First progress report on Senchi Consensus presented to Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has received the first progress report on the Senchi Consensus. The report contained a set of recommendations that emerged from the National Economic Forum held in May 2014 at Senchi in the Eastern Region.

President Mahama organised the forum at the height of the economic crisis in 2014 when the cedi was depreciating rapidly and the economy was facing many challenges.

A statement from the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) said  President Mahama thanked the commission for its hardwork, adding that the government would provide the necessary support to ensure the full implementation of the recommendations.

President Mahama disclosed that the massive investments being made by the government in the energy sector were in response to one of the key recommendations, which was to improve electricity supply for industries and households.  

NDPC Director-General

The statement said the NDPC Director-General, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, who presented the report to the President, described the progress of implementation as "mixed but encouraging”. 

It explained that Dr Thompson said as host of the Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) of the Senchi Consensus, NDPC deployed all necessary resources to monitor the implementation of the recommendations. 

It said the Bank of Ghana’s reversal in June of the measures it imposed in February 2014 to save the cedi, began the process of stabilisation and appreciation of the cedi against the major currencies in the second half of 2014.

Senchi recommendations 

The reversal was one of the recommendations from Senchi. 

Other Trending Stories

Time to amend constitution to do away with winner-takes-all - Haruna Iddrisu 

Towards good parliamentary democracy: Hybrid system won’t work - Justice Dotse asserts

I will ensure that all distortions to our history are corrected - Mahama

I'll jail corrupt women, men and their children will follow them to jail - Hassan Ayariga

Elizabeth Sam unveiled as Kofi Akpaloo of LPG's vice presidential candidate

The statement said the Director-General cited the mid-term review of the government’s budget by the Finance Minister, Mr Seth Terkper, as another factor that helped to stabilise the cedi, followed by the $1 billion from the Euro bond, the $1.6 billion from  the COCOBOD syndicated loan, and the government’s decision to open negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The statement said the challenges of implementation included the fact that many of the recommendations were not part of the original work plans of implementing agencies and so had not been budgeted for.  

“Other factors were the late release of budgetary allocations to facilitate the work of implementing agencies,” it said.