Govt/IMF negotiations aim to inject aspiration in economy
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said the talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 2023 Budget will seek to address the concerns of Ghanaians and inject their aspirations into the management of the economy.
He said it was for that reason he had, in the last three weeks, been meeting various stakeholders in the Ghanaian society and economy to get their insights, concerns and preoccupations, so that the final outcome would address, as broad as possible, those concerns.
President Akufo-Addo said this when he met the leadership of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations at the Jubilee House last Friday as part of his broad-based consultation with various groups on the economy.
The meeting moved into a closed-door session after the introduction of members of the coalition and the introductory remarks by President Akufo-Addo.
Representatives of the coalition were from CDD-Ghana, the Citizens Movement Against Corruption, the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, the Africa Education Watch, the Network for Women’s Right in Ghana, the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the Citizen Ghana Movement, Oxfam Ghana, SEND Ghana and IDEG.
The President had earlier met the leaders of the Ghana Bar Association, the Christian Council of Ghana, market queens, the GPRTU, labour unions, the Ghana Employers Association, the Ghana Journalists Association, the Private Enterprises Federation and the Forex Bureaux Association of Ghana.
Others are the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Association of Bankers and the Council of State.
President Akufo-Addo noted that all were aware of the difficulty in which the country found itself and the efforts by the government to address them, noting: “I don’t think that effort will succeed if it is not guided and influenced by a broad consultative process.”
He said in the last three weeks, he had been interacting with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the economy and society because Ghana had gone to the IMF to seek assistance to repair public finances and also rebuild the balance of payments.
He added that the government was also in the process of preparing a budget for the 2023 fiscal year and it was important that the final outcome of its work carried the support of the people of Ghana.
“Both the negotiations with the fund and the making of the 2023 budget should be done in such a way that they can have broad-based support as possible.
“And for that to happen, we have to be in a position to consult with stakeholders, get their insights, concerns and preoccupations, so that the final outcome will address those concerns,” President Akufo-Addo added.
Ambassador
In another development, the President has appointed a former Director General of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), Kwaku Domfeh, as Ghana’s Ambassador to the DR Congo, with the charge to ensure that he briefed the government on the evolution of events in the country.
He said Ghana had had good relations with DR Congo and urged the new envoy to build on the relationship and work with the staff at the embassy through mutual respect and seek the interest of the Ghanaian community in that country.