Sack ‘incompetent’ Finance Minister for recording lowest GDP growth in 35 years – Economist

An economist, Yaw Modey has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sack Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, for recording the lowest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the past 35 years in the history of the country’s economic management.

According to the economist, the Finance Minister in the wake of the economic mismanagement does not deserve to be at post.

“His tenure has recorded the lowest GDP growth ever,” Yaw Modey said on the midday news on Accra 100.5 FM on Monday, March 21, 2022.

He disclosed that in 2015 to 2016 the then Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, invested close to $8 billion in the oil and gas sector to push the country’s GDP growth to 8.1 percent. The following year it was reduced to 6.1 percent and in 2021 to 0.4 percent.

“He is the most incompetent Finance Minister…he must be reshuffled for more competent individuals in the party [to take over],” Mr Modey stated.

He added that Ken Ofori-Atta has also recorded the most unattractive exchange rate in 30 years.

“The Ghana Statistical Service is shying away from reporting the real inflationary rates for fear of eroding investor confidence in the economy,” he alleged stressing that “the finance minister is the most incompetent person in the history of economic management of the country.”

In his view, Ghana’s 1983 history is repeating itself under the current administration where there was a scarcity of food, high unemployment figures, high prices, widening income inequalities, insecurity among others in the country.

Mr. Modey said these in reaction to a statement by the Information Minister that the government has no plans to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for policy credibility but will be cutting expenditure to salvage the situation.

Mr Modey explained further that cutting expenditure is not the way to go but the rationalization of expenditure and investment in viable areas will boost GDP growth.

He was of the view that the finance minister is impoverishing Ghanaians.

Source: Classfmonline.com