Sammy Gyamfi Refutes IMFs Claim About Ghana's Economy

Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer for NDC

Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, has refuted claims by the government and the IMF that the current economic challenges faced by Ghana are solely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He argued that the Ghanaian economy was already deteriorating due to poor management by the Economic Management Team, led by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, as evidenced by the significant devaluation of the Ghanaian currency by almost 13 percent in 2019.

In an interview with Joy News, Gyamfi mentioned that the reduction in imports following the global pandemic helped stabilize the Ghanaian cedi rather than depreciating it further. He also noted that rather than attributing the alarming devaluation of the Cedi solely to COVID-19, it was due to investors pulling out their money, with the country's debt position no longer being sustainable. This has led to downgrading by sovereign credit rating agencies, resulting in Ghana's economy being referred to as a 'borla' economy.

Contrary to the allegations of some opposition members, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has stated that Ghana's economic challenges are not due to bad policies by the Akufo-Addo administration. She attributed Ghana's economic woes to exogenous factors, such as the pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine, and stated that constructive discussions have begun to support Ghana in overcoming these challenges.

Gyamfi added that the country was already financially constrained before the pandemic to the extent that it couldn't even raise $100 billion at the pandemic's onset, further demonstrating Ghana's dire economic state.