Ghana is working hard to restore its economic momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted its growth path, according to the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
He said the government was focusing on boosting the economy to overcome the current challenges facing the country.
He made these remarks at the third Ghana Investments and Opportunities Summit in London on Tuesday, where he said “we are living in extraordinary times over the past two years, inflation has surged and its rise has been large, sudden and global.”
The summit aimed to attract foreign investors to explore the opportunities available in various sectors of the Ghanaian economy as the government pursued its economic recovery agenda.
He said inflation was at unprecedented levels in many parts of the world.
“Meanwhile, financial systems have come under strain.
For the first time in recent decades, we have seen high inflation and financial stress emerging in tandem.
“The world as we are all aware continues to face difficult moments caused by several factors, including climate change, disruptions in the supply chain of manufacturing goods as a result of the pandemic,” he added.
Dr Bawumia said “these issues as projected by the World Bank are sinking some developed and developing countries into recession and that just when the world was recovering from the ravages of COVID-19 pandemic, war also broke out between Russia and Ukraine.
He said the impact of the war had not only affected the two countries but also extended to other parts of the world, including Ghana.
“We have been hit by mainly three major external forces.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit our capacity to access fundamental goods and the response put a burden on public finances.
“The war between Russia and Ukraine, among other factors, hit fertilizer and grain prices and increased the prices of commodities back home as well as the United States Federal Reserve’s move to also hike interest rate severely hit our capacity to borrow and repay debt on the international market,” he said.
Dr Bawumia said the government was balancing sound fiscal management with strategic public investments that unlocked growth, and mentioned the Brownfield, Greenfield and Public Private Partnerships as tangible and bankable projects championed by the private sector in Ghana and abroad.
Private sector He described the private sector as the engine of growth, and said, “we are only here to support you, our government is acting as your facilitator.”
He, therefore, assured that “We will unlock bottlenecks and prioritise limited resources to strategic sectors and projects, adding that “We think this is an exciting time to be part of Ghana’s economic growth.”
Dr Bawumia said the investment and opportunities summit was organised in that context and that “first, we want to show that Ghana is back on track and that strong opportunities exist for profitable private investments in key sectors.”
