We Have Turned The Economy Around – Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has averred that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) was able to stabilize the economy during the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic.
According to him, between January 2017 and March 2020, the local economy witnessed a turn around from its wobbling state.
Presenting the 2022 budget before parliament on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, the Finance Minister said the economy has been put on the path of fiscal stability.
He said, “Mr. Speaker, we know we can get the job done. It is well-known that prior to the pandemic, we had stabilised and turned around the economy between January 2017 and March 2020. We had reversed the worrying economic trend we inherited and placed the country on a path of fiscal sustainability and growth.
“We doubled the economic growth rate from 3.4 percent to an average of 7.0 percent between that period. It is undisputed that we brought down the fiscal deficit below the 5 percent threshold, we improved our gross international reserves from US$4.9 billion (2.8 months of imports) to US$9.9 billion (4.7 months of imports), we provided free SHS for 1.2 million Ghanaian students,” he added.
The budget presentation is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
However, some economists have share contrary views saying Ghana is broke and needs to be revamped.