Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has reiterated what he considers to be the cause of the prevailing economic crisis.

The Minister listed the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 coupled with the war between Russia and Ukraine as the cause for the country’s predicament.

Mr Ofori-Atta was in Parliament on Thursday to update the House on the measures taken towards meeting the debt conditions to secure a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This is not the first time government has cited these factors to explain the current state of the economy.

However, on all occasions, the Minority has fought against these claims, citing economic mismanagement and reckless borrowing as the real causes.

While addressing Parliament on the progress of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, the Minister felt the need to highlight the point again in drumming home the purpose of the debt restructuring programme.

“Let me clarify that, the current state of our debt is because of the lingering effects of the CoVID-19 pandemic, the Russia–Ukraine war. This has been exacerbated by the high macroeconomic instability experienced in 2022, occasioned by downgrades by rating agencies as well as the consequential pressures on Government finances due to the actions of non-resident investors and the delayed passage of our revenue bills,” he said.

Meanwhile, North Tongu legislator, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is baffled as to why the government is still attributing the abysmal state of the economy to these external factors.

For now, the deadline for the DDEP has elapsed with the Ministry confirming about 85% participation.

Earlier this week, the IMF also appointed Leonard Chumo as a Resident Adviser in financial sector supervision to the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

He is to provide technical assistance and help build the capacity of the banking supervision function.

“At the request of Bank of Ghana and fully funded by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has assigned a Resident Adviser in financial sector supervision to the Bank of Ghana”, a statement from the BoG read.Source: Kenneth Awotwe Darko