Ghanian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, will on Sunday (30 October 2022) address the nation on the state of the economy ahead of the budget presentation next month.
The address is scheduled to be televised on state owned GTV and major news networks at 8pm and will also be livestreamed on social media.
Traders in the capital Accra last week closed their stores and businesses in a three-day protest over soaring costs of living.
Daily gridlock in Accra’s Central Business District and in the biggest vehicle spare parts district of Abossey Okai was largely absent, with only street food vendors in front of the shuttered shops.
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) union said the move sent a signal to the government that they were frustrated over poor economic management. The traders said they were voicing their displeasure with the economic situation.
The IMF has started talks with Ghana over a deal and last month IMF officials said they expected to reach an agreement before the end of the year.
Pressure from Parliament
The Majority Caucus in Parliament on Wednesday issued a statement following a surprise announcement on Tuesday by some of its members who had called for the removal of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and Minister of State for Finance Charles Adu Boahene.
Wednesday’s press statement by the Majority Caucus, signed by Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, MP, Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, confirmed a much anticipated, but quick, meeting between President Nana Akufo-Addo and his party’s MPs about the surprise announcement, with Members of Parliament (MPs) of the governing National Patriotic Party (NPP) pledging to back the President.
According to the statement, the President has requested that the matter be delayed and “acted upon” after “the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)” as well as the next presentation of the budget statement and economic policy”. This is to be followed by the passage of the Appropriation Bill, which is also a few weeks away.
The Majority Caucus, in their press statement, said that after internal discussions among their rank and file on Wednesday, they had “agreed to accede to the President’s appeal”.
In the meantime, analysts have pondered over the timing of Tuesday’s surprise announcement with looming fears over the uncertainty of the state of the country’s economic health should the Finance Ministers step aside, especially at a watershed moment. The two are currently leading negotiations on Ghana’s 17th return to the IMF. They are also in the middle of a yet-to-be finalised debt restructuring programme.
