Prez Akufo-Addo concludes engagements ahead of address tonight

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo concluded a cabinet retreat on Saturday at the Peduase Lodge ahead of his address to the nation on the economy tonight.

Over the past week, President Akufo-Addo has engaged various stakeholders on the economy including the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Association of Banks, the Forex Bureau Association of Ghana, the Market Women Association, the Ghana Employers Association and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and Transport operators.

Other meetings held during the week included discussions with the Private Enterprise Federation, the Ghana Journalists Association and the Council of State.

I have been engaging various stakeholders in the Economy this week including:

Association of Ghana Industries
Ghana Association of Banks
Forex Bureau Association of Ghana
Market Women
Ghana Employers Association
GPRTU and Transport operators
Private Enterprise Federation pic.twitter.com/KGNXmn7cnu

— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) October 29, 2022

Meetings

On Tuesday, the President met with the Association of Ghana Industries, the Ghana Association of Banks, the GPRTU and Transport and the Council of State.

On Wednesday, he met with market women, the Ghana Employers Association, the Private Enterprise Federation, the national executives of the Ghana Journalists Association and the Trades Union Congress.

At one of Wednesday's engagements, the President of the Forex Bureau Association of Ghana, K. T. Dadzie noted that the exchange rates had reacted positively, with an appreciation of the Cedi, following ongoing engagements between the government and key stakeholders.

Address

The address will come off at 8 pm tonight and be streamed on Graphic Online.

The President is expected to address the current economic situation in the country and his engagements over the past week gave a clue about the issues he is likely to speak on.

For instance, the Ghana cedi has lost close to 50 per cent of its value against the dollar since the beginning of the year.

Inflation for September 2022 surged to 37.2 per cent year-on-year while Producer Price Inflation for the same month rose to 45.5 per cent.

Additionally, prices of food items, sachet water, fuel and transportation have also increased.

The GPRTU has increased fares by 19%, in a move its says was occasioned by the continuous soaring prices of petroleum products. Currently, Diesel and Petrol are selling for over GH¢15 and GH¢13 respectively at major fuel stations; a situation transport operators say is eroding their profit. Also, VIP JEOUN bus operators announced new transport fares for the travelling public last Monday, October 24.

The National Association of Sachet and Packaged Water Producers (NASPAWAP) recommended that one iced sachet water (pure water) should be retailed at 60 pesewas effective Monday, October 31, 2022. It also recommended that one iced bottled water - 500ml be retailed at GH¢2.50, one iced bottled water - 750ml or medium size be retailed at GH¢3.50 and one iced bottle water - 1.5litre be retailed at GH¢5.00. It is the second time in consecutive months that the retail price of sachet water has been increased by NASPWAP.

The country is currently negotiating a $3 billion (£2.6bn) bailout with the International Monetary Fund which it hopes will grant it access to the international capital markets.