Development economist, Dr Michael Ayamga Adongo, has revealed that the country’s economic problems are as a result of poor leadership.

According to him, for government to blame the current state of the country on COVID and Russia, is a “misdiagnosis of the problem” and Ghana is not going to move forward. He indicated that even in the COVID year, backed by data from the Bank of Ghana, the country did not lose anything in terms of its domestic revenue.

“I think that our economic challenges are a matter of leadership and as a result of mismanagement of the economy, exemplified by reckless borrowing and misapplication of the proceeds of economic growth… In fact, in 2019, our domestic revenue grew; our revenue including grants grew. So, you can’t tell us that even when your revenue is exceeding the pre-COVID years, you blame COVID for what is happening in this country. We have borrowed excessively. If you go into the market and ask why Ghana is where it is today, they will tell you debt.”
Dr Michael Ayamga Adongo

Dr Adongo iterated that COVID has no bearing on the problems being encountered in the country. He stated that if government tries to blame the issue on revenue for example, the “only thing missing today in our bag of tools for managing this economy is money from the capital market and borrowing even from bilateral sources”. He highlighted that considering the country’s tax revenues and other source of revenues, it is obvious that “even COVID hasn’t done anything significant” to them.

“This is a government that has accumulated about GHC246 billion… Over the years, it has been spending less on capital sectors and spending mostly on consumables and consumption and it has failed to actually diversify this economy away from gold and away from oil.”
Dr Michael Ayamga Adongo

Dr Adongo revealed that government’s decision to shift blame on the current economic crisis will not work because the country is not an “island”. He explained that other countries have faced similar issues and done better in management of their challenges.

Resolving economic challenges in the country

Reacting to President Akufo-Addo’s statement on Founders’ Day celebration that government is committed to reviving the economy, Dr Adongo emphasized that it is going to take more than just promises to resolve the challenges in the country.

President Akufo-Addo speaking at an event to mark the Founders’ Day praised Ghanaians for their “can-do spirit” in the face of adversity. According to him, although Ghanaians are faced with several obstacles, they are determined “not to be bucked down by events and allow the circumstances and challenges of today to shape our collective future”.

He highlighted that since the attainment of Independence 65 years ago, Ghanaians have bemoaned the fact that the nation has not lived up to its vast potential.

“In countries such as those in South East Asia that is Korea and Malaysia which gained their Independence around the same time as we did, have outstripped us in terms of development.”
President Akufo-Addo

The President expressed that even though Covid-19 had a massive hit on the economy, it worsened due to the Russia and Ukraine war. However, “government has outlined a series of measures including seeking the assistance of the International Monetary Fund in the short term to help repair our finances”. He assured that “we will revive and revitalize the nation back on the path of economic growth”.