation of the unpopular E-Levy on the country's current unsustainable debt situation, as well as the slumping value of the cedi against the dollar and other major trading currencies.

Opposition MP and a ranking member on Parliament’s Finance Committee, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has said it is critical for the president to avoid making a politically-motivated decision when the retreat ends on Sunday, March 20, 2022.

He said the president and his officials must make a decision that will be in the interest of every Ghanaian.

"Where the country is heading towards, clearly, it looks like we are going to have an accident on the way,” Dr Forson said yesterday, March 17, 2022.

Prof Gyampo Makes 9-Point Proposal To Akufo-Addo On Easing Economic Woes

Political science professor, Ransford Gyampo, has told Nana Akufo-Addo to reduce the size of his government in a nine-point proposal contained in an open letter to the president.

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Minority slams Akufo-Addo over ‘stubborn’ closure of land borders, high Covid test fee

The nine suggestions are meant to save Ghana’s debilitating economic situation that has since become a top national topic.

In the open letter published on Facebook on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, the senior political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, said the President cannot be blamed for the current economic challenges, although there are important things he must do to regain the massive goodwill he seems to have lost over the years.

Source: YEN.com.gh