President Akufo-Addo has criticized rating agencies for unfairly and recklessly downgrading sovereign nations, particularly Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the downgrades of some African economies have completely shut them out from accessing the international capital market. He stated that the market hitherto helped these countries to support their liquidity needs.
“… We recently had to deal with one of the most difficult periods in post-independence history, difficulties which were exacerbated by the reckless behaviour of rating agencies that engaged in procyclical downgrades, shutting Ghana out of capital markets and turning a liquidity crisis into insolvency crisis…”
President Akufo-Addo
Speaking at the ongoing 30th anniversary and annual general meeting of the Afreximbank, he revealed that under a “countercyclical” response mechanism by Afreximbank, it provided timely support to help Ghana navigate the macro economic management challenges, which were worsened by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine in an orderly manner.
In a speech to pay tribute to the remarkable feat by the Africa Export and Import Bank (AFREXIM), President Akufo-Addo hinted that a timely support also by the government of Ghana got the country out of many challenges and also helped the government sail through.
He stated that the country which had become the favourite child of bondholders and had successfully gone to market at the height of the pre covid-19 downturn, was suddenly shut out of the capital markets.
“It is often said that you know who is truly your friend when you are in trouble… When you’re dealing with powerful, international institutions, it is important to have your own powerful financial institution.”
President Akufo-Addo
Following the relationship Ghana shares with the Afreximbank, President Akufo-Addo explained that it is very significant and important to be present at the anniversary of the Bank. He expressed that it is a delight hosting the 30th anniversary of Afreximbank just after a few months after the liquidity crisis the country went through.
“What I have just said about the great relationship between AFREXIM and Ghana, most of my colleagues in this room, across the continent and the Caribbean, will say the same thing.”
President Akufo-Addo
Africans urged to work collaboratively
On his part, Mohamed Maait, Egypt’s minister of finance and chairman of the Afreximbank Annual Meetings, who was represented by Gamal Negm, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, stated that Africans must work collaboratively towards finding integrated solutions to the new challenges confronting the continent.
Maait lauded Afreximbank for playing a significant role in developing and implementing solutions to address the challenges confronting Africa. He expressed the hope that AAM2023 would lead to even more constructive solutions to Africa’s problems, describing the bank as one of the African institutions delivering on the African Union’s (AU) Vision 2063.
Earlier, Ernest Yedu Addison, governor of the Bank of Ghana, delivering his welcome remarks, said that Ghana represented the most appropriate venue for the celebration of Afreximbank’s 30th anniversary, given the bank’s role in developing and promoting African trade and the fact that Ghana was the home of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
Mr Addison noted that Afreximbank has been very supportive of Ghana and has, over the years, provided more than $2 billion to support the Ghanaian economy. He commended Afreximbank for the approach it adopted in its work which emphasised a collaborative approach in dealing with other continental institutions.
Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the AfCFTA Secretariat, also stated that with the inclusion of a vision for an integrated African market in the founding treaty of the Organisation of African Unity, the founding fathers of the AU had foreseen the need for Afreximbank.
