Executive Director of Tema-based Think Tank – Institute of Liberty and Policy Innovation, Peter Bismark Kwofie says, govt cannot blame the current economic hardships on the effects of Covid-19 and the Russia and Ukraine war.
Disclosing that, govt refused to create a buffer to reduce external shocks and influences which are normal within all economies.
In an interview with Ahotor 92.3 fm news, Mr Kwofie said, the economy, prior to the setting in of covid-19 was just bad with high inflation, so the war and the pandemic just exposed Ghana’s weak economy.
The ILAPI Boss noted that, importations from Ukraine and Russia are minimal as compared to the US, UK, China, Norway, South Africa among others.
‘He said, if our factories were working, there would not be any bases of blame game’.
‘If we are doing 1D1F, why didn’t we use the private productions in our factories, and this would have cushioned external shocks by the fall of our raw products on the external markets’. He asked.
He cited the lack of job creation as the main difficulty confronting the economy, and not the war.
‘What has the high prices of kenkey, fufu, fish from the rivers, tomatoes and pepper got to do with the war,’. He quizzed.
Mr Kwoffie disclosed that, lots of countries that were badly affected by the covid-19 are creating jobs and this has a huge potential of reducing the hardships.
The ILAPI Boss was critical of the size of the govt machinery which in other countries are being reviewed downwards.
This, he advised would help the country make some savings, and re- directed to other job creation.
Godfred Sey/ Ahotoronline.com
