KEN OFORI-ATTA HAS NOT MISMANAGED THE ECONOMY AFTER ALL

Critics of this administration, specifically, the NDC and their allies in the media as well as the self-styled economic analysts, have often lampooned Ken Ofori-Atta for ’running the economy down’.

These people have, on various occasions, blamed Ken Ofori-Atta for the economic meltdown the country has experienced.

They have often compared Ghana’s economy to neighbouring countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Togo and Benin and concluded that these countries have not been affected by the aftershocks of the deadly coronavirus pandemic as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine.

These people have often asked the questions:

1. “If it is true that COVID-19 and the raging war in Europe are responsible for our economic woes, why is Ghana the only country before the IMF seeking financial support?”
2. “Why are Togo, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire not at the IMF seeking bailouts as Ghana if it is really true that COVID-19 and the Russian/Ukrainian war are responsible for the slump in economic activities and growth across the globe?”

Since, according to them, these named countries are not asking for financial assistance from the IMF to shore up their economies, then it’d be right to say that Ghana’s economic crisis is homegrown and, therefore, Ken Ofori-Atta is to blame.

It is refreshing to emphasize today that this very claim by the NDC and their partners in crime is a palpable falsehood. These countries are before the IMF seeking bailouts. The reasons for their moves are the after effects of COVID-19 and the war between Russia and Ukraine, the same factors Ken Ofori Atta has mentored over the months.

Côte d’Ivoire is to receive US$2.6 billion from the IMF to support its economy. Benin is receiving US$638 million from the Fund to safeguard the country’s ailing economy. Togo is in talks with the Fund for support as we speak.

We can, therefore, subscribe to Ken Ofori-Atta’s position that Ghana’s current situation is not as a result of his so-called incompetence but the two cataclysmic events in the global economy.

The NDC and their allies have been exposed by these countries also seeking financial support from the International Monetary Fund. Deep in the dusty recesses of their minds, they know too well that Ken Ofori-Atta is not to blame for our current economic situation.

This is also supported by the growth trajectory of the economy before the uninvited visit by the deadly coronavirus pandemic and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

P.K. Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.