COVID-19: We Did Unprecedented Borrowing To Save Economy – Oppong Nkrumah
The minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, says the Akufo-Addo government had to embark on extra borrowing in order to get the Ghanaian economy functioning despite the harsh impact of COVID-19.
He said the media must play a role in reminding Ghanaians about the devasting impact the pandemic has had on the world economy and the need to work with government in finding solutions.
“We have to literally break the banks, borrowed money that we have never borrowed before, exceed some of our very fine statistical limits that we have put in place. We have to sacrifice all that so we can pump resources into ensuring that today you and I are still alive and we are not like India,” he told the media in Tamale.
He stressed: “Today you see deficit of 11%, you see debt to GDP ratio over 70%, you see revenues are falling, you see expenditure is challenged. That is to be expected if we are going to sacrifice that to protect lives”
The minister has therefore entreated Ghanaians to remain calm and trust in government’s efforts to stabilize the economy.
Media reportage
On media reportage, the minister admonished journalists to focus more on promoting the country positively other than headlining the negatives. He indicated that the negative reports that the media highlight on their platforms is what is taken by the international media platforms which affect Ghana’s score internationally.
“the kind of narratives we curve about our country are the ones that will be taken up by the international platforms and it will be used to mark us down. So, if the reality is that we are doing a lot to deepen freedom of expression, freedom of the media in this country, we should tell that story”.
For journalists based in the Regions, he urged them to promote their various regions by harnessing their economic potentials to attract investors.