President Nana Akufo-Addo
PRESIDENT AKUFO-Addo wants Ghanaians to bear with him and his government in the midst of the current economic crisis facing the country.
Whilst admitting that people were going through hard times, the President has pleaded with Ghanaians to “please be patient with my administration and know that the restructuring of our debts, both domestic and international, are aimed at securing the economic future of the country.”
This was when he addressed a delegation of paramount chiefs from the Western Region during a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House yesterday.
According to the President, “if we do not do it now, it will bring our nation enormous challenges in the not-so-distant future.”
Apart from that, he said “there will be some temporal delays [with ongoing capital projects] while we negotiate with the IMF, which is what we are experiencing now.”
He, however, noted that “at the end of the day, we will get an arrangement that allows us to continue the projects,” whilst assuring Ghanaians that his administration was working hard to secure a board level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Furthermore, he indicated that capital projects which were ongoing in the country would not stall when government finally secures the IMF Programme, whilst admitting that some of the ongoing projects were currently experiencing some form of funding delays largely due to the current economic situation and the ongoing negotiations.
That notwithstanding, he said those negotiating on behalf of the country at the table with the IMF team were ensuring that all capital projects that government had embarked on in the last six years and yet to complete, would fully be executed.
On his part, leader of the delegation and Omanhen of Nsein Traditional Area, Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, commended the President for his countless visits to the Western Region and for his commitment to the development of the region.
On the issue of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), Omanhen Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, noted that the chiefs of Western Region endorsed the steps being taken by the Akufo-Addo administration to restructure the country’s debt.
However, they were of the considered opinion that very little was being done by way of public education, particularly in the Western Region, for the citizenry to understand and appreciate the agenda of government as far as the DDEP was concerned.
He, therefore, urged the President to as a matter of priority, deploy technocrats to the Western Region and the rest of the country, to educate the citizenry on the programme and the benefits that would accrue to the economy should the programme be eventually endorsed by the IMF board.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu