Ken Ofori-Atta has referred to 2022 as his worst year as the Minister of Finance.
Presenting the 2023 mid-year budget review in Parliament on Monday, July 31, Mr. Ofori-Atta noted that the outbreak of COVID-19 posed a great challenge for him and the government.
He said these challenges formed part of the reason why the Nana Addo-led administration went to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
“2022 was the most difficult year for me as Ghana’s Finance Minister. On July 1, 2022, we took what was then a very difficult but necessary decision to request support from the IMF to implement our Post-COVID-19 Programme of Economic Growth (PC-PEG). The country was going through a dire period of economic uncertainties and despondency.”
“A year on, our steps are more grounded, the vision is clearer, the path to recovery is better set, and confidence in our economy is back, growing gradually.
“We have turned the corner, and, more importantly, we are determined to continue down that path. Soon, we expect the measures taken to result in economic activity greater than anything experienced in the history of the Fourth Republic. Our plans and programmes should soon lead to a sustained increase in domestic production, including manufacturing and farming, replacing many of the products that we are used to importing.”
“The economy is showing signs of recovery. The exchange rate has stabilised, inflation has softened, and interest rates have declined since December 2022,” the Finance Minister added.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
