Ghana’s economy was tumbling before COVID hit current situation very serious – World Bank exposes gov’t

DailynewsghanaMarch 8, 2022

1 minute read

According to the World Bank, even if COVID-19 did not improve Ghana’s economic status, the situation had been deteriorating before the pandemic.

The World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Mr. Pierre Laporte, spoke at the 65th Independence Day Lecture on the state of the nation’s economy and politics, 65 years after independence, the path to sustainable development and democratic consolidation on Monday, March 7, 2022, at the Economics Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, on the state of the nation’s economy and politics, 65 years after independence, the path to sustainable development and democratic consolidation.

“Is it a really serious situation? Well, the numbers speak for themselves”, he noted, emphasizing: “The situation is very serious”.

“At the World Bank, we’ve not hidden the fact when we’ve held discussions with government officials and even the head of state that Ghana faces a very tough road ahead to restore macro sustainability,” Mr Laporte noted.

In his view, although COVID-19 takes some of the blame for the current situation, the signs were on the wall way before the pandemic started.

“Yes, COVID-19 has not helped but even before COVID-19, there were signs that the situation was getting a little bit challenging”, he noted.

“So, the key thing is to be transparent with the people”, he advised.

“Yes, the figures speak for themselves but not everybody is as educated as we are. Not everyone understands what the numbers mean, so, it is important to talk about it like we are doing. More important is for us to find solutions for the problem”, Mr Laporte pointed out.